Have You Ever Wondered if Your 401(K) Plan Could Be Working Harder for You and Your Team?

Your 401 (K) plan provides an excellent employee recruitment and retention benefit, as well as an opportunity to trim your tax bill. But is it keeping pace with your other investments?

What's Wrong with Your 401 (k) Plan?

While the typical retirement plan provides valuable benefits to you and your employees, many come with opportunity costs in the form of a limited investment menu. In our experience, the typical plan offers two to three dozen mutual funds of varying styles. These pooled investment options present several challenges for plan participants.
Holland Capital Management|Could Your Retirement Plan be Working Harder for You and Your Team?

Holland Capital Management

The first thing to consider when looking to find a financial advisor in Charlotte NC: who are the team members? That’s critical since your financial well-being requires a lot more than just portfolio management. Along with attention to investments, you will likely need other services. 

No Lifeguard on Duty

In order to maintain compliance with Department of Labor (DOL) rules and regulations, many plan sponsors wisely utilize a third party to oversee the creation of the investment menu. However, beyond this there is typically little in the way of support, leaving the plan participants. including you, to manage their investments with rudimentary tools or computer models. Would you feel better having a professional by your side?

Anonymous Investing

To the mutual fund manager(s),you are just another faceless shareholder. How can they manage assets for you when they don’t understand your goals, concerns, and how these assets fit into your overall financial picture? Some of the largest Wall Street firms that create mutual funds have begun to emphasize Environmental, Social and Governance scores when making investments. This may lead to lower returns as the focus turns away from maximizing shareholder value as, described in this recent Wall Street Journal article. Are you ok with that?

Loss of Autonomy

You forfeit all control and visibility into your holdings the moment you buy a mutual fund. The fund manager’s mandate is often to keep you invested no matter the economic conditions. While they may be loath to invest their money in stocks that are overvalued and poised for a fall, they may be forced to invest your money. Don’t you deserve better?

Navigate these Obstacles with Proactive Management, Not Retail Products

Fortunately, there is another option. We’ve helped many professional practice and business owners enhance their 401K plans with the additinon of a Personal Choice Retirement Account to the investment lineup. The plan assets held in the traditional fund menu, in addition to the assets directed to the PCRA, will be safely custodied with Charles Schwab, a leading custodian safeguarding over three thrillion dollars of retirement assets.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Choose the Right Financial Advisor Charlotte NC?

One of our best pieces of advice is to look for high-quality credentials. For financial planning and retirement planning, you will want to work with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ professional. For investment advisory, it’s wise to look for someone who has attained the CFA ® (or CHARTERED FINANCIAL ANALYST ®) credential.

Then, also find someone who takes the time to listen to your financial goals and learn what is important to you. That will help ensure you hire someone who prioritizes your best interests. While it’s important that financial professionals offer advisory services, you also want someone who will support you in achieving your goals

Fees will vary, but often range from 1% to 2% of assets under management per year. This does vary widely, and it’s critical to find out what this fee covers beyond the basics. Some advisors will charge separately for financial planning and investment management, while others will bundle these into a single fee. So be sure to ask for that detail so you’re clear on exactly what you will be paying for.

There are significant advantages to getting professional financial and investment advice. However, if you don’t select one that is a good fit, then it can be a negative situation. You may end up paying for advice that is counterproductive, costing you fees and time. That’s why it’s critical to do your research upfront.

It’s also important to note that you should seek to work with a firm that provides a financial planning specialist to assist you with an overall plan first. Then, you have a way to judge if the recommendations and financial products you receive from investment advisors are appropriate for your goals and plan.

Yes, normally it is, and research on the topic suggests that having a financial advisor in Charlotte serving you can help you achieve higher returns even after fees are considered. One 2019 study by Vanguard estimated that advice can add about 3% per year to your overall returns. [i] 

That said, if your advisor offers investment management only, then you may not get enough value, as tax planning and other functions are equally important to your financial results. 

