Membership-Based Research Network
[ for top retirement plan recordkeeping, investment only, and retirement advisory firms ]
How We Can Help

[ Recordkeepers ]
- Capitalizing on the 2021 In-Plan Retirement Income Opportunity
- Selling Plans During and After a Pandemic
- Operating in a New World of Virtual Relationship Management
[ Investment Only ]
Our research for DCIOs focuses on sales and product development, examples include:
- Evolving the DCIO Sales Model
- Understanding the Business Impact of CITs
- Organizing Around the Insurance and Sub-advised Opportunity
[ Retirement Advisory Firms ]
- Growing into a True Distribution Powerhouse
- Balancing Integration and Advisor Entrepreneurship
- Using Advice to Bridge the Gap Between Retirement and Wealth
See an overview of our 2025 initiatives.
Latest Publications
The Growth Squeeze: Strategies for Success Amid Industry Transformation
In 2026, the DCIO opportunity remains enormous, but consolidation has narrowed the track—creating fewer gatekeepers, open-shelf positions, and paths to growth—even as more firms compete for them. A strong product is not enough. DCIO firms must anticipate where sales...
2026 Recordkeeper Sales Resources and Incentive Plans: Large Market (More than $50M)
This report includes staffing and team structures as of 2026 summer for 8 large market recordkeeping firms.
2026 DCIO Organizational Profiles
This report includes staffing and team structures as of 2026 summer for 27 DCIO firms.
Recordkeeper Sales Executive Council: Large Market (More than $50M) Q2 2026 Virtual Roundtable
In June 2026, the RLF convened senior sales leaders from large market recordkeepers to discuss the current state of sales activity, as well as to address several key areas of challenges that sales leaders face in 2026. Fourteen executives attended the event. The...




