PearlStreet utilizes our decades of accumulated experience with various retirement plan record-keepers when conducting in-depth oversight and management of our clients’ recordkeeper searches.  

We work collaboratively with record-keepers to support our clients' interests, which increases our negotiating weight, helps our clients obtain the top provider relationship managers, helps us gain access to provider senior management, and gains us early knowledge of new solutions to benefit our retirement plan clients and their employees. PearlStreet’s management of a request for proposal (RFP) project begins with our 15-point provider “evaluation matrix.”  This customized matrix is established via valuable input from retirement plan committee members about their retirement plan’s hierarchy of priorities and needs, as well as customized plan benchmarking criteria provided by PearlStreet.  Evaluation criteria of prospective service providers includes, but is not limited to:

•   Organization and History
•   Investment Management and Flexibility
•   Trustee and Custodial Services
•   Client Service/Quality Assurance/Due Diligence
•   Regulatory and Consulting Services
•   Reporting Capabilities
•   Recordkeeping Systems Capabilities
•   Revenue Sharing, Fee Transparency, and Expenses
•   Web Functionality and Participant Access
•   Participant Communication and Education
•   Industry-Related Experience

Utilizing this preliminary evaluation process, PearlStreet will identify a reasonable list of service provider candidates that would meet our clients’ hierarchy of needs and specific goals.  PearlStreet then formulates and delivers to the recordkeeper candidates a customized RFP prepared by PearlStreet containing relevant questions tailored specifically to the needs of clients’ 401(k) plans.  Providers are then scored by PearlStreet based upon written replies, interviews, and positioning within the established hierarchy of needs.

PearlStreet will provide clients with a comprehensive comparative analysis of the finalists, including qualitative and quantitative factors, summarizing any competitive advantages or distinguishing factors.  Working independently, on behalf of our clients, PearlStreet takes on as many facets of a RFP project as possible.  In turn, our final analysis of the candidates provides valuable, real-life candidate comparisons, so that our clients can determine the service provider(s) that will provide the most value and be the best fit.