Stance Capital for Employer Retirement Plans

Sponsoring a 401(k) or other employer retirement plan is one of the most meaningful benefits a company can offer its employees. It is also one of the most underappreciated sources of personal legal exposure for the executives and HR professionals who administer it. Most plan sponsors are unaware that selecting the investment options available to their employees is a named fiduciary act under ERISA, one that carries personal exposure if it is not handled through a defensible process.

Stance Capital works with employers as an ERISA fiduciary advisor for their retirement plans. We provide investment analysis, fund lineup recommendations, and ongoing monitoring so plan sponsors can make informed, defensible investment decisions on behalf of their employees. The final decision-making authority on the fund lineup stays with the plan sponsor. What changes is the quality of the analysis behind those decisions.

What Stance Does for Employer Plans

Fund lineup analysis and recommendations. Stance evaluates the investment options available in your plan and provides recommendations on each: retain, watch, or replace. We assess fund performance against appropriate benchmarks, compare fees against institutional alternatives, evaluate manager tenure and organizational stability, and determine whether each option continues to meet the standard of a prudent investment selection. The plan sponsor reviews our recommendations and makes the final call.

Investment policy statement assistance. Stance assists in developing and maintaining an investment policy statement for the plan. The IPS establishes the investment criteria against which fund lineup decisions are evaluated. The plan sponsor retains ultimate responsibility for adopting and amending the IPS.

Annual review. As part of each engagement, Stance reviews the plan's fund lineup annually and delivers a written report with a recommendation for each option. When replacement is warranted, we identify the replacement and the rationale. The plan sponsor reviews the report and approves any changes.

Participant education and enrollment support. Stance assists with participant education on general investment principles and the investment options available under the plan, and supports group enrollment meetings designed to increase plan participation and investment understanding among employees.

Fee and benchmarking analysis. Stance performs analysis of the fees and expenses associated with the plan's investments and service providers, and provides benchmarking analysis on overall plan operations to help sponsors assess whether the plan is competitively structured.

Who This Is For

Stance works with plan sponsors across a range of company sizes and industries. The right fit is not determined by plan size or headcount. Employers who have recently taken on fiduciary responsibility for an existing plan, those whose fund lineup has not been formally reviewed in years, and companies whose executives want professional investment analysis behind their fund lineup decisions are all situations where the engagement tends to make sense. Reach out and we can assess whether it makes sense for your plan.

What Makes Stance Different

Professional investment analysis behind every fund lineup decision. An independent advisor brings both the analytical resources and the fiduciary accountability the role demands. When the time comes to evaluate whether a fund should be retained or replaced, that decision deserves the same analytical rigor a sophisticated institutional investor would apply: benchmark analysis, fee comparison, manager evaluation. Stance provides that analysis so plan sponsors can make informed decisions rather than guessing.

A structured process for an obligation most sponsors handle informally. ERISA requires plan sponsors to follow a prudent process in selecting and monitoring the fund lineup. Most do not have a structured process in place. Stance brings a consistent evaluation framework to each annual review so the sponsor's decision-making rests on a solid analytical foundation.

A complete team for a complex responsibility. Stance works alongside a qualified ERISA retirement plan advisor who manages plan design, compliance coordination, and participant services. You get a team that covers both the investment analysis side and the plan administration side, with a clear division of responsibility between them.

Starting the Conversation

If your plan's fund lineup has never been formally evaluated by a qualified investment advisor, or if you are not certain who currently owns that responsibility, it is worth a conversation. Reach out to Stance directly. We will assess your plan's current structure, introduce you to our retirement plan advisory partners, and let you know whether the engagement makes sense for your situation.

Get in touch.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Stance's role in the retirement plan: does it make investment decisions or advise on them?

Stance serves as an ERISA fiduciary advisor, providing investment analysis and recommendations on the fund lineup. The plan sponsor retains final decision-making authority on which funds are selected, retained, or replaced. What Stance provides is the professional investment analysis and structured evaluation process that makes those decisions defensible.

What is the difference between a 3(21) and a 3(38) fiduciary?

A 3(21) investment advisor provides analysis and recommendations, but the plan sponsor retains final decision-making authority and responsibility. A 3(38) investment manager has full discretionary authority over the fund lineup and makes decisions without requiring plan sponsor approval. Stance serves in a 3(21) advisory capacity, meaning the sponsor reviews and approves all fund lineup recommendations.

Does Stance serve as the retirement plan advisor or only the investment advisor?

Stance serves as the investment advisor, focused on fund lineup analysis, recommendations, and monitoring. We work alongside a qualified ERISA retirement plan advisor who handles plan design, compliance, and participant services. The two roles are distinct and complementary. If you do not already have a retirement plan advisor, we can introduce you to our advisory partners.

What plan sizes does Stance work with?

Stance works with 401(k) plans and other employer-sponsored retirement plans across a range of company sizes, industries, and participant counts. The right fit is not determined by plan size or headcount alone. Reach out and we can tell you whether your 401(k) or retirement plan is a good fit for the engagement.

How often does Stance review the fund lineup?

Stance reviews the plan's fund lineup annually and monitors it on an ongoing basis throughout the year. If a fund warrants a watch or replacement recommendation between annual reviews, we address it on that schedule rather than waiting for the annual cycle.

Does the plan need to change custodians to work with Stance?

Not necessarily. Reach out and we can assess whether your current plan custodian and recordkeeper are compatible with how Stance operates. In many cases no custodian change is required.