401(k) Fridays Podcast: Recent Episodes
Rick Unser
The 401(k) Fridays Podcast features a weekly conversation with an expert guest to help employers and their service partners keep up with workplace retirement plan topics and trends. Listen today, improve your retirement plan tomorrow!
Guest BIo
Daniel Cahill is part of the Client Solutions Americas business unit, based in New York. He is responsible for fundraising and business development for Partners Group's strategic US DC initiative. He has 19 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Partners Group, he worked at Neuberger Berman, where he was most recently in charge of strategic planning and business development for both retirement and subadvisory platforms. Before Neuberger, he worked at Putnam Investments where he served as relationship manager interfacing with intermediary platforms, mainly in the private bank and wirehouse space. He holds an MBA and a Master of Science in Finance from the Carroll School at Boston College as well as a bachelor's degree in finance from Boston College, Massachusetts, USA. He is also a CAIA charterholder.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
It seems like the major themes that are dominating the investment markets are also of great interest to individuals trying to make decisions personally or in their businesses. That isn’t always the case. I couldn’t think of a better person to wade through this with me than a perennial podcast favorite Rob Arnott, Founder and Chairman of Research Affiliates. As usual, Rob packages his enthusiasm, excellent communication, and insights in a way that should help you think through current trends and how they could impact you, your business and even a few items on your 401(k). Hope you enjoy!
Guest BIo
Rob Arnott is founder and chairman of the board of Research Affiliates. Rob plays an active role in the firm’s research, portfolio management, product innovation, business strategy, and client-facing activities. He is a member of the Investment Committee and the Executive Committee of the board. With Chris Brightman, he is co-portfolio manager on the PIMCO All Asset and All Asset All Authority funds and the PIMCO RAE™ funds.
Over his career, Rob has endeavored to bridge the worlds of academic theorists and financial markets, challenging conventional wisdom and searching for solutions that add value for investors. He has pioneered several unconventional portfolio strategies that are now widely applied, including tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index™ approach to investing. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world’s most provocative practitioners and respected financial analysts.
In 2002, Rob founded Research Affiliates as a research-intensive asset management firm intent on delivering innovative and impactful products and insights.
Prior to establishing Research Affiliates, Rob was chair of First Quadrant, LP, which he built up from the former internal money manager for Crum & Forster into a highly regarded quantitative asset management firm. He also was global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup), the founding president and CEO of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic Investors, LLC), and a vice president at The Boston Company.
Rob has published more than 130 articles in such publications as the Journal of Portfolio Management, Harvard Business Review, and Financial Analysts Journal, for whom he served as editor in chief from 2002 through 2006. Rob has received eight Graham and Dodd Scrolls, which are awarded annually by CFA Institute to the top Financial Analysts Journal articles of the year. He also has received four Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy awards from the Journal of Portfolio Management. He is co-author of The Fundamental Index: A Better Way to Invest (Wiley 2008).
Rob received a BS summa cum laude in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
Bonds, or fixed income investments did not have a great year in 2022 to say the least. The big question is now what? To delve into that, I am excited to have Michael J. Collins, CFA, and Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager for Core, Core Plus, Absolute Return, and other Multi-Sector Fixed Income strategies at PGIM. We start with commentaries on performance, then move to interest rates, different areas of the bond market and most importantly, what, if anything plan sponsors should be doing in their 401(k) or workplace retirement plans. Also, Michael mentions the graph below, you'll have to listen to get the proper perspective. That’s it, I hope you enjoy!
Guest BIo
Michael J. Collins, CFA, is a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager for Core, Core Plus, Absolute Return, and other Multi-Sector Fixed Income strategies. Previously, Mr. Collins was a High Yield Portfolio Manager and Fixed Income Investment Strategist. Earlier he was a credit research analyst, covering investment grade and high yield corporate credits. Additionally, he developed proprietary quantitative international interest rate and currency valuation models for our global bond unit. Mr. Collins began his career at the Firm in 1986 as a software applications designer. He received a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from Binghamton University and an MBA in Finance from New York University. Mr. Collins holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI). He currently serves as the Treasurer on the Board of CEA, a non-profit that provides education and employment for people with disabilities.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
If you are at all involved with workplace retirement plans, you would have to have been living under a rock to have not heard about SECURE 2.0. It is a hot topic, while also ambitious and even confusing. With all those factors, I couldn’t think of a better person to join me to wade through all this than Alison Cohen, Partner at the Ferenczy Benefits Law Center. We do cover a lot ground today so get ready. Also, while there has been a lot announced, keep in mind many new provisions don’t go into affect for one or more years and we still will need guidance from the IRS or others to answer many basic and logical questions.
Guest Bio
Alison J. Cohen, J.D., APA, APR is a Partner with Ferenczy Benefits Law Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She advises clients on many issues related to qualified retirement plans, including design, mergers and acquisitions, audits, and operational issues. Alison commonly works with clients that have operational issues to guide them through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and/or Department of Labor (DOL) corrective programs, prepare corrective filings, and prepare and support clients through an audit conducted by the IRS and/or DOL.
Alison is a member of the Georgia and California State Bars. Prior to joining Ferenczy Benefits Law Center, Alison worked at a large bundled service provider for nearly 16 years as an Associate Vice President, Compliance Manager and Regulatory Liaison. As part of her responsibilities there, Alison served as a national speaker on audit and correction issues. She served on the Employee Plans Subcommittee of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Governmental Entities (ACT).
