Before you respond to this headline "Do you really want to be a 401(k) consultant?" answer these questions: Would you mind standing on a milk carton in the middle of a field at 6 a.m. explaining to the assembled farm workers what a target date fund is? Would you be prepared to answer 175 questions in writing about your resources and processes? Are you OK with being personally liable to make good on any losses to the 401(k) plan? Finally, are you willing to do these things for 25 basis points of the plan assets?

These are just a few examples of the responsibilities and rewards of the best 401(k) consultants in the country. However, it should be noted that there are probably only a few hundred of these best-in-class financial advisors. The reality is that the average 401(k) advisor serves the plan sponsor much like one would serve his or her individual clients. Indeed most 401(k) advisors are chosen because they are already a plan sponsor's trusted individual advisor.

If you are one of these "average" plan advisors, you probably set up a brand new 401(k) plan or perhaps converted an existing plan of, say, $500,000 in plan assets. If you were lucky, you stumbled into a plan with assets of as much as $3 million or even $15 million because the plan sponsor changed the broker-of-record to you. And if you still advise that big plan, rest assured somebody has a bull's-eye on it, and that someone is very likely one of those specialists-one of those best-in-class 401(k) consultants. So, if you want to retain that plan, or if you want to become an advisor to those types of plans, ask yourself: "Do I have what it takes to be a true 401(k) consultant?"

There are many advantages. First, 401(k) plans represent recurring revenue to you as an advisor. Whether the market goes up or down, most participants continue to defer into their 401(k) plans and usually the advisor continues to be compensated for ongoing services. The compensation may not be a lot initially for handling a few plans, but with several, it accumulates over time. And if you have several plans, through experience and training, you should be able to fine-tune a process to deliver efficient and effective services to them all.

Even if you decide not to focus on this type of business, many advisors see a 401(k) plan as a loss-leader of sorts. They view 401(k) plans as opportunities for ancillary business, considering the more highly paid participants as warm leads. Some advisors focus on terminating participants and helping them understand their distribution options and possibly assist with rollovers to individual retirement accounts. And what happens when a plan participant, with no prior investment experience, is bequeathed a fortune when Aunt Martha dies? Many times participants will turn to the only financial advisor they know for help: the "401(k) expert."

It is fairly easy to spot the advantages and opportunities of working in this marketplace. But, not all of the pitfalls are as evident. For instance, despite recurring revenue, many advisors would not consider 50 basis points worth their time. At about $5 million in plan assets, the compensation generally drops to one-quarter percent on trails and then typically decreases as the assets increase. Instead, many advisors prefer to spend their time with individual clients earning just as much dealing with only one person.

Second, when dealing with a qualified plan, there will be several people to interact with depending on the issue and the size of the organization, all with their own agendas.

Finally, there are the participants themselves, the reason for the plan in the first place. Keeping employees educated, informed and motivated to contribute and even increase their participation can be a daunting task.

Even so, many advisors simply use a retirement plan as a means of entry into an organization. While some business may result from executive and other corporate services, many advisors focus on the potential rollover opportunities.

But, it is generally believed that advisors garner less than half of all rollovers from plans they advise. It can be argued that advisors shouldn't even pursue these rollovers because studies show the average account balance is around $50,000.

Them there are the looming regulatory and legislative initiatives that may inhibit or even prohibit this type of rollover acquisition. In fact, depending on the interpretations by the Department of Labor, other key regulatory agencies and potential legislation, there may well be significant impact on how retirement plans are operated in the very near future. While all of these various initiatives may have some potential effect, one overriding theme that has all concerned is the role of a fiduciary.