Returns are but one aspect of reviewing your plan investments. Proper portfolio construction to ensure broad market diversification and asset class exposure is the foundation on which your investments are built. Not only do we offer target date and lifecycle options for employees wanting professionals to manage their money, we also offer a set of individual asset class funds for those who want to build their own lineups.

• Target-Date Funds — These investment lineups consist of mutual funds that automatically adjust the mix of stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents according to an expected retirement date based on the participant’s birthdate. Target date funds are designed to create a diversified portfolio and make the appropriate changes to the asset allocation mix, becoming more conservative as the retirement date nears.
• Risk Based Asset Allocation Funds — These investment lineups consist of mutual funds that target a general risk profile, which can range from very conservative to aggressive. The mutual funds are comprised of a mix of stock and bond investments that most closely reflect the participant’s risk profile. Factors that determine this mix are the investor’s age, level of risk tolerance, and the length of time until the proceeds will be withdrawn. Unlike target date funds, risk based investments retain the same allocation mix without regard to the age of the participant.
• Individual Asset Class Funds — For participants who would prefer to pick their own funds, we offer several well known funds with varying investment objectives. For example: Large cap funds, international funds and bond funds.

Fiduciary Roles and Responsibilities

Fiduciary compliance is the least understood and most overlooked aspect for a plan sponsor. Most employers have very little knowledge of how much fiduciary risk they’re accepting when setting up a plan and compliance is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Plan sponsors are generally unaware that being a fiduciary can put their personal assets at risk.

With The Contractors Plan, you'll receive strong fiduciary support from two sources. The Contractors Plan employs an investment manager fiduciary, LeafHouse Financial Advisors, to select and monitor the investments offered, thus mitigating your investment fiduciary risk. ERISA Smart, led by a former DOL investigator, serves as the discretionary trustee.

NON-PARTICIPANT DIRECTED: If your employees are not knowledgeable about investments, a non-participant directed directed plan might be the best choice for your company using the investment and retirement expertise of LeafHouse Financial Advisors. If you elect to have a non-participant directed plan, LeafHouse Financial chooses the investment strategies from which you, as the plan sponsor, then select the platform and investment strategy that you believe are appropriate for the retirement needs of your employees. This reduces the need for employee education and the company’s compliance requirements that come with participant directed plans.