Alison has been actively involved with the National Institute of Pension Administration (NIPA) serving as a speaker, author, and developer/teacher. In 2019, Alison received NIPA’s Excellence in Education Award, which recognizes outstanding educators within the national membership who have made significant contributions and improvements to NIPA’s educational programs. Alison holds designations as an Accredited Pension Administrator (APA) and an Accredited Pension Representative (APR) from NIPA. Alison is the former first President and an active member of the Pension Education Council of Atlanta (PECA). Alison is a co-author of The Plan Correction eSource and in 2019 she also assumed co-authorship of ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide. Alison speaks frequently on qualified retirement plan topics and issues, bringing a sense of humor and practical solutions to clients, colleagues, and industry professionals.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
Here we go with a 401(k) Friday’s Podcast first, three guests and a great topic. Today we dive into the recent announcement that three major recordkeepers are launching the Portability Services Network. Joining me to discuss what this means is Dave Gray from Fidelity, Greg Long from Alight and Steve Holman from Vanguard. We tackle what is an automatic rollover, the problems it solves for employees and employers, how it works and whether the DOL and others think this is a good idea. This could have been a disaster having three guests, each with a lot to say, but it turned out well. I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bios
Dave Gray is a member of the Workplace Investing Executive Management Team and serves as the Head of Workplace Retirement Platforms, Workplace Investing for Fidelity. Dave leads Fidelity’s defined contribution and multi-product platform and product development teams across sites in the US, India, and Ireland. The teams are responsible for developing and managing market-leading solutions and customer experiences and the continuous modernization of the Workplace Retirement platforms, leveraging cloud technologies. Dave also has principal responsibility for next generation defined contribution plan innovation, notably digital assets and the blockchain. In addition, Dave was appointed to the Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council.
Prior to joining Fidelity, he worked at Charles Schwab where he served as a member of Schwab’s Retirement Plan Services executive leadership team responsible for client experience, product management, and business strategy. Previously, Dave served as a Vice President at Standard Insurance Retirement Services where he built and led the client relationship management organization, and earlier as a member of Invesmart’s executive team responsible for general management of the retirement plan business.
Dave earned a Bachelor of Arts from Tennessee Temple University. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 66 licenses.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
It’s been a little while since we tackled financial wellness, there has been a lot going on in that area so I was glad to be able to connect with Brent Hines, the co-founder and Chief Development Officer of the educational non-profit, Foundation for Financial Wellness. The Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s lives by empowering them with the knowledge and the motivation to take control of their financial lives. During our conversation, we compare definitions of financial wellness, talk about how to design and deliver effective programs with employers and discuss training and certification programs for employers and the industry.
For additional information we discussed in the episode, here is the link for Brent's Tedx Talk and the Financial Wellness Professional Certification program.
Great stuff, and I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Brent Hines is the co-founder and Chief Development Officer of the educational non-profit, Foundation for Financial Wellness. The Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s lives by empowering them with the knowledge and the motivation to take control of their financial lives. The Foundation’s curriculum is rooted in the principles of Behavioral Finance which makes every class topic taught by the Foundation unique, innovative, and extremely valuable.
Brent’s vision has led to the expansion of the Foundation’s curriculum, delivery, and effectiveness. Some of today’s most popular class topics are budgeting, debt elimination, insurance, investments, retirement, taxes, and life & legacy planning.
Brent regularly delivers keynote addresses on behalf of The Foundation for Financial Wellness, bringing motivational presentations to corporations, workforce boards, churches, groups, and associations offering real-world financial solutions to thousands of individuals and the organizations of which they are members.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
Every now and then you have a guest that like Prince, or Cher, that simply needs one name to know who they are. Today, I am happy to welcome Shlomo, more formally known as Dr. Shlomo Benartzi, Professor Emeritus, UCLA Anderson, Founder and CEO, PensionPlus. We dive into the compelling and complex topic of the good, the bad and the ugly of auto everything in retirement plans. As implied, auto features are powerful, but may or may not be the best solutions to everything. Love to hear what you agree or disagree with, please share and leave your comments on LinkedIn. I learned a lot, hope you do as well!
Guest Bio
Shlomo Benartzi is a behavioral economist interested in combining the insights of psychology and economics to solve big societal problems. He works on creating digital nudges that leverage technology to achieve massive scale and help millions make better financial decisions. He received a Ph.D. from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and is currently a professor emeritus and co-founder of the Behavioral Decision-Making Group at UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is also a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Wharton Behavior Change for Good Initiative.
Benartzi’s work has demonstrated the potential for far-reaching improvement. Along with Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago, he pioneered the Save More Tomorrow™ (SMarT) program, a behavioral prescription designed to nudge employees to increase their savings rates gradually over time. In their original research, Benartzi and Thaler found that SMarT increased employee savings rates from 3.5 percent to 13.6 percent. The SMarT program is now offered by more than half of the large retirement plans in the U.S. and a growing number of plans in Australia and the U.K. The program has also been incorporated into the Pension Protection Act of 2006, enabling approximately 15 million Americans to boost their retirement savings.
To help bridge the gap between academic research and the real world, Benartzi has worked with many financial institutions and served on multiple advisory boards. He is currently a senior academic advisor for the Voya Behavioral Finance Institute for Innovation, Acorns, Blast, Lili, Personal Capital and Wisdom Tree.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
I am happy to welcome back another guest who seemingly had predictive powers in prior episodes to briefly reflect on that prediction and give his crystal ball another look. Joining me is Jason Roberts, CEO of Pension Resource Institute and Retirement Law Group and managing partner at Group Plan Systems. Jason also shares input on evaluating some services plan sponsors use that are tougher to compare than say a large cap growth fund. Lot’s of food for thought today, I hope you get as much out of the conversation as I did.
Coming up on the podcast, we are going to delve into the conversation of whether auto everything works in retirement plans, check in on the markets and economy and much more. If you have ideas for a future guest or topic, please send me a message on LInkedIn and we will take it from there.
Guest BIo
Jason C. Roberts is an attorney who focuses on the intersection of tax, ERISA and securities laws and regulations. He is the founder and CEO of Pension Resource Institute, LLC (PRI) – a consulting firm that helps banks, broker-dealers and investment advisers with compliance, training and practice management focused on serving retirement investors. Jason is also the founder and managing partner of Retirement Law Group (RLG) – a law firm for plan sponsors, investment professionals and service providers concerning all aspects of retirement-related products and services – and a founder and managing member of Group Plan Systems (GPG) – a professional, independent fiduciary services organization that administers and serves as a “named fiduciary” for employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Prior to founding PRI, RLG and GPS, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading ERISA law firm and the head of the Investment Fiduciary practice for a national securities law firm.
Jason has published numerous articles focusing on ERISA and securities compliance, fiduciary best practices and is a frequent speaker at retirement plan and financial industry conferences. He is a contributing author and faculty member for the Practicing Law Institute, has been repeatedly recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. Jason was also selected by InvestmentNews as one of the “Top 40 Advisors & Associated Professionals under 40” and was tapped by the Wall Street Journal for its Ask the Experts series, answering readers’ questions relating to Department of Labor Fiduciary Regulations.
