BrightScope Offers 401(k) Comparison Tool for Sponsors, Advisors

BrightScope, a provider of web-based 401(k) software, has created a Plan Management Dashboard that rates plans for sponsors and advisors and how the scores compare to similar plans.

BrightScope’s ratings, based on 200 data measures per plan, give users a detailed look into the underlying data and calculations. The company obtains the data either from plan sponsors directly or from filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Labor.

“More than 60 million Americans may not be able to retire as early as they thought because they underestimated how much they needed to invest in their 401(k), didn’t understand the risks they were taking, paid more fees than they thought or otherwise got lost in the complexity of the system,” said Mike Alfred, chief executive officer of BrightScope.

To date, BrightScope has rated 4,000 plans with $1.2 trillion in assets and has a goal of rating more than 30,000 plans by the end of this year.