Hands-on plan advisory for small and mid-sized companies, covering the investment lineup, the plan design, and the participants of the plan.
Rossi Financial Group is a fee-only fiduciary firm based in El Dorado Hills, California, serving plan sponsors throughout the state and nationwide.
Most small and mid-sized employers end up with a 401(k) plan that is just good enough to check a box. The investment lineup is fine. The recordkeeper is fine. The participant experience is a 1-800 line that nobody calls twice. The plan works, but it does not earn its place in the benefits package and it does not protect the people running it from the fiduciary exposure they carry under ERISA.
Rossi Financial Group serves the employer that wants a better plan; a plan that works for the company, that truly helps participants, and for the leadership team responsible for it.
Most plan sponsors do not fully understand what they pay their plan advisor for, because most of them are not getting much. Real plan advisory work covers the entire arc of the plan, from design through participant outcomes, and is documented well enough to stand up to a regulator on a bad day.
Under ERISA, plan sponsors carry significant personal fiduciary exposure for the decisions made on behalf of plan participants. Most are not fully aware of the extent of it until something goes wrong. A real plan advisor materially reduces that exposure and the level of reduction depends on the structure of the relationship.
Rossi Financial Group serves plan sponsors in either of two capacities, chosen based on the sponsor’s preferences and the leadership team’s familiarity with investment oversight.
We recommend; you decide. The plan sponsor retains primary authority and primary fiduciary responsibility for investment selection.
We are given discretionary authority and accept the related fiduciary liability for investment selection, the maximum transfer of risk available to a plan sponsor.
In either capacity, the sponsor’s responsibility to prudently select and monitor the advisor itself remains. We help document that monitoring process so the file holds up under scrutiny.
Most plan sponsors do not fully understand what they pay their plan advisor for, because most of them are not getting much. Real plan advisory work covers the entire arc of the plan, from design through participant outcomes, and is documented well enough to stand up to a regulator on a bad day.
Direct access to a CFA charterholder for plan and investment questions
Custom model portfolios within each investment lineup
Bespoke 300-500 word articles focusing on investment and retirement concerns
Help with contribution decisions, pre-tax versus Roth, percentage, catch-up eligibility
Loan and hardship withdrawal guidance, with the tradeoffs explained plainly
Pre-retirement planning conversations as the date approaches
Rollover and distribution support at separation, retirement, or job change
Annual or semi-annual employee education sessions, on-site or virtual
Plain-English plan summaries and decision frameworks employees can actually use
Fees are transparent, disclosed in writing in plain language, and benchmarked annually so you always know what you are paying and what you are receiving for it. The engagement itself follows a predictable arc.
Step 01
Step 02
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Step 04
A no-obligation evaluation of your existing plan, investment lineup, fee structure, participant experience, and fiduciary exposure. We tell you honestly whether the current plan is serving the company and participants well, and whether switching makes sense.
If a change makes sense, we propose an engagement structure — co-fiduciary or discretionary investment manager — with transparent fees and a clearly scoped service set.
A typical timeline can be rather quick if you currently have a plan in place. For a new plan, four to eight weeks, working in coordination with the recordkeeper, custodian, and Third-Party Administrator. All participant communication is drafted with care.
Annual benchmarking, investment and fee reviews, ongoing participant support, and direct access whenever something changes — a key hire, an acquisition, a regulatory shift, or a question from an employee.
A plan review is a no-obligation evaluation of your existing 401(k): whether it is serving the company, whether participants are actually being supported, whether fees are reasonable, and whether your fiduciary exposure is well-managed. The conversation is short, the assessment is honest, and there is no obligation to proceed if the answer is that your plan is already in good hands.