Jason received his B.S.B.A in Finance and Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from UCLA Law School.
Outside of work, you can find Jason fishing offshore, gardening, tending a wide range fresh citrus in his grove, cooking, and spending time with his wife, Val, and children, Lola and Spencer.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
If you hadn’t noticed, 2022 hasn’t produced the best results in the financial markets. The questions on everyone’s mind are how did we get here and what’s next? To delve into those and many other questions I am happy to welcome back Rich Weiss, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer overseeing the Multi-Asset Strategies Division at American Century Investments. Personally, I’m glad we were able to pry him away from CNBC, Bloomberg TV or Fox Business News to share his timely insights! A quick warning, everything we discuss is not puppy dogs and rose petals. I strongly believe in workplace retirement plans, the power of dollar cost averaging, and the long term health of the market. However, these are challenging and unique times in the market and the economy. I felt steering into some of that would be worthwhile.
If you have been enjoying the podcast, please leave a rating or review on your favorite podcast app, that helps the infamous algorithms and grows the audience. Enjoy!
Guest Bio
Richard Weiss is senior vice president and chief investment officer, Multi-Asset Strategies for American Century Investments.
Mr. Weiss oversees the team that manages the firm's multi-asset strategies, including the One Choice (Target Risk and Target Date) Portfolios®, Strategic Allocation and investments offered in the Learning Quest® 529 Education Savings Program. He also serves as a member of the American Century Investments Asset Allocation Committee, which is responsible for establishing investment policy and reviewing investment decisions for all of the firm's multi-asset products.
Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Mr. Weiss was executive vice president and chief investment officer of City National Bank, where he was responsible for the bank's investment management group and directed investment policy and strategy. Previously, he was executive vice president and chief investment officer at Sanwa Bank California, where he managed all aspects of their investment department. Earlier in his career, Mr. Weiss held senior investment positions at Vantage Global Advisors, TSA Capital Management, PaineWebber and Mellon Bank.
An investment veteran with over 35 years of experience, Mr. Weiss holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has authored several academic papers and is well known for his advanced work in the field of global investing. Mr. Weiss is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, Fox Business and Bloomberg Radio.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
Today, I am excited to launch the fall series of episodes and we start with stable value investments. My guest is Steve Horner, CFA and Portfolio Manager in the Corporate and Tax-Exempt Credit group within Fixed Income at Putnam Investments. With the historic interest rate hikes, surging bond yields and talk of recession Steve shares what all this means for stable value funds. We also hit on some of the basics around what a stable value fund is, how they work and a few tips to evaluate and understand what is going on under the surface. We also delve into some more technical elements like wrap insurance and put provisions. Good stuff, I learned a lot and hope you do as well!
Guest Bio
Mr. Horner is a Portfolio Manager in the Corporate and Tax-Exempt Credit group within Fixed Income,focusing on Putnam's Stable Value portfolios. He manages stable value, general account insurance, structured investment-grade, absolute return, and multi-sector fixed-income portfolios. Mr. Horner is responsible for portfolio construction, fiduciary oversight, and the communication of investment team decisions on policy, strategy, and tactics to Putnam's fixed income clients. He joined Putnam in 1997 and has been in the investment industry since 1991.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
Today, I am excited to launch the fall series of episodes and we start with stable value investments. My guest is Steve Horner, CFA and Portfolio Manager in the Corporate and Tax-Exempt Credit group within Fixed Income at Putnam Investments. With the historic interest rate hikes, surging bond yields and talk of recession Steve shares what all this means for stable value funds. We also hit on some of the basics around what a stable value fund is, how they work and a few tips to evaluate and understand what is going on under the surface. We also delve into some more technical elements like wrap insurance and put provisions. Good stuff, I learned a lot and hope you do as well!
Guest Bio
Mr. Horner is a Portfolio Manager in the Corporate and Tax-Exempt Credit group within Fixed Income,focusing on Putnam's Stable Value portfolios. He manages stable value, general account insurance, structured investment-grade, absolute return, and multi-sector fixed-income portfolios. Mr. Horner is responsible for portfolio construction, fiduciary oversight, and the communication of investment team decisions on policy, strategy, and tactics to Putnam's fixed income clients. He joined Putnam in 1997 and has been in the investment industry since 1991.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!
This week, we tackle M&A Mania in the retirement space. My guest is Dick Darian, Founding Partner of the Wise Rhino Group, a firm dedicated to working with both buyers and sellers in the retirement market. We hit on what he sees coming in the M&A market after a torrid pace for the last several years. We also cover the what Dick sees as the driving forces behind the M&A activity that are of interest for both employers and the broader retirement industry alike. Dick also makes some controversial comments that everyone should find of interest. Great stuff and I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Dick Darian leads Wise Rhino Group's work with clients on valuation, sell and buy-side execution, pre and post-sale strategy, as well as buy/sell/merger or affiliate strategies. His unique macro analysis and foresight in the retirement industry have him featured often in well-known industry publications.
Dick lives in Charleston SC with his wife Mary and various four-legged friends. He enjoys spending time with family above all, especially his five grandchildren. Since relocating from the New York area in 2017, he has begun working with The College of Charleston assisting with classes within the business school's entrepreneurial program.
Dick’s interests beyond family and business include traveling, reading, sports, and music.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week, we tackle a timely topic straight out of the headlines, Bitcoin or Digital assets and 401(k) plans. Joining me is Dave Gray, the Head of Workplace Retirement Platforms & Workplace Investing for Fidelity. We cover all the topics you would expect like why Bitcoin, why 401(k) plans, how can plan sponsors evaluate the whether Bitcoin makes sense for them and a fairly detailed breakdown of the recent DOL Compliance Assistance Release or CAR addressing Bitcoin in workplace retirement plans. We covered a ton of ground, I learned a lot, hoping you do as well. If we missed something, shoot me a note on LinkedIn and we can follow-up. Enjoy!
Guest Bio
Dave Gray is a member of the Workplace Investing Executive Management Team and serves as the Head of Workplace Retirement Platforms, Workplace Investing for Fidelity. Dave leads Fidelity’s defined contribution and multi-product platform and product development teams across sites in the US, India, and Ireland. The teams are responsible for developing and managing market-leading solutions and customer experiences and the continuous modernization of the Workplace Retirement platforms, leveraging cloud technologies. Dave also has principal responsibility for next generation defined contribution plan innovation, notably digital assets and the blockchain. In addition, Dave was appointed to the Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council.
