BUSINESSES

Corporate Retirement Plans

We offer two Service Models

Participant-directed Plans (described under the 401(k) link)
Pooled Investment Plans—Trustees direct the investment of funds on behalf of participants

Pooled Investment Accounts are managed as a single entity, and are used in defined benefit and money purchase pension plans. The Plan's Investment Policy Statement, which we create, reflects the preferences of the trustees in light of expected cash flow, benefit payments, as well as the age and financial planning considerations of the participants.

We act as either a consultant or investment manager. We accept investment fiduciary liability. Our process is described below.

Trustee Responsibilities

Most people who become trustees of retirement plans have very little knowledge or experience in managing money, yet as a trustee they become responsible for other people's retirement investments. Under the law, Trustees are investment fiduciaries. ERISA Section 409(A) states: Any Investment Fiduciary who breaches any of the responsibilities, obligations or duties imposed by ERISA shall be personally liable for investment losses.

Investment fiduciaries can approach their ERISA responsibilities in one of two ways:

Follow a prudent, documented procedure. This requires expert investment knowledge and the tools, skills, experience, and performance history to justify the management of the plan. In the absence of professional credentials, trustees may:
Contract with a Registered Investment Advisor who acknowledges accepting responsibility in writing, citing ERISA Sec 3(38). Trustees must select the advisor using a prudent process.

Tisch Investment Advisory Incorporated accepts investment fiduciary liability by contract, citing ERISA Sec. 3(38), as required.

Our Process

Every employee benefit plan shall provide a procedure for establishing and carrying out a funding policy in a method consistent with the objectives of the plan and the requirements of this subchapter. (ERISA Sec. 401(B)(1)).

As your investment advisor, the first thing we will do is establish an investment policy for meeting the objectives of the plan. This is called an Investment Policy Statement (IPS). This is your assurance that we will be managing your plan within the parameters approved by you as a Trustee. The IPS is a written document that is the foundation for both investment management and trustee oversight functions. An IPS should:

Describe the retirement plan in general terms
Forecast expected contributions and investment income
Provide a schedule of expected benefit payments, loans, and fees
State the rate of return objective of the plan
Establish the normal portfolio allocation
Set risk parameters
Set the performance benchmark
Acknowledge an acceptable range of costs
Provide a list of assets to be excluded from investment consideration
List acceptable investment classes
Provide the names and addresses of service providers including the custodian, attorney, investment consultant, and other vendors to the plan
Provide a schedule and form for manager reporting
Set forth a method of amending the IPS

Managing Plan Assets: We provide you with the performance history of our template portfolios, which we use as a basis for managing your plan. We describe in detail our screening process for selecting third-party managers or for choosing stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. In developing a strategic portfolio for your plan, we use a statistical modeling technique known as Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS). MCS will calculate the probability that our strategic asset allocation plan will meet the objectives of your retirement plans.

Selecting Investments: We manage portfolios of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and separately contracted accounts (portfolios managed by third-party managers). In some situations, we manage the portfolio directly; in others, we act as a consultant and evaluate other managers that are retained for specific segments of the portfolio.

Your retirement plan is monitored continuously by us to be certain that it is meeting the objectives of your IPS:

Monitor manager performance and staff continuity
Rebalance portfolio to meet IPS guidelines
Monitor quality and concentration of underlying securities
Implement tactical changes as necessary
Conduct attribution tests

We change managers when necessary and we rebalance your portfolio in accordance with your IPS.

Trustees receive a monthly statement from the custodian listing the assets held in your account and the transactions during the month. Trustees also receive a quarterly report from us, which calculates the rate of return earned during the quarter and compared to the benchmark called for in the IPS. Our report provides a statement of the investment changes that we have made and our overview of the market. We would like to review your account with Trustees at least annually.

Custody of Assets: We are not an asset custodian. Assets are held by a third-party custodian, such as a broker-dealer, insurance company, or trust.

Enrolling Your Plan

We will meet with your plan participants to explain your plan, discuss the investment offerings, if applicable, help employees complete the enrollment and beneficiary forms, and assist them in finding answers to financial planning and investment questions.

Continuing Educational Services

We are happy to meet at your facility as often as you request, but we hope that you will invite us at least twice a year. We conduct group meetings or meet with participants individually. Each presentation is customized to reflect your company's plan specifications and unique characteristics. Materials include:

Investment and retirement planning workbook
Financial planning software
Prospectuses (if applicable)
Newsletter
Website instruction

Website

Our Website, etisch.com, provides a wealth of information for your plan participants.

A Single Point of Service

We are the single point of service for your plan. Our professionals handle all the administrative and investment aspects of your plan, and coordinate the activities of the plan administrator and custodian.

Thank you for reviewing our Website. If you would like more information, please contact us. We would be happy to provide you with a personal proposal.