Category Archives: Selecting a 403(B) Plan Investment Advisor

The Vista of Insight and the Mark of Excellence: Why We Founded Vistamark Investments

 

We founded Vistamark Investments LLC because we knew that clients and institutions deserve a new standard of partnership. Our careers have given us an insider’s perspective on how much the industry needed to evolve. We saw firsthand how investment firms too often fall back on “off-the-shelf” solutions, ignore experience-driven innovation, and fail to build around what investors and organizations truly need. Vistamark isn’t just an advisor practice—it’s a purpose-built, full-service investment platform that blends world-class research, technology, and bespoke client service.

Our name reflects our philosophy: Vistamark stands for the Vista of Insight and the Mark of Excellence. We’re driven to offer a broad perspective on each client’s financial landscape—paired with relentless standards and an unwavering commitment to best-in-class results. Every relationship, every investment strategy, every partnership is held to our mark of excellence.

The Case for Managed Accounts in Defined Contribution Plans

The potential value that managed account providers bring—including personalized guidance, holistic planning, dynamic rebalancing, and tax-aware portfolio management—has rarely been in question. The primary critique has always been about their added expenses relative to target-date funds, which have offered a reasonable, if highly imperfect, solution at a much lower cost.

However, a combination of intense competition, technological advancements that improve the efficiency of delivery, and other market factors has driven these expenses down meaningfully over time, particularly for the very large plans. As the cost difference between managed accounts and target-date funds has become much more negligible, especially for mega plans, the value proposition for managed accounts has grown meaningfully.

This shift allows mega defined contribution plan sponsors with substantial assets to deliver institutional-quality investment management and financial advice to participants at significantly reduced costs. These large-scale plans—spanning 401(k), 403(b), and 457 platforms—leverage their substantial bargaining power to negotiate managed account fees that reframe the traditional cost-benefit equation for their participants.

The 403(b) Revolution is Coming: What Fiduciaries Must Know About CITs

The retirement landscape for millions of public sector and non-profit employees is on the cusp of a groundbreaking shift. For years, 403(b) plans—the retirement vehicles for teachers, hospital workers, clergy, and many non-profit staff—have operated with a significant disadvantage compared to their 401(k) counterparts. But a recent legislative breakthrough in Washington D.C. is set to change that, potentially unleashing a wave of benefits for participants and new responsibilities for plan fiduciaries.

On May 20, 2025, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee advanced H.R. 1013, aptly named the “Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025.” This isn’t just another piece of legislative jargon; it’s a bill that, if passed, will open the door for 403(b) plans to invest in Collective Investment Trusts (CITs) for the very first time.