We have witnessed quite a lot of dialogue over the past several years surrounding
the fiduciary obligations of retirement plan sponsors. Every year, the standard
for fiduciary conduct seems to expand the liability of those responsible for the management of a plan. Plan sponsors and fiduciaries have become very concerned with their fiduciary responsibilities as well as the risks connected with their particular employee benefit plan obligations. Plan sponsors wish to comprehend how they may meet these types of fiduciary responsibilities and also minimize any fiduciary risk for their companies and also for individuals.

Fiduciary risk mitigation needs to be an essential strategy for every plan sponsor
and fiduciary in helping assess, comprehend and isolate duties and responsibilities
as a result of a fiduciary and support the plan sponsor in demonstrating that they’re achieving their obligations.

In other words, developing robust fiduciary risk mitigation procedures:

• Defends the financial viability of your {firm|business|corporation}.
• Safeguards the financial viability of the individual fiduciary.
• Will help plan sponsors grasp the implications of any fiduciary infraction.
• Will help plan sponsors undertake recommended action in order to mitigate their particular risks.

Fiduciary risk mitigation was designed to develop procedures and processes which protect the plan sponsor and individual fiduciaries. The majority of plan sponsors recognize that plan fiduciaries have a responsibility to behave in the interest of the plan and plan participants. Nevertheless, the same plan sponsors usually find it hard to define who actually is a fiduciary to their plan. Furthermore, plan sponsors are usually not aware that being a fiduciary can put their personal assets at an increased risk. Plan
sponsors who may have not implemented these procedures and processes have not only elevated the financial risk for their organization, they’ve also elevated the financial
liability of the individuals who are fiduciaries to the plan(s).