The Investment Company Institute’s most recent figures show thatin 2012 there were 515,000 401(k) plans in the country, serving 52million participants.

Read: Year in Review: Empower, Fidelity, and Voyaexecs

In 2014, total assets in all defined contribution plans hit arecord $6.8 trillion. By the end of the first quarter in 2015, DCplans represented more than one-quarter of all retirement assets,and nearly one-tenth of households’ total financial assets,according to the ICI.

Total DC assets are expected to top $6 trillion in 2018, most ofwhich will be in 401(k) plans, says Boston-based global analyticsfirm Cerulli Associates.

Read: Retirement plans in 2019

All of which is to underscore the massive opportunity forrecordkeepers going forward.

But in spite of the phenomenal wealth aggregating in 401(k)plans, several more providers tapped out of the market in 2015,adding to a consistent trend of consolidation.

Read: 3 plan providers talk about myRA retirementprogram

Most recently, Aegon, the parent company of TransamericaRetirement Solutions, bought Mercer’s U.S. Defined Contributionrecordkeeping business. That deal will move 917,000 participants toTransamerica’s platform.

Here are thoughts of leaders from Charles Schwab, T. Rowe Price,and Wells Fargo, appearing in the order that responses werereceived.

Steve Anderson, President, Schwab Retirement PlanServices

Schwab Retirement Plan Services administers $125 billion inassets for 1.4 million participants in 1,200 plans

What was the biggest development in 2015 from yourperspective?

Anderson: Plan design is key when it comes tohelping participants take positive steps they often won’t take ontheir own. In 2015 we saw more employers implement advanced plandesign features to drive participant outcomes.

These employers understood that to really move the needle, theyhad to go beyond established features like auto enroll and autoincrease and deploy new approaches, including complete planre-enrollment at higher deferral rates and the adoption of managedaccounts as the QDIA, rather than target date funds.

This was driven by mounting research proving thebenefits of managed accounts forparticipants combined with technology advances in the industry thatmake implementation much more seamless for employers.

What developments do you expect for the definedcontribution space in 2016?

Anderson: As sponsors continue to focus on costand transparency, more will look at reducing investment managementfees as one way to help participants in 2016. Expanded adoption oflow cost index mutual funds, collective trust funds andexchange-traded funds will shift assets away from active mutualfunds that dominate defined contribution plans today.

Employer expectations for a personalized participant experiencewill evolve beyond tailored communications to broader use ofparticipant data to deliver personalized investment advice, whichis what most participants really want.

This will accelerate the trend toward managed account adoptionin 2016. Investments by recordkeepers will expand participantaccess to managed accounts through both traditional nationalmanaged account providers as well as plan consultants serving asRIAs in support of employer clients.

For many employers, the ability to work with their trusted planadvisor to develop customized portfolios for each employee in theirplan has very strong appeal.

Overall financial wellness is another emerging benefit trendlinked to the personalized participant experience that manyemployers see as a powerful differentiator in the intensifyingbattle for talent.

Shifting demographics and employee expectations mean that acomprehensive benefits program with a holistic perspective on bothhealth and financial wellness is attractive to many workers.Independent research also supports the benefit of an effectivefinancial wellness program as a driver of increasedproductivity.

Has there ever been more competition for sponsors’business?

Anderson: The retirement plan market has alwaysbeen very competitive, but we’ve seen a shift in what’s drivingcompetition as industry consolidation continues and as plan sponsorviews evolve on what an effective plan needs to offer.

Key competitive drivers today include: a growing demand to showimproved participant outcomes through innovative plan design;meaningful technology advances such as mobile apps that enhanceparticipant communications and allow enrollment and transactions,not just account views; and a desire to integrate financialwellness initiatives as part of the retirement plan and the overallbenefits program.

Aimee DeCamillo, head of Retirement Plan Services at T.Rowe Price

T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services administers $297.6billion in assets for 2 million participants in more than 3,500plans

What was the biggest development in 2015 from yourperspective?

DeCamillo: The retirement benefit landscape hasbecome increasingly complex, and we are seeing more plan sponsorsand their advisors place a greater focus on truly understandingtheir retirement plan’s objectives in the greater context of theiroverall benefits program.

As a result, we’ve been able to have more robust and meaningfulconversations with our clients to help them align their retirementplan with organizational goals.

At T. Rowe Price, we have a simple process for helping sponsorsand advisors determine the plan’s “retirement benefit philosophy”that will help them arrive at a set of priorities reflecting theneeds of the overall organization.

Having a retirement benefit philosophy helps facilitate thatfocus and provides both the sponsor and advisor with tangibleinsights about how to best advance the retirement plan.

