FAQ
Your future is only as good as you make it.
CDG has worked exclusively with California dentists for more than 48 years. We understand the investment needs of dental practices. Members of the CDG Board are dentists themselves, and investors in our Guild.
Given our “one team, focused agenda” approach, we are uniquely qualified to build a financial investment team to help you build a future that works for you.
There are, of course, standard fees associated with retirement investments. And we are proud to say that we are completely transparent and have no hidden fees. The independent structure we built with our financial partners creates efficiencies, and some of the lowest fees in the industry.
Our Retirement Program Specialists will walk you through the fee structure. There will be no surprises.
Recent federal laws were enacted requiring investment companies to be more transparent in fee disclosures and any additional charges. This has had no impact on CDG, as we have been completely transparent since we built the Guild in 1966.
There is no charge to establish a plan with CDG and we provide annual testing, Form 5500 filing, EGTRA updates, and many other services as part of our platform, at no additional cost.
There is a $5k minimum to establish your plan. But this money is yours, goes directly into your account, and begins working for you right away.
Institutional investments are a type, or class, of investment.
We negotiated with our financial service providers to “pool” each of our dentist’s assets and use our $100 million collective investment portfolio to access an institutional level of mutual funds at the lowest expense.
As a member, you will be able to participate in this institutional class with your first dollar. Most fund families require significant balances before giving you access to this class of funds at a lower expense.
SEPs require that all employees are eligible to participate after 3 years. An employee is defined as someone at least 21 years old who has “performed services for you” in 3 years over the last five (including part time or seasonal employees).
A SEP could be an expensive plan, as you must contribute the same percentage for your employees that you defer for yourself.
A 401(k) employer contribution will “max out” at 4% of the employee’s compensation. The eligibility is 1 year and 1000 hours. The 401(K) option allows for employee deferrals from their own salary.
In a SEP, contributions become the property of the employee immediately, so it’s not possible to create a vesting schedule as an incentive for employees to stay, and workers can’t make their own contributions to the plan.
The Guild offers a variety of plans, from Qualified Plans to IRA’s. Qualified Plans consist of 401(k), Profit Sharing Plans, and Custom Designed & Tested Plans. We also offer Individual Retirement Plans (IRA).
Each of these plans is constructed with different requirements and objectives. Your Retirement Program Specialist will discuss this with you in detail.
Yes, the Guild does assist with the filing of this form. Typically the fee for filing this form may range from $500-$1,500 each year.
The Guild includes this in our platform at no additional cost.
