If your company runs its 401(k) through Nationwide, you may already have an advisor assigned to the plan. That advisor should review fees, monitor the fund lineup, and help support fiduciary oversight. Many plan sponsors are not sure when theirs last performed those duties.
Do You Even Have an Advisor on Your Plan?
Every Nationwide 401(k) plan has a recordkeeper, but not every plan has an engaged advisor watching it. Some plans carry a broker of record in name only. If you cannot recall your last review, that gap is worth closing now.
The recordkeeper runs the platform: statements, the website, contribution processing, and compliance testing. The advisor is the person who is supposed to sit on your side of the table, question the fund lineup, and flag what the platform will never volunteer. They are not the same role, and one does not replace the other.
What an Engaged Plan Advisor Actually Does
A capable retirement plan advisor earns the fee by doing real work between meetings, not just showing up once a year. The duties below are the floor, not the ceiling, and you have every right to ask when each was last delivered.
This is also where a strong advisor opens doors a platform will not. For high-balance participants, a self-directed brokerage account is one plan design option the sponsor elects to offer, governed by the plan document and a fiduciary review. You can read more on how a self-directed brokerage option works inside a plan and where it fits.
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Five Signs Your Advisor May Not Be Doing Enough
You do not need a finance background to spot trouble. These signs come up again and again when a Nationwide 401(k) advisor has quietly gone passive, and any one of them is worth a hard look.
If an advisor is not communicating, that alone is reason to ask what you are paying for. An unresponsive advisor on a workplace plan is not a small annoyance. The fiduciary duty sits with you as the sponsor, and a passive broker of record does little to lighten that load.
Who Holds Broker of Record on Your Plan
The broker of record is the advisor formally attached to your plan with the recordkeeper. Changing that designation is a routine, paperwork driven step, and it does not require leaving Nationwide or disrupting participant accounts. Many sponsors assume a switch means a full plan conversion. It usually does not.
Replacing a Nationwide 401(k) advisor simply moves that role to a new firm that agrees to take it on and serve the plan actively. The platform stays. The funds stay. What changes is who sits on your side of the table. A thoughtful approach to a fiduciary view of investment risk is part of what a new advisor should bring.
What It Costs to Add or Replace Your Advisor
Advisor cost is a fair question, and a clear answer is part of doing the job well. In many plans, advisory fees are already embedded in what participants pay, whether or not anyone is actively earning them. Adding an engaged advisor may not raise total cost at all if it replaces a fee that was already there.
Fees can be charged as a flat amount, a per participant figure, or a percentage of plan assets. The right structure depends on plan size and complexity. The point is transparency: you should know the number, what it buys, and how it compares to peers. Sponsors weighing the wider picture often start with a broader look at strengthening a workplace plan as a business owner.
How to Evaluate Your Plan Advisor
A useful evaluation is concrete. Ask for the last fee benchmark, the last fund review, and the written record of your fiduciary process. Ask how often participants hear from the advisor and in what form. The answers, or the silence, tell you most of what you need.
If the picture is thin, you have options well short of upheaval. You can request a service plan in writing, set a meeting cadence, or move the broker of record role to a firm that will deliver. These same questions apply across the wider set of workplace plan and rollover decisions a sponsor faces.
The same discipline behind Preserve. Strengthen. Grow.™ applies to a workplace plan: protect participants first, improve what is weak, and let sound decisions compound over time. An advisor who does that work is worth the fee. One who has gone quiet may not be.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What Does a Nationwide 401(k) Advisor Actually Do?
A Nationwide 401(k) advisor reviews plan fees, monitors the fund lineup, supports your fiduciary process, and helps participants use the plan well. The recordkeeper runs the platform and the paperwork. The advisor is meant to act in the plan’s interest and question what the platform will not.
How Do I Know If My Plan Has an Advisor?
Check your service agreement or ask Nationwide who is listed as the broker of record. If a name appears but you never hear from that person, you may have an advisor in title only. A plan with no advisor leaves more fiduciary weight resting on the sponsor.
What Does It Cost to Add an Advisor to the Plan?
Cost varies by plan size and fee structure, and it can be a flat fee, a per participant charge, or a percentage of assets. In many plans an advisory fee is already embedded, so adding an engaged advisor may not raise the total. Ask for the figure in writing.
Can I Replace My Nationwide 401(k) Advisor?
Yes. Replacing the advisor is a paperwork step that reassigns the broker of record role to a new firm. You can keep Nationwide as the recordkeeper and keep participant accounts in place. The platform stays the same while the service relationship changes.
What Is a Broker of Record on a 401(k) Plan?
The broker of record is the advisor or firm formally tied to your plan through the recordkeeper. That designation governs who is paid to serve the plan and who is expected to advise on it. Moving it does not move the plan itself.
Should Every 401(k) Plan Have a Dedicated Advisor?
Many sponsors benefit from one, though needs vary by plan. A dedicated advisor can benchmark fees, review investments, and document the fiduciary process you are responsible for. You can compare this against your current setup using a wider view of workplace plan strategy.
How Often Should My Plan Be Reviewed?
A common rhythm is a formal review at least once a year, with fee benchmarking on a regular cycle and fund monitoring throughout the year. If your plan has gone more than a year without a documented review, that is a reasonable trigger to ask why.