Prior to joining Fidelity, he worked at Charles Schwab where he served as a member of Schwab’s Retirement Plan Services executive leadership team responsible for client experience, product management, and business strategy. Previously, Dave served as a Vice President at Standard Insurance Retirement Services where he built and led the client relationship management organization, and earlier as a member of Invesmart’s executive team responsible for general management of the retirement plan business.
Dave earned a Bachelor of Arts from Tennessee Temple University. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 66 licenses.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Finally, the much promised episode about ESG investing & retirement plans. Sorry it took so long, but it's definitely worth the wait. Joining me is Jessica Sclafani, director and defined contribution strategies for MFS Investment Management. We start with the not so simple task of defining ESG, then move to how it is being incorporated into retirement investment line-ups. Along the way, we cover a lot of new ground which should leave you with a better idea of how to navigate the conversation with your plan. I learned a lot, I hope you do as well! Guest Bio
Jessica Sclafani, CAIA, is a director and defined contribution strategist for the Investment Solutions Group at MFS Investment Management® (MFS®). Her responsibilities include leading defined contribution research and the firm's thought leadership agenda, as well as working extensively with the firm's client‐facing teams to represent MFS in the marketplace.
Jessica joined MFS in 2019 in her current role. She previously spent five years at Cerulli Associates as director of US retirement research, where she was responsible for the US defined contribution and IRA markets. Before that, she served as an analyst on the US pensions team at Wellington Management Company for four years.
Jessica earned a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Boston College. She holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week, we have my promised update from the defense bar perspective on the many happenings in the world of retirement plans. Joining me is repeat guest David Levine, Principal and Co-Chair of the Plan Sponsor Practice at Groom Law group. We start out with some headline grabbing topics like crypto currency in retirement plans, then we delve into cyber security and data privacy followed but some thoughts on the current and future state of retirement plan litigation. David also shares his perspective on a few suggestions I have heard from plaintiff’s attorneys and he plays word police on me in a few of my questions or statements. Good stuff and I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
David Levine is co-chair of the firm’s employer-focused practice. He advises plan sponsors, advisors, and other service providers on a wide range of employee benefits matters, from retirement and executive compensation to health and welfare plan matters. David advises on the design and redesign of complex retirement, executive, and health and welfare plans; ongoing, day-to-day counseling of plan sponsors; in-depth compliance reviews of corporate and governmental benefit programs; alternative products and assets, including venture capital, private equity, and cryptocurrency, for IRA, HSAs, and 401(k) plan service providers; products and compliance for retirement and health service providers, and representation of tax-exempt organizations with respect to issues involving corporate governance, executive compensation, and unrelated business income tax liability.
David was previously the Chair of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (2011-2013) and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and serves in a number of leadership roles in the American Bar Association Tax Section’s Employee Benefits Committee. David regularly speaks on plan design, fiduciary governance, and legislative issues and contributes a recurring column to NAPA Net — The Magazine. He is recognized in the Chambers USA guide for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week we have an action packed episode where we reflect back on the first quarter of 2022. What a wild one it was! We then discuss several hot topics that are moving the financial markets today and close with some forwarding looking thoughts on what might be ahead in the coming 6-12 months. My conversation with Jamie Batter, Chief Investment Officer for Lockton Retirement Services, an offering of Creative Planning hits on everything from the war in teh Ukraine, Inflation, Gas Prices, expected moves by the Federal Reserve and much more. I hope you take away as much from this as I did, enjoy!
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
On this episode we have a little fun and take on some information on 401(k)s that you may or may not have seen on TikTok. You will hear my inspiration for this episode right out of the gate and it is safe to say you can’t always trust what you hear online. Or, at a minimum you need a heavy dose of context. My guest, the multi-tool player David Blanchet, PhD, CFA, CFP is Managing Director and Head of Retirement Research now with PGIM. He does a great job sorting through the various themes of 401(k) information I came across. We had a ton of fun, and I hope you enjoy this episode as much we did!
Guest Bio
David Blanchett, PhD, CFA, CFP®, is Managing Director and Head of Retirement Research for PGIM DC Solutions. PGIM is the global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. In this role he develops research and innovative solutions to help improve retirement outcomes for investors. Prior to joining PGIM he was the Head of Retirement Research for Morningstar Investment Management LLC and before that the Director of Consulting and Investment Research for the Retirement Plan Consulting Group at Unified Trust Company.
David has published over 100 papers in a variety of industry and academic journals. His research has received awards from the Academy of Financial Services (2017), the CFP Board (2017), the Financial Analysts Journal (2015), the Financial Planning Association (2020), the International Centre for Pension Management (2020), the Journal of Financial Planning (2007, 2014, 2015, 2019), and the Retirement Management Journal (2012). He is a regular contributor to the Advisor Perspectives, ThinkAdvisor, and the Wall Street Journal.
He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Wealth Management at The American College of Financial Services and a Research Fellow for the Alliance for Lifetime Income. He was formally a member of the Executive Committee for the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) and the ERISA Advisory Council (2018-2020).
In 2021, ThinkAdvisor included him in the IA25 for "pushing the industry forward." In 2014, InvestmentNews included him in their inaugural 40 under 40 list as a “visionary” for the financial planning industry, and in 2014, Money magazine named him one of the brightest minds in retirement planning.
David holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in financial services from The American College of Financial Services, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a doctorate in personal financial planning program from Texas Tech University.
When David isn’t working, he’s probably out for a jog, playing with his four kids, or rooting for the Kentucky Wildcats.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week I am excited to welcome back Jerome Clark, portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price Target Date Strategies. For a curveball, we are not going to talk at all about Target Date Funds, instead Jerome shares his insights on how employers can help improve retirement outcomes in the minority community. As you will hear, this is a topic Jerome and T. Rowe Price are both very knowledgable and passionate about. I felt this was a very insightful and impactful conversation, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Guest Bio
Jerome Clark is the portfolio manager of the Asset Allocation Target Date Strategies and oversees the College Savings Plan portfolios in the Multi-Asset Division. He is also a member of the firm's Asset Allocation Committee and serves on the Multi-Asset Steering Committee. Jerome is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.
