Individual Participant Record Keeping

Spectrum maintains individual records of account for every plan participant, by contribution source, investment fund and individually directed investment. This includes maintenance of participant elections and changes, execution of participant directions, where applicable, and reconciliation of investment transactions.

Spectrum offers five options with respect to record keeping.

Annual 'balance-forward' record keeping, applicable to plans for which assets are valued and reported on an annual basis.
Annual 'balance-forward' record keeping, applicable to plans that allow some or all participants to direct the investment of their accounts, independently, through individual brokerage accounts with a regulated investment services organization of their choosing.
'Alliance' record keeping, where Spectrum provides all standard and additional administration services but participant records are maintained by a fund management organization. These include mutual fund management companies, investment custodians and insurance companies. Under these arrangements, all participant accounts are updated every day, in order to reflect investment gains and losses or participant initiated investment transactions.
Personal Choice record keeping, where participants have access to their individual accounts and may choose from among a very broad array of investments made available through an arrangement with Charles Schwab & Company, one of the largest institutional trust and investment organizations.
Total Access record keeping, where Spectrum maintains individual participant records updated on a daily basis to reflect investment gains and losses or participant initiated investment transactions. Spectrum also provides all standard and additional administration services under this alternative.

Each of the above record keeping alternatives has certain advantages and disadvantages, depending on client objectives, numbers of participants and selected investment approaches.

Annual 'balance-forward' record keeping is most appropriate for plans with very few participants or those with financially, relatively unsophisticated participants. This alternative may also be appropriate where the employer makes all plan contributions.
Alliance record keeping is most appropriate for newer plans or those with modest total assets, wanting participant access to daily valued accounts. Costs of Alliance arrangements can vary considerably and tend to become uneconomical for larger plans and those with substantial assets.
Personal Choice record keeping is most appropriate for plans with participants who have substantial assets and would qualify, individually, as 'sophisticated' investors.

Additional features of the Personal Choice service include:

each participant has his/her own unique Schwab self-directed brokerage account;
participants have online access to their Schwab PCRA Brokerage Account through the Schwab.com website;
participants have toll-free telephone access to automated account information and/or customer service assistance;
participants have access to all of Schwab's investment research and analysis tools, including local Schwab branch office representatives;
participants can engage a Schwab affiliated Registered Investment Advisor and/or broker to manage their Schwab brokerage account;
plan Trustees have the option of limiting participant investment options or allowing participants to access the full range of investement choices available through Schwab;
plan sponsors can elect to offer a list of Trustee approved mutual funds for participants to have Automatic Investment Trades placed on all incoming deposits;
plan sponsors can receive SchwabOne checks for their Plan-Level Master account allowing for no-fee distribution and withdrawl processing;
pay period data to Spectrum and deposit of participant and/or employer contributions into a PCRA Plan-Level Master Account;
downloading contributions from the Plan-Level Master Account to each participant's individual account, in accordance with participant investment directions.
Plan sponsors can have access to the Spectrum Plan Sponsor Web®, where Plan Sponsors can access macro-level plan information and securely transmit payroll deduction, employer contribution and/or census data to Spectrum electronically.

Total Access record keeping is the most cost-effective alternative for plans with substantial assets and relatively greater participant numbers. It is also the alternative that offers the most comprehensive total service for clients and their participants.
Additional features of the Total Access service include:

custodial, trust, and cashiering services;
toll-free telephone number with voice response system to access participant account data;
Spectrum Participant Web®, a website where Plan Participants can view account summaries, access on-demand reports and forms, view individual investment returns, view accounts and initiate new investment directions;
Spectrum Plan Sponsor Web®, a website where Plan Sponsors can access macro-level plan information, view electronic versions of reports, and securely transmit payroll or census data to Spectrum, electronically;
execution and settlement of investment transactions initiated by plan authorized plan representatives; and
on-line transmittal of payroll deduction transactions and employer contributions.