Marquette Gets Slew of Business For 401(k) Product With 26 Funds

Twelve of Marquette Trust Co.'s corporate clients have signed on with the bank's retirement investment services business, which was officially unveiled this summer.

The 12 companies are set to enroll their employees in Marquette's 401(k) product, dubbed Performance Plan, on Jan. 1. Offered through Marquette's parent, Minneapolis' Pohlad Financial Group, Performance Plan is designed for companies with 200 to 5,000 employees.

Pohlad is marketing the product through its 29 community banks, including Marquette. The plan is administered through another Pohlad subsidiary, DCA Inc.

"The advantage here is that we're putting together the best of all worlds ... in a bundled, seamless product," said Richard M. Joseph, vice president and director of institutional marketing for Marquette Trust.

Performance Plan is linked to 26 different mutual funds managed by 13 companies, including Putnam Investments, Fidelity Investments, Warburg Pincus Counsellors, Voyageur Asset Management, Stein Roe & Farnham, and OppenheimerFunds Inc.

"The notion of investment choice is becoming very important and the viability of proprietary-only programs is decreasing," said David B. Master, managing director of Optima Group Inc., a Fairfield, Conn., consulting firm.

Mr. Master is impressed with Marquette's product, but he added there are challenges for anyone offering a "split funded" plan. "Can they make money doing it?" he asked. "And it is a late entry nonetheless."