Pillar 02 · 401(k) & Retirement · led by Michael Hipson
Your Fiduciary Responsibilities. Our Proven Process.
Managing a retirement plan comes with important fiduciary responsibilities—including acting solely in the best interests of plan participants and following a prudent, well-documented decision-making process.
Our proven 401(k) process helps plan sponsors fulfill these responsibilities through:
- A carefully developed Investment Policy Statement
- A knowledgeable and engaged Investment Committee
- An independent 3(21) investment fiduciary
- A comprehensive review of plan investments quarterly and fees at least every two years
- A well-maintained Plan Audit File documenting a manageable and repeatable fiduciary process
Together, these elements create a strong governance framework designed to support better plan oversight, informed decision-making, and ongoing fiduciary compliance.
What our 401(k) work covers
Design, governance, operations and education — the four places plans quietly fail.
Plan design
Match formulas, vesting, eligibility, auto-enrollment and Roth options designed around your workforce and budget — not the recordkeeper's default template.
Fiduciary process
Investment policy statement drafted, an investment committee installed, quarterly minutes kept, and fees compared to the market on a schedule — a "3(21)" co-fiduciary role (we share legal responsibility for the plan, you keep final say) is available.
Sending in contributions
Deferrals calculated, sent in and double-checked every pay period — the step the DOL checks first. Pairs with Compliance Services when you want our team running payroll too.
Participant education
Enrollment meetings on site, in plain language, in English and Spanish where your workforce needs it — because a plan nobody joins protects nobody.
The operating rhythm
Governance is a calendar, not a binder.
A plan document nobody opens is not a process. Every retirement client runs the same annual rhythm, documented in the shared plan record — so when the auditor or the DOL asks, the answer is a file, not a scramble.
"The 401(k) transition was documented start to finish. Our committee finally has minutes worth keeping."
Case record 2025-09 · Energy services · 412 lives
41 bps of participant cost, removed.
No investment policy statement, no minutes, fees never compared to the market in six years. We ran a recordkeeper search, drafted the investment policy statement, installed a quarterly committee — and took 41 basis points of cost out of participants' accounts while we were in there.
Read the case recordsWhen did someone last compare your plan's fees to the market?
If the answer is "not sure," that is the answer. A plan review takes ninety seconds to request and you hear back the same business day.
Retirement-plan and investment enquiries reach Michael at mhipson@aicinvest.com — the address for securities business — or 281.493.6862.
Important disclosures
Michael E. Hipson is a registered representative of Ameritas Investment Company, LLC (AIC), Member FINRA/SIPC, and an investment adviser representative of Ameritas Advisory Services (AAS). Securities and investment advisory services are offered solely through AIC and AAS. AIC and AAS are not affiliated with Hipson Investments LLC. Representatives may only conduct business with residents of the states for which they are properly registered; not all products and services referenced are available in every state.
Information on this page is educational and general in nature and is not investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, nor an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where it would be unlawful. Plan design, fee and fiduciary outcomes depend on the facts of each plan; past results do not indicate future results. Consult your own tax and legal advisers before acting. Retirement-plan enquiries: mhipson@aicinvest.com. Broker and firm records: FINRA BrokerCheck ↗.