For plan sponsors
Clearer fiduciary support for the work ahead.
Navigant helps plan sponsors understand their responsibilities, organize a repeatable process, and make informed decisions. Our education-first approach supports financial empowerment, and we are Black women-owned and operated since 2004.
Two ways to structure support
The role should be clear before the work begins.
Fiduciary support works best when the plan committee understands what it is deciding, what it is delegating, and how the process will be documented.
Advice and recommendations
3(21) investment fiduciary
A 3(21) investment fiduciary can help the plan sponsor make investment decisions through advice, recommendations, and monitoring support. The sponsor keeps decision-making authority and considers the advice before acting.
Delegated investment responsibility
3(38) investment manager
A 3(38) investment manager takes defined responsibility for selecting and monitoring the plan’s investment lineup. The sponsor delegates that work within the scope of the arrangement and continues to oversee the relationship.
Plan committee essentials
What a plan committee should understand
A strong committee process is practical and repeatable. It gives people a shared way to prepare, ask questions, make decisions, and follow through.
Documented process
The committee records why it made a choice and what information it considered.
Regular reviews
The investment lineup, plan experience, and service questions receive attention on schedule.
Fee review
The committee looks at fees and services together so the plan’s costs are easier to understand.
A protective rhythm
A clear, repeatable process helps the committee stay consistent as people, markets, and plan needs change.
A little ERISA context
Fiduciary duty means acting in the plan’s best interest, following the plan document, and keeping the process documented. This page is educational; the plan’s committee should get legal or tax guidance when its situation calls for it.
FREE GUIDE
Your Guide to Fiduciary Responsibilities
A practical starting point for understanding fiduciary responsibilities, committee process, and plan costs.
Get the guide →A practical checklist
What a strong fiduciary process looks like
The details may differ by plan. The habits below give a committee a steady place to start.
Defined roles
Everyone knows who advises, who decides, and who follows through.
An investment policy and process
The committee has a written way to evaluate choices and make changes.
Scheduled reviews
The lineup, plan experience, and key questions are reviewed at a regular cadence.
Fee and service review
Fees and the value of services are considered together and recorded.
Meeting notes and follow-through
Decisions, questions, owners, and next steps are captured while they are fresh.
Participant impact in view
The committee considers how decisions affect the people who use the plan.
Start with clarity
Make the next committee conversation easier.
Bring your questions about roles, reviews, documentation, and participant impact. We’ll help you see the process more clearly.