RFP Services
Independence • Expertise • Insight
For more than 30 years, Bridgebay has refined our proven, customized RFP process that manages the full service-provider selection lifecycle, from outreach and screening to evaluation and final recommendations. Our comprehensive library of questions, evaluation criteria, and industry insights is tailored to each client’s unique objectives. By outsourcing this process, organizations gain specialized expertise, an objective selection framework, and decision-ready insights while reducing administrative burden, conserving internal resources, mitigating risk, and improving long-term provider outcomes.
Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO)
An OCIO delegates all or part of an institution’s investment-management function to an external partner.
The institution generally retains responsibility for objectives, investment policy, and oversight; the OCIO implements the program within agreed parameters. When structured carefully, this model may strengthen governance, broaden investment capabilities, improve risk monitoring, ease operational demands, and connect portfolio decisions with institutional purpose. It is not a substitute for fiduciary
oversight or a guarantee of investment results.
Co-Fiduciary Investment Manager
A co-fiduciary investment manager (typically an ERISA § 3(21) Fiduciary Advisor) is a professional advisor who shares fiduciary responsibility with a retirement plan sponsor, providing expert investment recommendations while leaving final decision-making power in the hands of the sponsor.
Diversity-Owned Investment Manager
A Diversity-Owned Investment Manager is an asset management firm where a significant portion of the ownership, control, or equity is held by individuals from historically underrepresented groups. It typically
requires 25% to +51% ownership by diverse groups depending on institutional or state guidelines. The demographics include women, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, LGBTQ+
individuals, veterans, and people with disabilities.
Global Custodian
A global custodian is a specialized financial institution that safely holds and administers financial assets for clients across multiple international markets. These large banks separate client assets from their own operating funds to prevent loss. They use local sub-custodians to manage trades and legal rules in foreign countries.
Recordkeeper
A 401(k) recordkeeper is the financial bookkeeper for a retirement plan that tracks every dollar, contribution, and investment change made by employees and employers. The recordkeeper tracks the money, manages the accounts, provides the portal for participants to view their accounts and issues account statements.
CIT (Collective Investment Trust)
A collective investment trust (CIT) is a pooled investment vehicle managed by a bank or trust company that combines assets from multiple tax-qualified retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, into a single diversified portfolio. Money from various employer-sponsored retirement plans is combined to buy a mix of stocks, bonds, or other assets. CITs are only available to qualified retirement plans (like 401(k) or pension plans) and are closed to individual retail investors. CITs are maintained and administered by banks or trust companies acting as fiduciaries, rather than traditional mutual fund companies.
Target Date Funds including (CITs)
A target date fund (TDF) is an all-in-one investment portfolio that automatically adjusts its mix of stocks and bonds over time to become more conservative as you approach a specific future goal, such as
retirement. A target date fund has a pre-set plan called the glide path for how the fund’s asset allocation changes over time. When the participant is far from its target retirement date, the fund holds a high
percentage of stocks to focus on long-term growth. As the participant’s age is closer to his retirement date, the manager gradually shifts money into safer investments like bonds and cash to protect the savings
from market drops. The fund handles the fund’s diversification, by rebalancing, and making risk adjustments automatically without requiring manual changes.
Managed Account Providers
A managed account provider is a financial institution, asset management firm, or specialized advisory service that professionalizes the day-to-day trading and portfolio oversight of an individual's investment or retirement account. The individual client retains direct ownership of the underlying securities.
Providers are legally bound to act in the client's best financial interest.
Stable Value Funds
A stable value fund is a low-risk investment option found primarily in employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s that aims to preserve your principal while providing steady, predictable interest. The
fund invests in a diversified mix of high-quality, short-to-intermediate-term fixed-income securities, such as U.S. Treasury bonds, corporate bonds, and mortgage-backed securities. The key feature that separates these from standard bond funds is an insurance or bank contract (often called a wrap contract or guaranteed investment contract). The wrap insurance protects the portfolio from market volatility and interest rate swings. It allows participants to buy and sell shares at book value (principal plus accumulated interest) rather than fluctuating market value.