A few years back, a good friend of mine who is an ERISA §3(38) fiduciary won a case from a disgruntled broker who claimed that all 3(38) services was just marketing. A 3(38) fiduciary that does a competent job and assumes discretionary control over the plan’s fiduciary process is more than marketing. But it’s a gimmick.

Hear me out, every service and every feature that a plan provider advertises is a gimmick. Now, there is nothing wrong with being a gimmick as long as there is some substance behind that service or feature. A gimmick is a special feature that makes something “stand out” from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. If you offer a service or feature that other plan providers don’t offer, just make sure the gimmick is something that plan sponsors could use. A fiduciary warranty that offers a plan sponsor absolutely zero protection is a gimmick with a feature that has no use. A good ERISA fiduciary offering substantive §3(16) or 3(38) services are offering a gimmick with a feature that plan sponsors could actually use.

My flat fee approach to billing my clients is a gimmick, but it’s substantive because my clients have cost certainty rather than the billable hour approach that never seems to have any cap or limit.

The point is that any feature or service that you will use will allow you to stand out among the crowd, just make sure that the gimmick has some substance, so your client doesn’t ask like Clara Peller in those Wendy commercial as to “where’s the beef?”