Jerome’s investment experience began in 1992 when he joined T. Rowe Price, beginning in the Fixed Income Division, where he was the portfolio manager of the US Treasury Long-Term Bond Strategy. He then began managing asset allocation portfolios in 2001. Previously, he was also a captain in the United States Marine Corps and spent three years as a mathematics instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Jerome earned a B.S. in mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.S. in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also earned an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University. Jerome also has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week I am excited to welcome back Rob Arnott, Founder & Chairman of Research Affiliates to dive into the trick topic of inflation and its impact on the markets. We also dive into the challenges of rising rates, equity valuations and whether the investment realities of commercial real estate has changed. A quick note, we recorded this episode prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, so there is not much talk of those events. That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Rob!
Guest Bio
Rob Arnott is the founder and chairman of the board of Research Affiliates, a global asset manager dedicated to profoundly impacting the global investment community through its insights and products. The firm creates investment strategies and tools based upon award-winning research, and delivers these solutions in partnership with some of the world’s premier financial institutions. Rob plays an active role in the firm’s research, portfolio management, product innovation, business strategy and client facing activities. With Chris Brightman, he is co-portfolio manager on the PIMCO All Asset and All Asset All Authority funds and the PIMCO RAE™ funds.
Over his career, Rob has endeavored to bridge the worlds of academic theorists and financial markets, challenging conventional wisdom and searching for solutions that add value for investors. He has pioneered several unconventional portfolio strategies that are now widely applied, including tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index™ approach to investing. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world’s most provocative practitioners and respected financial analysts.
In 2002, Rob founded Research Affiliates as a research-intensive asset management firm intent on delivering innovative and impactful products and insights. Using a unique business model, Research Affiliates delivers investment solutions globally in partnership with leading financial institutions. Rob served as chairman and CEO from 2002 to 2018.
Prior to establishing Research Affiliates, Rob managed two asset management firms. As chairman of First Quadrant, LP, he built up the former internal money manager for Crum & Forster into a highly regarded quantitative asset management firm. He also was global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup), the founding president and CEO of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic Investors, LLC), and a vice president at The Boston Company.
Rob has published more than 130 articles in such journals as the Journal of Portfolio Management, Harvard Business Review, and Financial Analysts Journal, where he also served as editor in chief from 2002 through 2006. In recognition of his achievements as a financial writer, Rob has received eight Graham and Dodd Scrolls, awarded annually by CFA Institute to the top Financial Analysts Journal articles of the year. He also has received four Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy awards from the Journal of Portfolio Management. He is co-author of The Fundamental Index: A Better Way to Invest (Wiley 2008).
Rob Arnott received a BS summa cum laude in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Day by day, year by year, technology plays are bigger and more important role in our lives. When it comes to retirement savings, how could technology impact things? To share some insights, I am happy to welcome Dave Castellani, Operating Principal with the venture capital firm Brew Lane Ventures. Dave has a unique background as a technology guy who has done a few tours in the retirement world. During our conversation we hit on how development in technology could impact retirement plans, some great working definitions of machine learning, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality and much more. We also hit on blockchain and close with a real whopper that could change everything that you will have to hear for yourself.
Guest Bio
David brings 30+ years of technology and operating leadership across financial services and startups to Brewer Lane. Most recently, he was SVP and Head of Technology at New York Life, where he led the company’s initiatives across digital transformation, data and analytics, and cyber. Previously, David held other operating executive roles at New York Life, Prudential, and Cigna. He has also co-founded two technology startups: Mi8, an early pioneer in hosted exchange services, and Qv21, a transportation management software provider.
David received his BA from the College of the Holy Cross.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Today, I am excited to share the latest installment of what has become almost an annual conversation with Jerry Schlichter, Managing Partner of Schlichter Bogard & Denton. If you are in the world of 401(k) plans, you need no introduction to the plaintiff attorney who has secured over $600 million in settlements, is now 2-0 in the Supreme Court and has changed the workplace retirement landscape. Our conversation this year should not disappoint. Be sure to stick around for the end to get Jerry’s input on the roles of the DOL and plaintiff’s bar.
If you are new to the podcast, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app. If you like what you hear, please share with a friend, colleague or on social media.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jerry!
Guest Bio
Jerry Schlichter is founding and managing partner of Schlichter Bogard & Denton. His expertise and national leadership in complex litigation, including in financial and railroad cases, has been recognized by numerous publications, courts, and commentators throughout the country. Jerry has been designated legal counsel for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers for many years and is currently designated legal counsel for the United Transportation Union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He has represented railroad workers in trials in many states and has had record-setting jury verdicts in numerous jurisdictions. Throughout his career, he has also handled major precedent-setting class action and mass tort cases on behalf of individuals.
Jerry has been featured in numerous national publications, including The New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, USA Today, and the The Wall Street Journal, for his and the firm’s success in pioneering claims of excessive fees in defined contribution plans, obtaining precedent-setting results involving claims of excessive fees against large employers, and for the reduction in fees his cases have caused throughout the retirement industry. He’s been called “The Lone Ranger of the 401(k)” by The New York Times, “public enemy no. 1 for 401(k) profiteers” by Investment News, and “the industry’s most feared attorney” by Chief Investment Officer.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
I am excited to get to get the podcast kicked off this year with a fast paced and wide ranging conversation with Peter Mollouk, President & CEO of Creative Planning. The main focus was employee education, how it has evolved and where it could go from here, the roles automatic plan design features and education have in helping employees on their path to retirement, who should pay for employee education, and much more.
Before we get started, if you are not subscribed to the podcast take care of that today, go to your favorite podcast app and search 401(k) Fridays and hit subscribe. We have a ton of great new episodes in the queue to share with you this year. You may also explore over 250 prior episodes, most of which are still relevant today.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Peter!
Guest Bio
Peter Mallouk, JD, MBA, is the President and CEO of Creative Planning and affiliated companies. Peter’s companies provide comprehensive wealth management services to its clients, including investment management, financial planning, tax planning, retirement plan consulting, estate planning services, and charitable planning.
