Callan's 2025 Defined Contribution Trends Survey Shows Continued Focus on Fees, Fund/Manager Due Diligence, and Investment Structure Evaluation
SAN FRANCISCO, May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Callan, a leading institutional investment consulting firm, announced today the results of its 2025 Defined Contribution (DC) Trends Survey. Now in its 18th year, the survey covers the key tenets of DC plan management, such as governance, investments, fees, and plan design. The survey paints a detailed picture of the challenges and opportunities that are important to DC plan sponsors.
"Not only does the survey provide a benchmark for sponsors to evaluate their plans compared to peers, but it also gives them the information they need to improve their plans and outcomes for participants," said Patrick Wisdom, a vice president and DC consultant at Callan. "This year's survey demonstrates the persistence of trends, such as sponsors' focus on effective governance and fees while they examine their appetite for private markets investments and guaranteed income."
Key Takeaways:
- Top areas of focus for DC plan sponsors in 2024 included investment management fees, fund/manager due diligence, and investment structure evaluation.
- Reviewing the investment policy statement was the most prevalent fiduciary action taken (86%), which was consistent with 2023. Completing formal fiduciary training came in second (73%), representing a sizable increase from 2023 (53%).
- Half of respondents offered a mirrored active/passive investment lineup in 2024, an all-time high. A mirrored lineup is when virtually all core asset classes are represented by both active and passive options.
- Most plans offered some sort of retirement income solution to employees in 2024. Partial distributions (75%) and installment payments (63%) continued to be the most common. Adoption of solutions with a guaranteed income component was low to date.
- More than half of respondents (57%) offered managed account services, and 74% said they monitor or benchmark these services.
- 84% sought to retain assets of retirees, and 54% sought to retain assets of terminated participants.
- Of the nearly 100 provisions in the SECURE 2.0 Act passed in 2022, the most commonly implemented provision was increased catch-up contributions for participants aged 60 to 63.
Conducted online in late 2024, the survey incorporates responses from 89 DC plan sponsors, including both Callan clients and other organizations. Respondents spanned a range of industries, the top being financial services and government.
Find the summary blog post and survey here.
About Callan
Callan was founded as an employee-owned investment consulting firm in 1973. Ever since, we have empowered institutional clients with creative, customized investment solutions backed by proprietary research, exclusive data, and ongoing education. Today, Callan advises clients with more than $3 trillion in total assets, which makes it among the largest independently owned investment consulting firms in the U.S. Callan uses a client-focused consulting model to serve pension and defined contribution plan sponsors, endowments, foundations, independent investment advisers, investment managers, and other asset owners. Callan has six offices throughout the U.S. Learn more at callan.com.
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SOURCE Callan LLC