If you have a complex financial life, you are likely to realize even more benefits. For example, if you own a small business, a high-quality advisor can offer a business retirement service to help you set up a 401(k) or other plan for you and your valued employees. 

Because you have substantial family wealth, you might benefit from using a firm that offers wealth management services geared for high-net-worth individuals and families. 

The cost for financial advice will vary. Investment firms may charge commission and transaction-oriented fees. On the other hand, a fee-only advisory firm may charge a single percentage-based fee. Be sure to inquire on how the fees charged are calculated. Also, be sure to find out if the advisor acts as your fiduciary. A fiduciary is legally required to put your interests before their own, but not all firms have this requirement.

You can look for a high-quality Charlotte area wealth management firm by doing your research.  Here are some important steps to incorporate in your process:

  1.  Does the firm offer the scope of services you need?  If you’ve got a complex financial life, you’ll probably want to be sure the firm offers wealth management to ensure you get all the services needed to optimize your resources.  Be sure to look beyond just investment management services.  You’ll probably want a firm that also offers retirement planning as well as tax minimization, estate planning and other critical services.
  2. You should check if the firm also services clients who have similar needs to your own.  Ask about their clientele and who the most typical client is.
  3.  Do the advisors at the firm in Charlotte act as your fiduciary?  If they do, that means they are required to put your interests first.  Ask for that in writing, as that is an important protection when you have someone advising you on how to manage your life’s savings.
  4.  Look closely at the fee structure the firm offers.  You may want to prioritize a fee-based or fee-only financial advisor to avoid commissions.
  5. Finally, see if there’s a personal fit.  You want an advisor you feel comfortable talking with.  Bottom line…take your time to make sure you find the best fit across all these categories.

You will find there are many different names and titles used in this profession. Many times, the terms themselves are not particularly meaningful. What is more important is the specific scope of services provided, the individual’s credentials, and whether the professional acts as your legal fiduciary. Consequently, we usually recommend you pay more attention to facts on paper than a particular title.

Your financial future is important. Think about it like your health. If you had something major arise with your health, do you plan to handle it yourself or go see a doctor? Of course, you go consult an expert with years of training.

Of course, there is more than one high-quality firm serving Charlotte. If you’re an entrepreneur or high-income professional, our firm, Holland Capital Management, might be the best fit. That’s because we can provide a team of specialists to make sure you get the right attention on your investment portfolio as well as a broad scope of other services. However, if your needs are different, there are other high-quality Charlotte financial groups that specialize in other areas. 

The financial advice industry has two different legal standards, suitability and fiduciary. Larger, brand-name investment management firms are often licensed for the suitability standard, which means they simply must make recommendations that are suitable for your needs. Fiduciaries, on the other hand, need to always put your interests before theirs. 

That difference is very meaningful since an advisor operating under the suitability standard can recommend a more expensive product to you if it is suitable. On the other hand, a fiduciary may not do that. They always are required to put your interests first.

Get the Flexibility to Better Protect and Grow Your Assets

Adding the PCRA to your investment menu opens the door for you and the plan participants to an actively managed investment strategy tailored to your unique circumstances. Our goal at Holland Capital Management, LLC is simple: maximize your risk-adjusted returns, net of fees, while protecting your wealth in difficult market environments. Your dedicated Portfolio Manager will craft a carefully curated portfolio consisting of individual securities (ETFs, stocks, bonds, and cash and equivalents), not another one size fits all, “cookie cutter” portfolio. He will also make adjustments to reduce and increase the risk in your portfolio (buy low, sell high) as economic conditions change.
Why is this important? Research by Vanguard suggests that those using professional help for their retirement accounts get better results net of fees. The difference is estimated to be an average of 3% more per year when averaged over long periods.

Could You Be Saving More on A Pre-Tax Basis?

Our partners at EPIC Retirement Solutions can also help you with plan design optimization. You may be able to add a deferred compensation component so you can set aside more money, pre-tax, every year for retirement.


The Areas Our Financial Advisor Serves

Lancaster