Creative Planning provides wealth management services to high net worth clients, manages over $100 billion for clients in all 50 states and abroad, is featured as the #1 Independent Wealth Management Firm in America by Barron’s, (2017) and has been featured in CNBC’s wealth manager rankings as the ‘#1 Wealth Management Firm in America’ in 2014 and 2015. The New York Times*, in an article about the firm, said “Creative Planning is at the vanguard of a profound shift in finance.” (2017)
Peter has been featured in Barron’s as one of the ‘Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors in America,’ having won the award for three consecutive years (2013-2015). Peter is featured on Worth magazine’s ‘Power 100’, featuring the most powerful men and women in global finance (2017 & 2018). Creative Planning was featured in Forbes in 2016 as the #1 RIA for growth over the last 10 years prior, and Financial Times’ ‘Top RIA List’ (2014-2020). Creative Planning is also featured in Ingram’s magazines’ issues on ‘Best Wealth Manager’ (2020) and ‘Corporate Champion’ (2018) and Kansas City Business Journal magazines’ issue on ‘Best Places to Work’ (2020).
Peter graduated from the University of Kansas in 1993 with four majors, including degrees in Business Administration and Economics. He went on to earn a law degree and Master of Business Administration in 1996, also at the University of Kansas. Peter is the recipient of the University of Kansas School of Business Distinguished Alumni Award, becoming the second youngest recipient to receive the award. His wife Veronica holds the spot of the youngest!
Peter is the founder, current executive board member, and former five-year Chairman of KCCAN!, an organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the quality of life of children in Kansas City. He is also the founder and current executive board member of Pathway Financial Education, an organization dedicated to providing teenagers, adults, and business owners in under-resourced communities with actionable financial education. Peter is a recipient of the Ernst & Young Central Midwest Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2017).
Peter and his wife Veronica are the recipients of the Giving the Basics Human Dignity Award for their contributions towards helping those less fortunate meet basic needs, and recipients of the Variety Presidential Citation Award for their work supporting those with special needs. Peter has served on the boards of Pathway to Hope, American Stroke Foundation, St. Michael’s Finance Council, Kansas City Hospice and KCCAN!
Most recently, Peter founded Pathway Financial Education, a Kansas City-based nonprofit that provides free financial training and education to small business owners, adults, and youth in under-resourced communities. Pathway was born from a vision that Peter had after recognizing an unmet need in under-resourced communities of comprehensive financial education and training. Pathway opened its doors April 13, 2021.
Peter and Veronica have three children – Michael, JP, and Gabby.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
As we take the turn into the holiday season, what will holiday shopping look like this year? Will the supply chain challenges, inflation, or other elements bring major changes? How could this impact the economy and financial markets? To help dissect all of this and more, I am happy to welcome back Rich Weiss, senior vice president and chief investment officer, Multi-Asset Strategies for American Century Investments. Also, don’t miss when Rich get’s his crystal ball out and gazes into it for 2022.
Guest Bio
Richard Weiss is senior vice president and chief investment officer, Multi-Asset Strategies for American Century Investments.
Mr. Weiss oversees the team that manages the firm's multi-asset strategies, including the One Choice (Target Risk and Target Date) Portfolios®, Strategic Allocation and investments offered in the Learning Quest® 529 Education Savings Program. He also serves as a member of the American Century Investments Asset Allocation Committee, which is responsible for establishing investment policy and reviewing investment decisions for all of the firm's multi-asset products.
Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Mr. Weiss was executive vice president and chief investment officer of City National Bank, where he was responsible for the bank's investment management group and directed investment policy and strategy. Previously, he was executive vice president and chief investment officer at Sanwa Bank California, where he managed all aspects of their investment department. Earlier in his career, Mr. Weiss held senior investment positions at Vantage Global Advisors, TSA Capital Management, PaineWebber and Mellon Bank.
An investment veteran with over 35 years of experience, Mr. Weiss holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has authored several academic papers and is well known for his advanced work in the field of global investing. Mr. Weiss is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, Fox Business and Bloomberg Radio.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
If you like 90’s movies references, if your curious about who TINA is and you want some good perspective on what is going on with the markets and economy, we have a great show for you today. Joining me is Adam Philips, CFA & CFP, Managing Director for Portfolio Strategy at EP Wealth. Great stuff, hopefully you learn as much as I did!
As a reminder, if you are not subscribed to the podcast, do that today. You can go to your favorite podcast app and search 401(k) Fridays, or go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe and take care of it there.
Guest BIo:
Adam Philips is the Managing Director, Portfolio Strategy / Partner at EP Wealth Advisors® where he helps establish asset allocation strategy as a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Adam also serves as the voice of the firm’s investment strategy, and frequently provides market commentary across the media and in client communication pieces. Prior to joining EP Wealth Advisors® in 2014, Adam served as a Senior Portfolio Manager at City National Rochdale in Beverly Hills, where he specialized in research and portfolio construction while overseeing nearly $700 million on behalf of high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and trusts. Adam holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California (USC), and earned his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA). In addition, Adam holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designations, and is a member of the CFA Society of Los Angeles and the CFA Institute. Adam was named to the Forbes Best-in-State Next Gen Wealth Advisors in 2019. Adam lives in Palos Verdes with his wife and two children, Hunter and Madison.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Over the years on the podcast we have talked about the generational preferences and trends of baby boomers, Gen X’rs and Millenials, But not Generation Z. To dig into them, I am happy to welcome back Nathan Voris, Director, Investments, Insights & Consultant Services at Schwab Retirement Plan Services. While the focus is on Gen Z, there are some great observations about financial stress, financial wellness, the financial impact of the pandemic and much more. We also really strive to tie these themes together in a way that can help employers better position services they offer today to attract and retain employees in a hyper competitive market for talent, or maybe this is encouragement to revisit these topics as you look forward. Regardless, good stuff and great input from Nathan.
Guest Bio
Nathan Voris joined Charles Schwab in 2016 and leads the Investments, Insights and Consultant Services teams within Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
In this role, Voris brings together multiple teams with shared expertise to develop and enhance partnerships with the Consultant and Advisor community. Prior to his current position, he led the Strategy and Planning team for Schwab Workplace Financial Services, which includes Compliance Solutions, Schwab Retirement Plan Services and Schwab Stock Plan Services.
Voris brings 20+ years of experience in the financial services and retirement plan industries to his role. Prior to Charles Schwab, he worked for Morningstar, where he held several roles within Morningstar Investment Management, and as a retirement plan consultant at R.V. Kuhns & Associates. He began his career as a plan sponsor, working for Walmart and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.
Voris earned a bachelor's degree in education from The Ohio State University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
As part of the evolving conversation around infrastructure and how to pay for it, some potential changes to workplace retirement plans were injected into the conversation. To shed some light on the topic I am happy to welcome back Sam Henson, a Senior Vice President and Chief Client Officer for Lockton Retirement Services. While it is anyone’s guess on what will happen with infrastructure, the important things to take away from our conversation today are the thematic changes to workplace retirement plans that we included in the spending bill. While these may or may not become reality, like in the game of poker, this serves as a pretty good tell on what changes could be debated in the future.
Guest Bio
Samuel Henson, JD is the Chief Client Officer for Lockton Retirement Services. Lockton is the world's largest privately held insurance brokerage firm. Sam oversees ERISA compliance, DOL/IRS/SEC/PBGC activities, and the legislative landscape for more than 50,000 Lockton clients and 7,000 associates. Our associates use a comprehensive approach as a consultative partner in the areas of regulatory and legislative compliance, investment, pension risk management and vendor management. I would like to connect with other industry-related professionals including attorneys, in-house counsel, compliance officers and government officials.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
For years I have been using Vanguard’s annual “How America Saves” as a reference guide for retirement plan statistics and benchmarks. Today, I am excited to welcome Jeff Clark, a Senior Product Owner in Vanguard’s Strategic Retirement Consulting group and the lead author of How America Saves as well as other retirement research initiatives. As you might expect, this episode focusses on plan design, some statistics, its importance, trends and a few popular topics or ideas that have been discussed where the data does not exactly pan out. I learned a lot, I hope you do as well.
Before we get started, thank you to our listeners who have shared engaged with us on social media. Most of what we post is on LinkedIn, next time you are on there, feel free to share a podcast episode you have enjoyed, or like or comment on a post we create. That goes a long way to helping more people discover the podcast and helps me attract great guests like Jeff.
Guest Bio
Jeff Clark is a Senior Product Owner in Vanguard’s Strategic Retirement Consulting. He is the lead author of How America Saves as well as other retirement research initiatives. In addition, Mr. Clark provides strategic and customized analytics designed to help plan sponsors better understand their participants’ behavior and plan design effectiveness. Mr. Clark joined Vanguard in 1998. Before Strategic Retirement Consulting, he worked in Participant Services and Compliance Testing and Analysis, assisting plan sponsors with plan design and compliance issues. Mr. Clark earned a B.A. in economics from Bucknell University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
It's been a little while since we have had an episode to discuss what is going on in the world of 401(k) litigation. To dive into that, I am happy to welcome back Carl Engstrom, plaintiff’s attorney with Nichols Kaster to the podcast. As usual, Carl brings a very thoughtful and informed view on what is going on with 401(k) litigation, his thoughts on why some cases move towards settlement and others are dismissed, and the inevitable question of where things go from here. Buckle up, this episode moves fast and covers a lot of ground. I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Carl is the subject matter expert and origination specialist on Nichols Kaster’s ERISA Litigation Team. As a founding member of the ERISA litigation group, Mr. Engstrom has worked in some capacity on every case brought by the group since its inception in 2015. In that time, the ERISA litigation group has negotiated settlements totaling over $150 million on behalf of retirement plan participants shortchanged by excessive fees and imprudent retirement plan investments. Before joining Nichols Kaster, Mr. Engstrom clerked for judges at both the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Hennepin County District Court. Prior to entering the legal profession, Mr. Engstrom spent six years working as a financial advisor, providing retirement and investment advice to hundreds of clients, and earning the Certified Financial Planner™ designation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Things are moving fast in the financial markets and economy. In turbulent times, the decisions you do or don’t make have a big impact on the future success of your retirement plan. To help digest some macro events and share a few 401(k) panic buttons to avoid, I am happy to welcome Jamie Battmer, Chief Investment Officer for Lockton Retirement Services to the podcast. I won’t steal Jamies thunder, but let’s just say I learned a lot of hope you get as much out of it as I did.
Guest Bio
Jamie leads the investment research team that recommends portfolios to Lockton clients. His other duties include consulting, speaking, and writing on market and economic trends, providing fiduciary documentation on investment decision-making,
and developing new asset-management tools and capabilities, such as model portfolios or custom-asset allocation glide-paths.
Jamie has more than 20 years of experience analyzing individual securities, constructing portfolios, and providing economic and market commentary.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Save for retirement or save for college? This is the age old debate that many struggle with. To shed some light on the subject I am happy to welcome Peg Creonte, President of Government Savings at Acensus. During our conversation we delve into some of the similarities and differences between 529 plans and 401(k) plans, ways that employers as part of their total rewards or benefits offering can help their employees save or pay for the cost of higher eduction and offer input on whether an employer can match contributions to a 529 plan. Great stuff, I learned a lot and it was a trip down memory lane for me in a way as well.
Guest Bio
Peg Creonte is president of Government Savings at Ascensus, the largest independent recordkeeping services provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator in the United States.
Peg is responsible for setting the vision and strategy for the firm’s Government Savings line of business and charting its course for future growth. She joined Ascensus in 2004 and has served in leadership roles across business development, platform development, and system implementation. Peg has also led and managed several large 529 and ABLE program client conversions.
Prior to Ascensus, she held leadership and consulting roles in software and semiconductor firms. Peg holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from Cornell University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
What does the future hold for 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans? Good question, and I am excited to have Josh Cohen, Head of Institutional Defined Contribution at PGIM and the host of the podcast “The Accidental Plan Sponsor” join me today. We take a few minutes to set the stage with some important retirement plan trends and milestones, then we jump into where we go from here. Josh shares the good, as well as where he things workplace retirement plans can improve in the future. Good stuff, and hope you get as much out of the conversation as I did!
Guest Bio
Joshua R. Cohen, CFA, is a Managing Director in PGIM’s Institutional Relationship Group (IRG). Josh provides expert counsel and thought leadership to large Defined Contribution plans on investment issues ranging from plan design, Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIA), implications of regulatory change and implementation. He works on developing innovative solutions and thought leadership to help plan participants accumulate the wealth needed for their retirement.
