Beyond 401(k): The Financial Advisor’s Guide to PEO

Quick look: Financial advisors play a critical role in helping small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) grow and protect their assets, but many are now being asked to solve challenges beyond 401(k)s. In ExtensisHR’s on-demand webinar, “Beyond 401(k): The Financial Advisor’s Guide to PEO,” industry experts explore how by partnering with a professional employer organization (PEO), advisors can strengthen client relationships, expand their value proposition, and safeguard their book of business.

An in-depth conversation on the value of PEO

Discover how PEO can grow your book of business, directly from financial advisors.

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Today’s small business owners wear many hats and they often turn to their trusted financial advisors for help navigating them. From health insurance renewals to human resources (HR) headaches, advisors are increasingly being asked: “What should I do about this?”

That question was the core of ExtensisHR’s recent webinar, “Beyond 401(k): The Financial Advisor’s Guide to PEO,” which explored how professional employer organization (PEO) partnerships empower advisors to deliver holistic guidance while driving growth for their clients and their own practices. The event featured insights from various industry experts:

• Paul Sendik, Director of Sales at ExtensisHR
• Elizabeth Fink and Janeane Savino, Sales Managers at ExtensisHR
• Andrew Nairooz, Financial Advisor with A.P. Lubrano & Company/Equitable Advisors
• Joshua Mondschein, Director of Workforce Solutions with RMR Wealth Builders, Inc.

The discussion highlighted a growing reality: SMBs need comprehensive support that spans HR, payroll, compliance, benefits, and employee retention. Advisors who offer or connect clients with these solutions can protect existing relationships and open the door to new revenue streams and deeper trust.

Unfortunately, many financial advisors don’t have the internal resources or partnerships to address these operational challenges directly, leaving a gap that competitors may fill. As Paul Sendik explains, “For you as an advisor, your clients are turning to you, asking you, ‘What should I do here for healthcare costs, for hiring, for compliance? How do I deal with all this?’” And that’s where partnering with a PEO comes in.

What is a PEO?

A professional employer organization (PEO) is a full-service HR partner that helps businesses manage the complex, time-consuming aspects of employment, including:

• Payroll and tax administration
• Employee benefits and healthcare plans
• HR compliance and risk management
• Recruiting and onboarding support
• Employee relations and training

As explained during the webinar, a PEO operates under a co-employment model, meaning it shares certain employer responsibilities and risks with its clients. This structure allows small businesses to access enterprise-level benefits, maintain compliance, and regain valuable time to focus on growth.

According to the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), companies that use a PEO grow 16% faster, experience 12% lower employee turnover, and are 50% less likely to go out of business, compelling statistics for advisors looking to position PEOs as a strategic advantage for their clients.

In the webinar, Janeane Savino elaborated on the value of PEO: “By sharing certain employer responsibilities and risks, the PEO allows companies to simplify their operations and really concentrate on why they’re in business, growing their business, increasing revenue.”

PEO for financial advisors: three key advantages

Partnering with a PEO allows financial advisors to protect, deepen, and grow client relationships. Here’s how:

1. Protect your client base

If your client discovers the benefits of a PEO through another advisor, broker, or vendor, they may begin to question why you didn’t bring it up first. During the webinar, ExtensisHR’s experts emphasized that by proactively introducing PEO solutions, you reinforce your role as a holistic advisor who looks beyond investment plans and understands the full scope of your clients’ business needs.

“PEOs provide value in areas like onboarding, payroll, processing benefits, enrollment administration, eligibility management, COBRA administration, leave processing, unemployment administration, employee discipline, and more,” said Joshua Mondschein. “These reasons take time away from the ability of a human resource professional to help grow, build, and develop an organization.”

2. Deepen relationships

Offering PEO solutions means you’re no longer just their 401(k) or retirement advisor, you’re a trusted business partner helping them tackle HR, compliance, and workforce management challenges.

