Retirement Services Advisor - Midwest Region

MRISpokane; Minneapolis (MN); Remote; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Financial Institution seeks a Retirement Plan Advisor to lead client relationships and drive business development across the Upper Midwest. The role focuses on employers sponsoring defined-contribution plans, offering fiduciary guidance, investment evaluation, and provider benchmarking.

The ideal candidate has deep retirement-plan knowledge and can translate complex topics for CFOs and HR leaders. Remote/flexible within the territory with strong cross-team collaboration is encouraged.

Qualifications

• 5–10+ years of financial-services or retirement-industry experience.
• Meaningful experience with 401(k), defined-contribution or qualified retirement plans.
• Strong understanding of ERISA and plan sponsor fiduciary responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted retirement-plan advisor to corporate plan sponsors.
• Manage and deepen an assigned portfolio of client relationships.
• Conduct regular plan, investment and fiduciary reviews.
• Advise retirement committees, HR leaders, finance executives and other plan fiduciaries.
• Evaluate investment lineups, managers, performance and strategy.
• Partner with investment and research teams to communicate market and investment recommendations.
• Help clients evaluate and select recordkeepers, administrators and other retirement-plan providers.
• Benchmark and negotiate provider fees and services.
• Educate clients regarding ERISA, regulatory developments and retirement-plan best practices.
• Develop participant education and financial-wellness strategies.
• Deliver or facilitate participant education when appropriate.
• Build trusted relationships with internal commercial partners.
• Convert internal referrals and external networking into new plan-sponsor relationships.
• Develop a sustainable pipeline of retirement advisory opportunities.
• Achieve annual new-business and revenue objectives.
• Maintain accurate opportunity and client information within CRM systems.

Skills

Relationship management

Business development

Retirement-plan expertise

Communication

Strategic advisory

Education

CFP designation

CFA designation

QPFC designation

CIMA designation

Tools

CRM software

Investment research tools

Job description

Retirement Plan Advisor

Location: Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN or Milwaukee/Madison, WI preferred
Territory: Upper Midwest, primarily Minnesota, Wisconsin and surrounding markets
Work Arrangement: Remote/flexible within the territory with regular client and internal relationship engagement

Opportunity Overview

A well-established financial institution is expanding its dedicated retirement plan advisory practice and is seeking an experienced retirement professional to lead client relationships and business development across a high-potential Upper Midwest territory.

This is not a traditional wealth advisor position and is not a recordkeeping or plan administration role.

The team works directly with employers that sponsor 401(k) and other defined-contribution retirement plans, helping plan sponsors fulfill fiduciary responsibilities, evaluate investments and service providers, benchmark fees, improve participant outcomes, and operate stronger retirement programs.

The ideal candidate combines deep retirement-plan knowledge with the ability to translate complex issues into clear, credible advice for corporate decision-makers.

What Makes This Opportunity Different

• Dedicated retirement-plan advisory platform
• Consultative rather than product-driven approach
• Access to an established base of commercial relationships
• Warm introductions to corporate decision-makers through internal partners
• Significant untapped territory and growth opportunity
• Strong investment, research, operations and sales support
• Ability to advise clients across investments, fiduciary governance, provider selection and participant education
• Broader financial-wellness resources available to corporate clients
• Small, experienced and growing specialist team
• Competitive incentive opportunity and potential long-term equity-based compensation

For retirement professionals accustomed to generating every opportunity through cold prospecting, the platform offers a meaningful advantage: access to established corporate relationships where trusted internal partners can facilitate introductions.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted retirement-plan advisor to corporate plan sponsors
• Manage and deepen an assigned portfolio of client relationships
• Conduct regular plan, investment and fiduciary reviews
• Advise retirement committees, HR leaders, finance executives and other plan fiduciaries
• Evaluate investment lineups, managers, performance and strategy
• Partner with investment and research teams to communicate market and investment recommendations
• Help clients evaluate and select recordkeepers, administrators and other retirement-plan providers
• Benchmark and negotiate provider fees and services
• Educate clients regarding ERISA, regulatory developments and retirement-plan best practices
• Develop participant education and financial-wellness strategies
• Deliver or facilitate participant education when appropriate
• Build trusted relationships with internal commercial partners
• Convert internal referrals and external networking into new plan-sponsor relationships
• Develop a sustainable pipeline of retirement advisory opportunities
• Achieve annual new-business and revenue objectives
• Maintain accurate opportunity and client information within CRM systems

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Approximately 5–10+ years of financial-services or retirement-industry experience
• Meaningful experience with 401(k), defined-contribution or qualified retirement plans
• Strong understanding of ERISA and plan sponsor fiduciary responsibilities
• Knowledge of recordkeeping, plan administration and the broader retirement-plan ecosystem
• Understanding of plan design, compliance and industry standards
• Knowledge of financial markets, asset allocation and investment products
• Experience working directly with plan sponsors strongly preferred
• Ability to communicate complex retirement concepts clearly to senior decision-makers
• Strong consultative and relationship-management skills
• Commercial aptitude and willingness to develop new business
• Ability to build trust with internal referral partners
• Strong written, verbal, organizational and problem-solving skills
• CFP, CFA, CIMA, QPFC or comparable professional designation is valued

Candidates may come from retirement advisory firms, recordkeepers, institutional consulting organizations, third-party administrators, employee-benefits organizations, banks or other retirement-focused environments.

A traditional sales background is not required if the candidate brings exceptional retirement-plan expertise, executive presence and the ability to develop client relationships.

Preferred Business Characteristics

This role does not require an existing book of business.

Candidates with established plan-sponsor relationships, referral networks or potentially transferable business may receive additional consideration. The primary requirement is the ability to develop new relationships by combining retirement-plan expertise with an established internal referral ecosystem.

Success is expected to include both excellent stewardship of existing relationships and consistent development of new advisory revenue.

Not a Fit If You

• Primarily advise individual wealth-management clients with limited retirement-plan experience
• Have little working knowledge of ERISA or defined-contribution plans
• Prefer transactional or product-driven sales
• Want a role with no business-development expectations
• Are uncomfortable presenting to CFOs, HR executives, benefits leaders or retirement committees
• Struggle to translate technical retirement concepts into clear client recommendations
• Prefer working independently rather than collaborating with internal relationship partners
• Are unwilling to become the retirement-plan subject matter expert for your territory

Compensation

Competitive base compensation is expected to fall broadly in the $140,000–$200,000+ range, depending on experience, geography, credentials and relevant relationships.

The role also includes meaningful performance-based incentive opportunity tied to client and new-business results.

Qualified candidates may also be eligible for long-term equity-based compensation.

There may be additional flexibility for an experienced candidate who brings highly relevant relationships or identifiable revenue opportunities.

Professional development and credential support may also be available.