# Plan Sponsor Adviser

Plan Sponsor Adviser is an Asset Manager based in United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Founded:** 2000
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** psanet.com

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 132009
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** No
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/132009

## About

Plan Sponsor Adviser, LLC is a privately held consultancy with a Plan Sponsor plan management focus representing the practical, technical, and fiduciary interests of Companies sponsoring 401(k), profit sharing, and pension plans. The founding purpose is for Employers to have access to independent, non-conflicted consulting advice for their sponsored employee retirement plans. Services include plan design, vendor selection, compliance, administration, trust design, investment selection, and recurring investment advice for ERISA plan assets.

## Sectors

- Institutional Consulting
- Defined Contribution
- Defined Benefit
- Healthcare Services
- Education

## People

- Brian Hersey — Managing Director

## Questions

### Is Plan Sponsor Adviser a registered investment adviser or a broker-dealer?

The firm operates as a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, accepting fiduciary status in writing for all client engagements. It does not hold a broker-dealer license, receive transaction-based compensation, or participate in revenue-sharing arrangements with recordkeepers or fund companies—eliminating the conflicts that arise when a firm both advises plans and earns commissions from product providers.

### What fiduciary services does the firm offer to retirement plan committees?

Plan Sponsor Adviser provides both 3(21) co-fiduciary and 3(38) full-discretionary fiduciary services under ERISA. In a 3(21) engagement, the firm recommends and monitors the investment lineup while the committee retains final decision authority. In a 3(38) engagement, the firm assumes full discretion to select, remove, and replace plan investments without committee approval—reducing committee liability while requiring strong trust in the adviser's process.

### How does the firm manage vendor search and recordkeeper transitions?

The firm runs blind-RFP processes for plan sponsors seeking new recordkeepers, third-party administrators, or investment-consulting relationships. It defines service requirements, builds fee grids for apples-to-apples comparison, and facilitates finalist presentations. Plan Sponsor Adviser's fee benchmarking database, built from client engagements, is used to negotiate per-participant costs below industry averages published in the 401k Averages Book.

### Does the firm work with defined benefit pension plans or only defined contribution plans?

Plan Sponsor Adviser advises both defined benefit and defined contribution plans, though its recent book of business has skewed heavily toward 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans as corporate DB plans continue to freeze or terminate. For remaining DB plan sponsors, the firm provides liability-driven investment strategy reviews and actuarial-assumption oversight in coordination with the plan's enrolled actuary.

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- [Metalmark Management II](https://altss.com/profile/metalmark-management-ii-llc)
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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:07:49.000Z

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