Innovest White Papers
Process Beats Prediction
A common link that separates great athletic programs from merely good ones is process. Great programs are like a well-oiled machine. Quality training and conditioning, appropriate nutrition, drilling with attention to detail, proper sleep habits, mental strength coaching, goal setting, and team building, culminate in success. The process must be consistent, disciplined, and intense.
A successful investment program is no different. The common link to all successful investors is that they are process oriented. Fiduciary law grasps process as the sound approach to managing investments because it is time tested and proven. There are a number of successful processes that are likely to generate better results for investors, institutions, and high net worth families alike.
Checking the Charter
Retirement plans requires oversight by employers or plan sponsors. Many employers establish committees to oversee their retirement plan’s investments, administration, or both. However, problems can arise when appointed committee members are not aware of, or do not know the extent of, their responsibilities over the retirement plan. This paper provides guidance about how to ensure your committee members are apprised of and understand their responsibilities.
Investment Menu Simplification
Right-sizing retirement plan options for participant direction has been hotly contested in the retirement plan industry. Some argue that giving participants the choice to select investments from numerous different options leads to higher participation and better participant success. Others argue that simplifying investment menus and offering a thoughtful investment menu of 15 to 20 options offers better participant success. This paper offers guidance and best practices based on both academic and our experience over the past 20 plus years helping our clients build sound retirement plan programs for their employees.
Rocket Fueled Plans: Clear and Definite Results When Conducting a Provider RFP
An RFP process can consume monetary and staff resources, often for months. It can sometimes result in short-term pain, but ultimately lead to long-term gain. To maximize the utility of each search, emphasis should be placed on defining clear and definite goals. In the last three years, Innovest has conducted nearly 100 RFP’s, as well as related price-checking exercises called Requests for Information (RFI’s). We have, on average, lowered the recordkeeping fees for these clients by approximately 20%. Every client is different, and each retirement plan has its own challenges, but the through-line remains that within every RFP process there can be something to gain. Building on that foundational “rocket fuel idea” and decades of extensive experience, we can craft a clear and definitive RFP process for each plan we serve that will help its participants to better retirement.
Could Your Family Benefit From an Independent, Outsourced Chief Investment Officer?
Families with assets in excess of $100 million often have multiple investment advisors managing different segments of the family's portfolio. However, having multiple advisors can decrease the likelihood of meeting overall objectives, managing risks, controlling costs, and generating better returns. A family’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) may not be well equipped to manage investment advisors due to insufficient expertise and resources, including time. The most effective solution is to complement the family CFO with an independent family Chief Investment Officer (CIO).
The Case For Consolidation and Simplification: A Means to Improve Participant Retirement Readiness
Retirement readiness is the biggest challenge facing plan sponsors today. And many plan sponsors are reassessing their duty and obligation to create plans with the appropriate tools and features to maximize retirement savings for participants, to minimize fees paid by the plan (the savings from which are realized by the plan participants), and to ensure the plan is competitive to a group of similarly-sized peers in the marketplace. The voluntary plan marketplace is evolving, and as a deeper understanding of participant needs comes to light, so too does the necessity for plan sponsors to understand the strategies available to them to achieve these goals.