Established 2005
Social(k) has been bringing Environmental, Social and Governance (i.e. ESG) screened investment options to retirement plans for more than a decade. Our mission has never changed — to provide people the option to invest their money in conscionable companies which prioritize social and environmental responsibility alongside continued profit growth. In the past decade, we’ve invested over $150,000,000 on behalf of 7500 people working for over 300 organizations. Clients include many of the organizations we belong to – B Corp, US SIF, Green America, 1%FTP, and RSF Social Finance.
Structuring retirement plans can be extremely confusing. Think of Social(k) as a guide for mission-driven businesses looking to understand this aspect of their organization. We work alongside your HR or finance team to explain retirement plan options and help them to design one which is tailor-fit to your company or organization. Some companies and organizational advisors may not understand both ERISA Law and ESG investing, and we can assist there as well. We offer clear answers on pricing, and access to sustainable, responsible investments not readily available from other providers. Social(k) continually screens additional ESG-aligned investment options, making these available within each of our plans.
In the past few years, we’ve continued to expand our palette of options in order to better serve our clients:
- We’ve moved to 3 record keepers, and 4 TPAs, to accommodate plans of different sizes and complexity.
- We’ve broadened our range of account types to now include Solo(k), IRA, SIMPLE IRA and SEP, 401(k) 403(b), 457, Cash Balance, Profit Share, and Safe Harbor.
- We now offer additional services which better-cater to larger-scale plans and allow more streamlined full integration with a wide range of HR benefit suites.
- Active401(k) offers specific asset allocation advice utilizing the funds in your plan based on a personal risk profile.
- 3(38) fiduciary services. QBOX Fiduciary manages Social(k) First ESG Target Date Portfolios, a Fossil Free Portfolio, and a full 401(k) line-up.
- 3(16) fiduciary oversight with RPG Consultants. RPG takes full fiscal responsibility for the plan including employee communication, education and signing the 5500.
- Social HSA Health Savings Accounts. First to offer ESG investments with institutional pricing for the first dollar invested. Individual and corporate accounts. Health Savings Administrators is our HSA Trustee and Recordkeeper.
Investments options have expanded beyond mutual funds, adding ESG exchange-traded funds, bringing lower investment costs. Social(k) licenses QBOX Fiduciary Services to operate First ESG Target Date Portfolios and a Fossil Free one as well. We offer Net Fee Pricing, rebating any 12b-1 or recordkeeping fees back to participant accounts.
Mutual funds are institutional class when available. Social(k) Portfolios are seen here, ESG Portfolios.
Social(k) charges $250 per plan and $10 per participant account, annually. Social(k) brings ESG options at institutional pricing, to employers in a low-cost platform, along with 1-on-1 assistance to best understand account options and pricing. It’s Social(k)’s belief that investments which support a responsible and sustainable way of doing business send a positive message to employees, bringing better participation in the plan. Our institutional pricing on all sized plans permits investment fees which are so low that most Social(k) fees are usually offset by savings to participants. Additionally, we offer discounted annual fees for participant levels reaching 75 or more members.
Building a better, more sustainable 401(k) has always been Social(k)’s goal. We continue to add value to any company plan with broader choices for Recordkeeper, TPA or Custodian, and support services. Finally, with a group of plans united under the Social(k) brand, we are a strong buyer in the market. Social(k) has been a leader in aggregating ESG options in retirement plans, however, our far newer aggregated buying power allows all plans to benefit. Should you have an issue with a plan, we continually advocate on your behalf. When we moved close to 200 plans from ExpertPlan to one of our new record keepers, each plan was asked to pay $1250 fee to move. We negotiated that fee to $250, saving each client $1000, a total of almost $200,000 for Social(k) clients. The annual fee you pay to Social(k) drops as your headcount increases, plus it allows us to continue bringing service improvements and pricing concessions to this group of clients.
Julie Gorte post explaining how Pax World is changing corporate behavior through shareholder advocacy.
Social(k) is a Founding member of B Corporation, 1% For The Planet and Slow Money. We are a Green America Certified Business, supporter of the Social Venture Network Community, a member of the American Sustainable Business Council the US Social Investment Forum, Founding member Common Good Capitalism Movement and an advocate for responsible and sustainable businesses and organizations.