Andrew Nairooz elaborated on this point in the webinar: “PEO really helps strengthen relationships and build recurring revenue. It helps me deliver more value without being stuck shopping plans every year. And you don’t need to be an expert on benefits, payroll, and compliance; the PEO really gives you the ability to save time, create stickier relationships, and opens the door for deeper planning with clients.”

3. Grow your business

Many PEOs, including ExtensisHR, are advisor-friendly, meaning you can maintain commissions on retirement plans and gain new lines of revenue. This creates a win-win partnership that supports both your business growth and your clients’ success.

PEO: fact or fiction?

One of the most engaging segments of the webinar was a rapid-fire session addressing common misconceptions about PEO. Here are some key takeaways that reinforce that the right PEO can act as an extension of a financial advisor’s practice, rather than a competitor:

PEOs take over your client’s business: Fiction

PEOs don’t control day-to-day operations or hiring decisions. Co-employment simply means shared administrative workload to ensure compliance and reduce employer risk.

Elizabeth Fink explains the advantage of PEOs and clients sharing risk-related responsibilities: “We have a vested interest in making sure your clients have all their I’s dotted, all their T’s crossed.” 

You could lose your 401(k) clients if they join a PEO: Fiction (or fact)

Some PEOs use multiple employer plans (MEPs), which may limit advisor involvement. However, advisor-friendly PEOs like ExtensisHR offer flexible options, such as pooled employer plans (PEPs) and 360 integration, so that advisors can retain control and compensation.

PEOs eliminate advisor commissions: Fiction

Many PEOs maintain your existing fee structure. However, with ExtensisHR, advisors can continue earning commissions while offering clients additional value.

PEOs are only for large companies: Fiction

The majority of U.S. businesses have fewer than 100 employees, precisely the group that benefits most from PEO support.

PEOs weaken client-advisor relationships: Fiction

A PEO partnership actually strengthens these connections by enabling advisors to offer more comprehensive solutions that go beyond traditional financial planning.

Pitching PEO: how to start the conversation with clients

Introducing a PEO doesn’t require becoming an HR expert. As outlined during the webinar, advisors can start with three simple steps:

1. Gather information: Ask about your clients’ current benefits setup, pain points, and employee count.
2. Identify value gaps: Determine whether a PEO could provide better cost control, compliance support, or efficiency.
3. Leverage your PEO partner: Advisors can send client details and let the ExtensisHR team handle the analysis and proposal. This empowers advisors to stay in control while offering a comprehensive solution.

Why partner with ExtensisHR?

When you work with ExtensisHR, you gain more than a PEO, you gain a trusted extension of your advisory practice. Here’s how:

• You stay in control: Your clients remain yours for the lifetime of the relationship.
• You grow your revenue: Continue earning commissions while adding new revenue streams through expanded benefits and HR offerings.
• You reduce risk: Our pooled employer plan (PEP) and 360 integration options allow advisors to maintain involvement, minimize fiduciary exposure, and simplify plan administration.
• You add true value: Through access to competitive benefits rates and our complimentary recruiting solution, you help SMBs make the most of their budgets and stay poised for growth.
• You enhance client satisfaction: We maintain a 93% client retention rate and deliver boutique-level service through three layers of support: a dedicated Account Manager, HR Business Partner, and Payroll Specialist. Plus, our Employee Solution Center answers worksite employees’ calls in under 15 seconds and resolves 95% of cases the same day.
• You gain confidence in your partnership: We’re among the 1% of PEOs that boast a trifecta of accreditations: IRS Certified PEO (CPEO), Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC), and Certification Institute (CI) for workers’ compensation and risk management.

Financial advisors are evolving into holistic business partners. By understanding and leveraging the power of PEOs, you can better protect your clients, deepen your relationships, and grow your practice. And with ExtensisHR as your partner, you’ll be equipped to offer enterprise-level HR solutions with a boutique-level attention to detail, without sacrificing control or commissions.

Ready to expand your value proposition? Watch our full webinar on demand or contact us today to discover how ExtensisHR’s PEO solution can help you and your clients thrive.