The Vendor is required to provide for retirement plan consulting services.
- Consultant (the “Consultant”) will be asked to advise and lead work efforts in three primary areas:
• Record-keeper Selection
• Plan Design and Consolidation, and
• Ongoing investment advising and fiduciary support.
- Record-keeper Selection
• Review all current plan documents, such as the adoption agreement and trust agreement, service agreements and fees, participant notices and communications, as well as current City practices and administration for management of the Plans.
• Identify areas of potential legal, fiduciary, operational, and investment-related risk and make recommendations for improvement for such areas prior to proceeding with the next phases of the project.
• Determine services and enhancements needed to support prudent and efficient administration and operation of the Plans.
• Standardize and benchmark total Plan costs, including administrative fees, recordkeeping fees, investment vehicle expense ratios, and managed account fees, providing a transparent breakdown of direct and indirect costs. Include side-by-side comparisons reflecting net costs after any revenue sharing and an assessment of the reasonableness of such fees relative to comparable governmental plans and prevailing industry standards.
• Provide a written review and benchmarking of all plan-related fees, including administrative, recordkeeping, and investment management fees. Provide a clear breakdown of costs and an assessment of their reasonableness relative to industry standards.
- Record-keeper and Plan Consolidation
• Coordinate and facilitate consolidation of the plans to the selected record-keeper. If the recommendation is to retain more than one record-keeper or retain certain plans with a specialist provider, document rationale that demonstrates clear advantages in participant outcomes, service, and risk controls, and/or net cost.
• Attend in-person and virtual meetings as needed to offer insights, address stakeholder concerns and facilitate informed decision making.
• Consult and prepare thorough, effective participant communications to minimize disruption to participants and meet plan sponsor obligations.
• Ensure data integrity and legal compliance.
• Make recommendations designed to enhance participant experience and outcomes, and improve administrative efficiency.
- Ongoing Fiduciary Support, Investment Advising, and Guidance Related to Plan Design and Administration
• Draft an investment policy statement (“IPS”) and present to the City. The IPS should include asset allocation guidelines, portfolio construction and diversification standards, risk tolerance parameters, performance benchmarks, and monitoring and replacement criteria. Once adopted, assess and ensure compliance with IPS and make recommendations consistent with the IPS during ongoing review of the Plans.
• Provide a comprehensive quarterly review covering assets of the Plans, investment performance, participant fees, and other key activities of the Plans.
• Present to the Committee (as defined below) and provide reports on a quarterly basis on Investment performance of the Plans, including fund-level and plan-level performance versus benchmarks and peer groups. Include key risk metrics and trend analysis.
• Recommend changes to the portfolio of funds within the Plans, including recommending placement on watchlist, termination of investment managers or replacement of investment funds, based on performance, expense ratios, diversification criteria, and benchmarking of expenses relative to comparable plans.
• Conduct ongoing investment due diligence, including qualitative and quantitative analysis of investment managers and investment strategies consistent with the IPS.
• Assist with the preparation of documents for the procurement of third-party services, as needed.
- Recommend marketing and other strategies to increase the number of participants and the amount under investment.
- Make related recommendations that enhance participant outcomes and administrative efficiency.
- Assist in the development of governing documents for said Committee, and review annually for recommended revisions.
- Contract Period/Term: 5 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: January 19, 2026
