NEPC’s Bill Ryan was quoted in a recent Pensions & Investments article exploring the standout performance of 401(k) plans in the financial advisory industry in 2023. He offers perspective on the factors behind the industry’s strong returns and participation rates. View the article on Pensions & Investments’ site here.
It’s not easy to jump from the near bottom of the list to the very top, but the financial advisory industry did just that in the rates of return their 401(k) plans delivered for their employees.
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Bill Ryan, partner and defined contribution team leader at NEPC, is skeptical that more aggressive plan menus — or those offering more equity investment choices — played a role in the ranking.
“Despite some industries offering a broader spectrum of investment choices, the number of options doesn’t determine how participants invest,” he said, citing NEPC research that while 74% of employers offer 11 or more core investments, participants choose only three to five.
“A large menu doesn’t necessarily equate to an aggressive plan,” he said, adding that some core menus offer more than 20 equity options.
In Ryan’s view, a more likely explanation for the outperformance of financial advisory firms is that some industries are simply more risk tolerant than others and therefore see greater returns during market upswings.
“Professionals in finance, accounting, law, engineering and medicine tend to exhibit a greater comfort level with the short-term fluctuations inherent in equities,” Ryan said.
Click here to continue reading the full Pensions & Investments article.