Orlando-based CPA firm Berman Hopkins Wright and LaHam CPAs has partnered with Direct Retirement Solutions to establish Berman Hopkins Retirement Solutions LLC, a retirement planning, consulting and advisory services company for businesses throughout the Southeast.
BHRS will provide business clients with a single point of service to handle all aspects of their employees’ retirement planning needs. The firm said business clients will be able to offer their employees a retirement program free from conflicts of interest with comprehensive fee disclosures.
BHRS noted that it complies with the fiduciary standards of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which legally puts them on the same side of the table as their clients. As plan fiduciaries, BHRS will have a duty to act prudently and in the best interest of retirement plan participants.
“At times, we have seen retirement plan providers put their interest before our clients’ by offering substandard investment options, inappropriate plan design, excessive and/or hidden fees, and little or no investment advice which does not provide the adequate level of service to plan participants,” said BHRS managing member Michael Durante in a statement. “The industry is embarking on significant changes as the U.S. Department of Labor has recently passed new fee disclosure regulations which will put all retirement plan providers on a level playing field. We believe our business model is the wave of the future and will result in significant benefits for both the plan sponsor and the participants.”
