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Confidentiality

All information provided by survey participants is held in the strictest confidence. Only you will see your individual information and results. Your performance data is only used in reports on an anonymous basis to be used in the calculation of averages and medians. We do not sell or provide contact names or emails from our databases to third parties.

Benefits of Participating - Free Benchmarking Results

If you participate online, you will obtain immediate free online benchmarking results comparing your plan's return and cost performance relative to other plans. Also, all North American and Australian participants will receive more detailed free results once the database reaches critical mass. More comprehensive peer-relative benchmarking is also available for a fee. Contact us to learn more. In 2006, CEM's database consisted of over $4 trillion in defined benefit assets and over $500 billion in defined contribution assets.

Who can participate?

You must be a fiduciary or plan sponsor of an actual defined benefit plan or defined contribution plan such as a 401(k), 457, or 403(b) plan to participate. The online defined benefit plan survey is available worldwide. The online defined contribution survey is currently only available to U.S.-based plan sponsors. If you are a defined contribution based outside of the U.S. and would still like to participate, please contact us to discuss your options.

How does the online survey process work?

Step 1 –	Log in. If you do not have a username,you can obtain one immediately by selecting Create an account.
Step 2 –	Follow the instructions to complete the online survey. The best way to judge the information and time required is to log in (logging in is quick and simple) and take a look at the survey. As a reference, it takes the typical plan about an hour to complete the DC survey. But if your DC plan has numerous investment options it can take longer. Your data is automatically saved, so you do not have to complete the survey in one sitting.
Step 3 –	Submit your data. Data quality is paramount to CEM. So there will be online data checks to catch common errors. CEM analysts will also review your data.
Step 4 –	Immediately view and print your performance results. These compare your cost and return performance to other plans in our database. A more detailed benchmarking report will follow in the summer.