1. Start with the public Form 5500 dataset
Every U.S. retirement plan with 100+ participants files Form 5500 annually with the Department of Labor under ERISA. The full filings — including financial schedules H and C — are public record on EFAST2.
The bulk dataset is downloadable but requires parsing. Most advisors use a tool that has already done the normalization (401kHunter, Judy Diamond, Larkspur, BrightScope, FreeERISA). The underlying records are identical across these tools — what you pay for is the search UX, fee scoring, and decision-maker enrichment on top.
2. Filter aggressively by fee grade
The single biggest filter is fee grade. Compute admin expenses ÷ total assets from Schedule H. Plans paying >1.5% of assets in administrative fees (Grade D in 401kHunter's tiering) are massively overpaying — they're your highest-leverage takeover targets.
- →Grade A: <0.5% — competitively priced, hard to displace
- →Grade B: 0.5–1.0% — average, requires strong differentiator to win
- →Grade C: 1.0–1.5% — meaningful overpay, winnable with a clear pitch
- →Grade D: >1.5% — pitch-ready takeover targets
3. Layer in size, industry, and geography
Once you've filtered for fee grade, narrow to plans you can actually serve:
Plan size (asset and participant count) determines your service model and minimum-fee threshold. A solo advisor handling $50M plans isn't the same as a wirehouse pitching $500M+ enterprises.
Industry (NAICS code) lets you build vertical expertise. A manufacturing 401(k) has different concerns than a tech-startup plan. Sector-aware peer benchmarks (NAICS-prefixed) make your pitch land harder than generic "all plans" comparisons.
Geography matters for in-person follow-up. Filter by state when your service model assumes face-to-face meetings.
4. Look at Schedule C for incumbent relationships
Schedule C discloses every service provider that received $5,000+ in direct or indirect compensation. This tells you who the current recordkeeper, broker, and advisor are — which informs your displacement pitch.
The indirect-comp formula text ("0.45% of average daily balance") is gold: it's the actual rate the plan is paying, in the plan's own filed words. Quote it back during your pitch.
Most data tools surface Schedule C summary data; only a few (401kHunter included) surface the full provider/comp/formula detail.
5. Find the actual decision maker
Form 5500 lists the Plan Administrator and the Sponsor Signer — but neither is necessarily the buying committee. At small plans, it's the owner. At mid-market, it's usually the CFO. At enterprise, it's a benefits committee.
Use a tool with built-in decision-maker enrichment (Apollo-resolved CFO/HR/owner with verified email and direct phone), or layer Apollo on top of your plan database manually. Reaching the wrong contact stalls the pitch by months.
6. Sequence outreach with a quantified opening
A cold email that opens with "I noticed your 401(k) plan is paying 1.8% in admin expenses, which is roughly 3x the median for plans your size in your industry" outperforms a generic "I'd love to chat about your retirement plan" by 5–10x.
The specificity comes directly from the data: pull the plan's expense ratio, peer median, and Schedule C provider list, and reference them in the first two sentences. Personalization at this depth is only practical when your data tool gives you the numbers up front.