Have a question about getting the most from Fiduciary Decisions’ services and solutions? Here are some common questions we’ve received from users and the answers that have helped them.
Tips for Advisors
Where can I find my completed client reports?
Go to the reporting page here.
Then go to: Dashboard > Protect Current Revenue > Get/Schedule Reports > Completed Reports > [Search the plan name] > [Download the completed report]
Where can I find my completed prospect reports?
Go to the prospects page here.
Then go to: Dashboard > Prospecting for 2023 > Build/Manage Your Sales Funnel > [Search the plan name] > [Select the plan name] > [Select Reports in the upper right-hand corner] > Download the completed report
How can I edit the Advisor chapter of a completed client report?
Go to the completed reports page here.
Dashboard > Protect Current Revenue > Get/Schedule Reports > Completed Reports > [Search the plan name] > [Select Edit under Actions]
What do the various report statuses mean?
- Your Action Required – You’ll only see this report status if you initiated a report that includes an other service provider chapter. It means that action is needed both by you for your specific chapter and by FDI for the outside provider’s chapter. (Note that this status could also indicate that the authorization form needs to be uploaded in order to process the request.)
To resolve the status issue, click Continue and enter your fees and services (or authorization form), then select Continue and click ahead until you receive a “Pending” status.
- Pending Your Data - FDI has completed and approved other service providers’ chapter(s) in the report. You are able to generate the completed report at any time once you enter/review your fees and services.
- Pending FDI Data - You have selected Data Ready to indicate that your chapter of the report is complete. FDI will generate the completed report once the outside provider's chapter(s) are available.
- Your Edit - The report has been moved from a completed status by the user to an edit status. You are able to update your fees and services before regenerating the completed report.
- FDI Edit - Adjustments are needed to the outside provider's chapter in the report. FDI will reach out to the provider to confirm and will regenerate the completed report once the edits have been processed
How can I request updates to an outside provider’s chapter?
Submit edits for other service providers’ chapter(s) to our Client Success Team at clientsuccess@fiduciarydecisions.com, including the name of the report and contact information for the outside provider. Our team will confirm any edits directly with the company and then we will update the report.
Once I have uploaded the signed authorization form and initiated a report, how long will it take to receive the completed report?
It depends upon when FDI receives the data we’ve requested from the plan’s service providers. When our Client Success Team receives a new request, we submit the request to the plan’s providers and follow up on a weekly basis until we receive the requested materials.
Recordkeepers that share data with FDI each month enables us to turn around reports faster than when we work with a recordkeeper on a plan-by-plan basis. Usually, we complete a report within three to five business days of receiving all required information. Sometimes we find recordkeepers that are not FDI clients can take more than a month to share the requested data.
Do authorization forms expire?
Our authorization forms are evergreen and do not expire. You will need an updated authorization form only when the companies or their contacts for the providers on the plan have changed, or if the individual signing for the sponsor has changed – as well as in those few instances when outside providers require a current signature on the authorization form to process the request.
Tips for Recordkeepers
Can I add an Advisor chapter to my report?
Yes, in one of two ways:
- The plan sponsor completes and signs an Authorization Form (found in the portal in Support > Resources). When FDI receives the signed Authorization Form, we will reach out to the current Advisor on the plan to request their data to include in the report.
- You can ask the Advisor to complete an Advisor Data Capture, available upon request by emailing the Client Success Team clientsuccess@fiduciarydecisions.com. You will forward the Advisor Data Capture to the Advisor, asking them to complete it and return to you. Then you will email the completed form back to the Client Success Team with the plan number for the report the Advisor chapter should be added to. Please ensure the Advisor includes their contact information, since we will contact them directly if we have any questions regarding their fees or services.
Important note when working with UBS and Wells Fargo Advisors: At these firms, compliance procedures require that they work directly with FDI to produce reports that include their Advisor chapter. Please contact the Client Success Team at clientsuccess@fiduciarydecisions.com if you need to include an Advisor chapter for these firms.
Tips for Reading Reports
What is FEEPOINT®?
FEEPOINT® is Fiduciary Decision’s proprietary model designed to associate value for services that are outside of the typical scope. It’s how we make sure that you are getting credit for everything that you’re providing to the plan.
Typically, FEEPOINT starts with the median fee in the benchmark group and adds the applicable FEEPOINT adjustments to arrive at the total FEEPOINT score. Things that can impact FEEPOINT include:
- Fiduciary status
- Meeting and work hours
- Extra work entries
Why is FEEPOINT missing from my report?
In cases where there are no applicable FEEPOINT adjustments, FEEPOINT is automatically omitted from the report.
What is the difference between Assess Scope of Services and the PlanCheck Score?
The Assess Scope of Services page shows the complexity of Advisor services. The next page, Examine Value Delivered (PlanCheck Score) illustrates the value of the services based on how the plan sponsor is protected from a fiduciary perspective compared to similar-sized plans. The criterion for each score is different: the Scope of Services is based on complexity and the PlanCheck Score is based on value relative to the fiduciary protection obtained through the services.
What is the Projected Balance Chart?
The Projected Balance Chart illustrates how participant financial behavior impacts the future balance of the plan as compared to a hypothetical plan comprised of industry average participant data points (shown on the right under the Industry column).
All inputs that participants do not control are intentionally set to the same value as the industry (such as average age, average salary, inflation rate and beginning balance), so the starting point is the same. Inputs that participants control (such as participation, deferral rate, use of auto-diversified investment products which impacts rate of return) are based on the plan's actual data points and vary from the industry figures. The resulting Projected Balance table is a 25-year future balance calculation based on the plan's collective participant behavior relative to the industry average participant behavior.
What are the Extra Investment and Due Diligence/Extra Due Diligence boxes?
The report automatically checks these boxes if the number of hours you perform on Search and Monitor Investment Managers and Monitor Service Provider services exceeds the number of hours for the BMG.
You can see this information in more detail on the Advisor/Consultant: Services Detail page.
In the Plan Profile Report, why do plans stack up differently when ranked by basis points versus dollars?
We’re using the same set of plan data points, but the plan fees are in a different order when looked at through the basis-point lens and the dollar lens. This is because a plan that represents the 25th percentile in basis points is not the same plan that represents the 25th percentile dollar fee.
Are there any types of plans that FDI can’t benchmark?
There is a small subset of plans that we are unable to benchmark, which includes:
- Top Hat Plans. These plans are reserved solely for executives/highly compensated employees. These plans are governed by different requirements than “regular” Defined Contribution Plans, so it’s not valid to compare them to one another.
- Defined Benefit Plans, or pension plans. These plans can’t be compared to Defined Contribution Plans. Defined Benefit Plans calculate participants’ guaranteed pension payments according to factors such as the length of service and the salary they earned at the time of retirement. In contrast, Defined Contribution Plans (such as 401(k)s, offer no such guarantee, don't have to be funded by employers, and are self-directed.
- Multiple Employer Plans, or MEPs. Although FDI can benchmark individual plans within a MEP, it is not our practice to benchmark a MEP as a whole.