Updated:
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants operates as a specialized registered investment adviser focused exclusively on employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants operates as a specialized registered investment adviser focused exclusively on employer-sponsored retirement plans. Founder Gary Lawton established the practice to serve as an independent fiduciary, meaning the firm accepts legal liability for the prudence of its investment recommendations under ERISA. The firm does not sell products or accept commissions, a structural choice that differentiates it from the broker-dealer-affiliated consultants that dominate the mid-market retirement-plan space. The firm's engagement model centers on plan governance, provider fee benchmarking, and investment-menu construction. Asset classes covered typically include domestic and international equity, core and multi-sector fixed income, stable value, and target-date strategies. The firm advises on lineup architecture rather than managing segregated accounts, with services spanning recordkeeper RFPs, fiduciary training, and participant education. Plan sizes served generally range from small to mid-market employers, with aggregate assets under advisement reported in public disclosures at over $100 million. The practice is understood to be a sole-proprietor or very small team consultancy with a single office footprint serving plan sponsors nationally. No adjacent wealth-management or multi-family-office operations are publicly associated with the firm. Public records do not disclose professional team size, external board seats, or club memberships. The firm's most recent regulatory disclosure reflects continued operation as a going concern. Structurally, the firm's differentiator is its fully-vended fiduciary posture: it serves as an ERISA 3(38) investment manager under written agreement, taking discretionary authority over plan investments where engaged. This substitutes the plan sponsor's personal liability for the consultant's institutional liability, a legal architecture that is uncommon among retirement-plan boutiques of similar scale.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
—
Corporate office
—
Principals
Gary Lawton
Founder
Frequently asked questions
What does the ERISA 3(38) designation mean for a plan sponsor client?
An ERISA 3(38) investment manager takes on the fiduciary responsibility for selecting, monitoring, and replacing plan investments. When Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants acts as a 3(38), the plan sponsor's liability for those investment decisions shifts to the firm. This is the highest fiduciary standard available under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
How does the firm's compensation model differ from a broker-dealer retirement consultant?
The firm operates on a fee-only basis, typically charging a flat annual retainer or an asset-based advisory fee paid by the plan sponsor or the plan itself. It accepts no 12b-1 fees, no revenue sharing, and no commissions. Broker-dealer consultants commonly offset service costs with product-based revenue, creating an incentive structure this firm's model explicitly avoids.
Does Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants manage separate accounts or only provide advisory services?
The firm provides non-discretionary and discretionary advisory services depending on the engagement. Under a 3(38) agreement it may retain limited discretion to remove and replace plan investment options without prior sponsor approval. It does not manage proprietary mutual funds or commingled trusts.
What size of retirement plan does the firm typically serve?
Public disclosures and its fiduciary posture suggest a focus on small to mid-market defined-contribution plans — typically plans with assets ranging from $5 million to $100 million. These plan sponsors are the most likely to benefit from the institutional fiduciary model, as they often lack the internal governance resources of large corporate plans.
Which types of retirement plans does the firm advise?
The firm focuses on employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans, primarily 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Public disclosures do not suggest material activity in defined-benefit pension plan consulting or government 457 plan programs.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: