Bloomfield Hills, MI Office

Retirement Systems provides discretionary asset management and financial planning primarily to individual clients and also acts as a 3(21) fiduciary to qualified retirement plans. The firm reports approximately $37.5 million in discretionary assets under management and generally charges fees calculated as a percentage of assets.

Portfolios and financial plans are tailored to each client’s goals, time horizon and risk tolerance, with discretionary trading authority to implement investment selection and asset allocation. The firm uses a mix of fundamental, technical and charting analysis, conducts periodic (quarterly) account reviews, and allows clients to impose written investment restrictions that are documented in an investment policy statement.

Distinctive elements in the brochure include that multiple advisors are licensed insurance agents who spend roughly 20–25% of their time on insurance activities and receive commission compensation for insurance products, a conflict the firm discloses and says it manages through procedures and fiduciary oversight. The firm also discloses a limited-scope ERISA 3(21) plan service model that excludes certain asset types (for example, employer securities and non-public partnerships) and notes that it does not vote proxies on client securities.