What developments do you expect for the definedcontribution space in 2016?

DeCamillo: A solid financial foundation iscritical to achieving retirementsuccess and due to competing priorities we continue tosee participants’ financial struggles impact savings behaviors.

In 2016 and likely beyond, financial wellness will be a criticalkey lever, in addition to smart plan design, to solving for theretirement readiness dilemma.

In our more than 30 years of experience, we’ve seen changes inplan design and participant communications make significant headwayon retirement readiness. In our clients’ plans, we’ve observed:

• Plans that participate in auto-enrollment move the needle to anaverage participation rate of 96 percent

• Adoption of target-date defaults as part of a QDIA in autoenrollment (96 percent of plans) has helped solved forage-appropriate asset allocation.

• Auto increase and stretch-match plan design, along withrobust participant education has improved participant savingslevels to an average deferral rate of 7.3 percent (pretax) in DCplans

However, we continue to see evidence of Americans strugglingwith fundamental financial challenges that will result in aninability to save effectively for retirement. For instance,24 percent of Americans’ paychecks go to paying off consumer debt,and 62 percent of Americans can’t cover a $1,000 emergency withoutborrowing money.

Thus, in addition to plan design best practices, we seesignificant value in integrating a Financial Wellness solution intooverall participant engagement programs. An integratedfinancial wellness program will help employees address emergencysavings, debt management and budgeting, building a firmer financialfooting that will ultimately result in more successful retirementsavers.

Of course, the regulatory environment will also bringsignificant change to the defined contribution space in 2016 withthe implementation of money market reform and the potential for anew fiduciary standard for investment advice.

Has there ever been more competition for sponsors’business?

DeCamillo: The DC market is a mature marketwith sophisticated buyers and we have seen similar periods ofcompetition over the decades. We know that sponsors goingthrough the due diligence process in regards to their retirementprograms is the smart thing to do and we routinely support ourclients through that process.

In fact, our clients routinely tell us it’s the way in which wepartner that is our biggest differentiator.

We believe it is why our average client tenure is over 10 yearsand why our clients are 1.5 times more likely to recommend us basedon their client satisfaction.

Yet, our ultimate measure of success is working with our clientsand their partners to build a plan that engages employees, helpscontinue to attract and retain top talent, and enable employees toretire confidently.

Joseph Ready, EVP, Wells Fargo Institutional Retirementand Trust

Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust administers$329.8 billion in assets for 4 million participants (number ofplans not provided)

What was the biggest development in 2015 from yourperspective?

Ready: The use of big data to personalize theexperience of individuals continued in 2015, and that applied tothe retirement industry as well.

At Wells Fargo, we significantly expanded and enhanced ouradvice and guidance offering to retirement plan sponsors and theirparticipants, with the addition of Financial Engines and our newlylaunched Target My Retirement product, which providesa more personalized investmentallocation for participants using the product.

There was also an increased focus on helping participants notonly with the accumulation side of the retirement equation but alsohelping them with income distribution throughout retirement oncethey exited the accumulation phase.

What developments do you expect for the definedcontribution space in 2016?

Ready: We’re all anticipating the DOL’s releaseof the conflict of interest rule to fully understand how it willimpact the industry, and more specifically, how it will influencehow we’re able to interact with clients and participants andgetting them the help they need.

One potential outcome of the rule is participants may be morelikely to stay in their plan after they retire to continue to takeadvantage of low-cost institutional investments and access toeducation and advice.

This could foster further evolution and innovation of in-planproducts and services geared toward helping people who are livingin retirement.

In addition, the retirement industry will certainly be watchingas inevitable changes takes place in the White House in 2016; itwill be interesting to see if there’s a subsequent shift in theretirement policies that have been in play, including tax treatmentof 401(k) plans, the advent of state plans, and other proposedretirement solutions.

When polled on if the markets will be better off if the nextpresident is a Democrat or Republican, half of investors (51%) sayit will not make a difference; a third say a Republican and 15% saya Democrat (according to the recently released Wells Fargo/GallupInvestor and Retirement Optimism Index).

Has there ever been more competition for sponsors’business?

Ready: There has been industry consolidationand subsequently, fierce competition among providers (especially atthe large end of the market).

Much of that consolidation has been driven by the demand forimproved technology, personalized experiences, investments in datasecurity, and an evolution of products and services to helpparticipants not only save for retirement but to also help maketheir money last through retirement.

Although the number of competitors is decreasing, the volume ofopportunity is increasing, and I think much of that can beattributed to ongoing benchmarks of fees and services which areprompting sponsors to explore what else is out there as a duediligence exercise.