^{1 Awarded to financial advisors advising at least $75 million in defined contribution (DC) plan assets where DC plans represent at least 20% of total AUM.  Graded on several criteria, including growth in DC plans and assets, plan participation rates, experience and industry certifications, and compliance record.}

^{2 Finalists for this award were judged based on the following criteria: They have a majority of business revenue derived from employer-sponsored retirement plans; serve as a fiduciary; are committed to fee-based compensation; and use outcome-based metrics of plan success with clients.}

^{3 Selected based solely on defined contribution (DC) plan assets under advisement as reported directly by nominees.}

^{4 Based on reader votes, input from distributors and statistics about advisor practice gathered directly from nominees.}

^{5 Nominees for Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisers are nominated by industry professionals and selected based on quantitative evaluation of service levels and feedback from plan sponsor clients.  Advisors who have attained the PLANSPONSOR Retirement Professional Designation receive an automatic nomination.}

^{6 2015 Financial Times Top 401 Retirement Plan Advisors minimum criteria: financial advisors managing at least $25 million in defined contribution (DC) plan assets and for whom DC plans represent at least 20% of total AUM. Selected based on eight broad factors, including DC plan AUM, DC specialization, growth in DC plan assets and number of plans, average participation rate in advised plans, years of experience, industry certifications, and compliance record.}