Overall, advisors received high grades from their Small Plan Sponsors. One in three received an “A” grade and none received a grade of “F”.

Employers with more than 25 employees tended to be harder graders than those with fewer employees. While over 83% of those with 25 or fewer employees gave their advisor a grade of “A” or “B”, only 69% of those with more employees gave their advisor such a high marks.

While not as pronounced, this trend is also evident in terms of plan assets, with companies having fewer assets in their plan, handing out the most generous grades. One explanation for this is that as plans get larger and more complex, so does the opportunity for advisor service failures, resulting in a lower appraisal of their performance.

In addition as plans increase in size, companies are more likely to hire employee benefits experts to be involved with daily issues. These individuals may have greater sophistication and higher expectations.

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