Small plan sponsors are generally satisfied with their 401(k) providers, but most are not happy with the advice they're getting on fiduciary and regulatory matters, says a new survey.

The Briskin Consulting Study of Small-Retirement-Plan Sponsors reveals that plan sponsors are most concerned about fulfilling their fiduciary and regulatory requirements, and that they are not getting the advice they need on these issues from their plan providers.

Other issues, such as passing discrimination tests, meeting enrollment targets and populating plans with top-performing funds are not plan sponsors' top priorities.

Thirty-six percent of plan sponsors surveyed cite the quality of advice they receive from the Department of Labor and other regulatory updates as poor or very poor, while 80% say the quality of advice they receive on fee transparency is poor or very poor.

About a third (32%) report the quality of advice they receive on the plan's investment policy is poor or very poor.

“Plan providers are doing an excellent job of allaying traditional worries about compliance testing and other operational issues,” says Jeffery Briskin, president of Briskin Consulting. “But with two bear markets in the last decade leaving many participants with little to show for their efforts, small-plan sponsors are far more concerned about liabilities than Lipper rankings,” he adds.

And while small plan sponsors may be unhappy with the advice they're getting, most say they're unlikely to switch providers in the next one to three years. Sixty percent of sponsors with over 100 employees are unlikely to switch providers any time soon, while 11% say they haven't even considered it.

Sixteen percent are likely to switch providers within the next one to three years, while 8% are already in the search process. The top issue cited for initiating a new provider search is poor client service, cited by 93% of sponsors with over 100 employees. Sixty-two percent cited poor fiduciary/regulatory guidance and support.

The online survey of 112 retirement plan sponsors in companies ranging from 21 to 197 employees was conducted in February and March of 2010.