When 401(k) services are provided by a company that also owns the plan's mutual fund options, many consumers and plan sponsors are concerned about conflicts of interest. Add in the complex nature of mutual fund fees and disclosures and it becomes difficult for sponsors and employees to determine exactly where their investment fees are going. Some plan sponsors are growing wary of providers who have too much riding on the success of their own funds.

According to a Cerulli survey, 85 percent of 401(k) sponsors say that they want their providers to be entirely free of conflicts of interest.¹ That's where Symetra can help. With the totally non-proprietary 401(k) investment platform in Symetra's Retirement Plans, you can resolve your small business clients' concerns regarding 401(k) plan provider conflicts of interest.

Symetra's 401(k) program gives access to a diverse set of mutual funds from several leading investment management firms, such as Fidelity Management & Research, American Funds, The Dreyfus Corporation, and Franklin Templeton Investments. In fact, our mutual fund program features over 80 investment options. We have also partnered with Mesirow Financial, an independent RIA, for fund selection and monitoring services. Mesirow Financial backs their investment monitoring and review services by providing a co-fiduciary guarantee that the investment options satisfy ERISA requirements, helping the plan sponsor fulfill their fiduciary responsibility in selecting a broad array of investment options. Our entire plan design revolves around bringing Fortune 500-style plan benefits to smaller companies.

Small businesses get big retirement options
The market for small business retirement plans is booming. According to estimates by Cerulli Associates, the number of 401(k) plans at employers with less than 100 participants grew by 10% between 2004 and 2006.² Small businesses account for more than 50 percent of the private workforce in the United States,³ and only about half of those employed by small businesses have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

The level of variety that Symetra's 401(k) plans offer is important to many small businesses, who have not always enjoyed the same access to investment options as larger companies. Traditionally, smaller enterprises that could find a 401(k) could usually participate in only a handful of proprietary mutual funds offered exclusively by the carrier.

Symetra provides the variety of mutual fund options that advisors value, as well as access to a self-directed online brokerage account through the industry-exclusive ShareBuilder® tool. This allows participants to invest directly in the stock market by purchasing fractional-shares in individual stocks, Exchange Traded Funds, or other index products through payroll deductions each pay period.

Companies interested in learning more about Symetra 401(k) retirement plans can visit www.symetra.com for additional information. To find out how to begin offering Symetra retirement benefits, please contact the Sales Center at invest@symetra.com or 1-800-706-0700.