BUSINESSES
Business leaders are considered fiduciaries to the company and stockholders they serve, and to the retirement plan participants they represent. It makes sense that as a business leader you would seek to do business with organizations and individuals that can share that fiduciary responsibility. At Stellar, we serve in a fiduciary capacity, which means that we have a legal responsibility to always act in your best interest. That cannot be said of many of the firms vying for your business.
Our highest and best use for business clients is to manage portfolios that are related to a retirement plan, a self-funded health-benefit plan, or larger amounts of investible liquid funds. As part of our engagement, our business clients have unlimited access to our economic and market research.
Direct Management of Portfolios
We provide direct investment management of stocks, bonds, and alternative investments, customized to meet your, or your investment committee’s, risk/reward objectives, at the custodian of your choosing or, if asked, our recommendation. Our investment team will apply its depth of economic and market experience to create and manage an investment strategy to best fulfill your desired objectives. We will periodically review the progress of these strategies with you, and recommend adjustments where needed. We have experience acting as a sole manager and as a component of an overall strategy, and can offer a very detailed or very concise review of portfolio analytics and performance as you desire. For greater detail of how we manage investment portfolios, click here.
Investment Advisory Services for Participant Directed Retirement Programs (401k)
The firm’s professionals have provided institutional, non-discretionary advice to employer-sponsored, self-directed retirement plans since 1987. In the capacity of a Section 3(38) investment adviser, Stellar accepts fiduciary responsibility for creating and managing the Plan Sponsor’s investment menu and model portfolios for the exclusive use of the Plan’s participants and/or Trustees.
Stellar creates and regularly reviews the investments offered to plan participants and communicates recommended menu adjustments to the Plan Sponsor as needed, regardless of the plan provider used. Detailed reviews of individual investments and menu offerings are offered at least annually. Whether these reviews are completed in person, on the telephone, or via internet based communication, they are conducted by a member of the firm’s investment committee. For details of how we manage this process, click here.
Coordinating the recordkeeping, administration, custody and trustee services, and investments for plan sponsors in a complex regulatory environment is challenging. We are supportive of Plan Sponsors engaging a Section 3(21) adviser to handle the non-investment management fiduciary responsibilities, and regularly recommend an affiliated consulting firm, Plan Sponsor Services, to serve in that capacity, and/or to direct participant enrollment and/or education programs.
