Prudent Investor Advisors

Prudent Investor Advisors operates as an ERISA Section 3(38) investment manager, accepting sole responsibility and liability for selecting, monitoring, and replacing plan investment options under a written contract. This is distinct from Section 3(21) co-fiduciary arrangements, where the advisor provides recommendations but the sponsor retains full liability, or non-fiduciary broker relationships that offer no liability relief. The firm formalizes the liability transfer through a binding investment advisory agreement and reviews its compliance with each sponsor annually.

Principals Gary K. Allen and Jeffrey B. Coontz lead investment decision-making and senior management. The firm employs a team of retirement plan consultants averaging fifteen years of industry experience, but it does not publicly name an investment committee or detail the number of voting members. The firm's proprietary Investment Policy Statement governs its prudent investment process.

The firm limits its advisory services to the plan level, acting under its ERISA Section 3(38) mandate. It does not provide participant-level advice, which would expose the plan sponsor to additional liability, except when delivered through a level-fee arrangement or under Pension Protection Act provisions. The firm educates plan sponsor administrative staff on distinguishing education from advice per Department of Labor Interpretive Bulletin 96-1.

Prudent Investor Advisors operates on a fee-only basis, accepting no compensation from third-party plan vendors. All revenue comes directly from clients under fully disclosed terms, an arrangement the firm states helps avoid conflicts of interest. Specific fee schedules are detailed in individual investment advisory agreements with each plan sponsor.

While the firm specializes in ERISA-governed retirement plans, it also provides portfolio management and financial planning services to non-profit foundations, endowments, and private family trusts. The same prudent investment process — described as legally sound, academically oriented, and cost efficient — is applied across these distinct pools of capital. The firm targets sponsors, not high-net-worth individuals, as its primary relationship.

The firm maintains a proprietary Investment Policy Statement that codifies its prudent investment methodology. Each year, a Prudent Investor Advisors representative meets with the plan sponsor client to review performance and confirm that designated fiduciary duties were carried out prudently. This annual review is a contractual obligation embedded in the investment advisory agreement.

Yes, the firm states it is totally independent of all plan vendors. By refusing third-party compensation and operating on a client-fee-only model, Prudent Investor Advisors asserts it avoids the conflicts of interest common among advisors who accept revenue-sharing payments or commissions from recordkeepers, mutual fund companies, or insurance providers.