Highly regarded throughout the industry and a recognized DC thought leader, Josh served a three-year term (2013-2015) as a member of the Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council on policies and regulations affecting employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. In 2016, Josh was identified by Chief Investment Officer (CIO) magazine as one of the world’s most influential investment thought leaders by being named to the annual Knowledge Brokers list. This marked the fourth consecutive year he received this recognition.
Josh earned his BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
If you have tried to buy almost anything in the last several months, there is a good chance it costs you more today than it did previously. These cost increases, or inflation, have been a dominant topic of conversation both at the proverbial water cooler as well as with economists. I can’t solve the water cooler part, but I am excited to welcome back to Frances Donald, Senior Managing Director & Head of Macro Strategy at Manulife Investment Management. We of course talk about inflation, and Frances is not shy to share her opinions. Great stuff, and should really get you thinking and help put a lot of things in perspective.
Before we get started, this is my second conversation on the podcast with Frances, while you don’t have to listen to the first one, it is worth checking out. To do that, just scroll through the episodes on your favorite podcast app. There are over 200 prior episodes, so if any other topics or guests catch your eye feel free to listen to those as well. Most episodes are evergreen in their content so even if we recorded them a month or a few years ago, still good info to take it.
Thats it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Frances!
Guest Bio
Frances Donald is a Senior Managing Director, Chief Economist & Head of Macro Strategy at Manulife Investment Management. In her role she forecasts global macroeconomic and financial trends, analyzes the economy and capital markets for potential opportunities and risks, and serves as a thought leader both within the firm and externally. As a senior member of the firm’s multi-asset solutions team, she coordinates global macro research, assists in the team’s return forecasting process, and contributes to portfolio positioning views.
Prior to joining Manulife, Frances worked as a financial economist for Scotiabank in Toronto, and before that as a global macro analyst for Pavilion Global Markets in Montreal. Earlier in her career, she held various positions at Deloitte, Roubini Global Economics, and Bank of Canada. Frances is a frequent public speaker and regularly appears in international media, including Bloomberg and CNBC.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
You are probably wondering, first, how do you possibly make a full episode out of retirement plan document restatements and other related topics, and second, how do you make it interesting? Well, when you have Alison Cohen, ERISA Attorney and Partner at the Ferenczy Benefits Law Center, it is a piece of cake! Not much description need on this one, but plenty of good nuggets of info and best practices. Also, Alison mentioned a "Record Retention Policy Statement" which you can find a link to in the show notes.
Before we get started, if you have been enjoying the podcast please leave a review or rating on your favorite podcast service or app. That feeds the crazy algorithms and helps more people find the podcast.
Guest Bio
Alison is a Partner with Ferenczy Benefits Law Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She advises clients on many issues related to qualified retirement plans, including design, mergers and acquisitions, audits, and operational issues. Alison commonly works with clients that have operational issues to guide them through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and/or Department of Labor (DOL) corrective programs, prepare corrective filings, and prepare and support clients through an audit conducted by the IRS and/or DOL.
Alison is a member of the Georgia and California State Bars. Prior to joining Ferenczy Benefits Law Center, Alison worked at a large bundled service provider for nearly 16 years as an Associate Vice President, Compliance Manager and Regulatory Liaison. As part of her responsibilities there, Alison served as a national speaker on audit and correction issues. She served on the Employee Plans Subcommittee of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Governmental Entities (ACT).
Alison has been actively involved with the National Institute of Pension Administration (NIPA) serving as a speaker, author, and developer/teacher, and received NIPA’s Excellence in Education Award in 2019. The award recognizes outstanding educators within the national membership who have made significant contributions and improvements to NIPA’s educational programs. She holds designations as an Accredited Pension Administrator (APA) and Accredited Pension Representative (APR) from NIPA. Alison is also the current President of the Pension Education Council of Atlanta. In 2019, Alison assumed co-authorship of “ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide,” along with Ilene H. Ferenczy.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
What a treat, today I am please to welcome Preston Rutledge, Founder and Principal of the Rutledge Policy group and previously Assistant Secretary of Labor for the EBSA and prior to that, senior tax and benefits counsel for Chairman Orrin Hatch on the US Senate Finance Committee. During our conversation we hit on a few good stories from his civil service days, talk about the concepts behind the SECURE Act and where we go from here, potential tax changes and the impact on retirement plans and much more. Definitely a good one to check out and share!
On that note, if you have been enjoying the podcast, please do take a minute to mention to a friend, colleague or networking group. As our audience continues to grow, it makes it easier for me to find high quality guests like Preston.
That’s it, I hope your enjoy our conversation!
Guest Bio
Preston Rutledge is the Founder and Principal of Rutledge Policy Group, LLC. With an uncommon combination of expertise both in legal and tax matters, he is a sought-after consultant and speaker in the areas of retirement, health plans, taxation, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.
Prior to founding Rutledge Policy Group, Preston was the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). At EBSA, he led the drafting and publication of guidance to implement retirement, health, and workplace benefits policies and oversaw a nationwide team of over 800 employee benefits professionals. In international affairs, Preston led the U.S Delegation on private pension policy at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France. Preston was a member of the OECD Insurance and Private Pensions Committee, and served as Chair of the OECD Working Party on Private Pensions. Preston also worked closely with the OECD affiliated International Organization of Pension Supervisors (IOPS).
Before joining the Department of Labor, Preston served as senior tax and benefits counsel for Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) on the Majority Tax Staff of the US Senate Finance Committee. Preston had the retirement, non-profit, and insurance tax portfolio during tax reform in 2017, and he drafted the Chairman’s primary retirement initiatives: the Secure Annuities for Employee (SAFE) Retirement Act and the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA). RESA became the SECURE Act, the most sweeping reform of retirement savings policy in over a decade.
Prior to joining the Finance Committee, Preston served as a senior tax law specialist for retirement and non-profit policy on the Headquarters Staff of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division of the Internal Revenue Service. Earlier in his career he served as a law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and worked in private law practice as an employee benefits counselor and ERISA litigator.
Preston earned a BS in business, cum laude, from the University of Idaho; JD, with high honors, from the George Washington University School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review; and an LLM – taxation, with distinction, including a certificate in employee benefits law, from the Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to law school Preston was a Naval Officer, and served on the U.S.S. Bagley (FF-1069)
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Guest Bio
Joshua Dietch is the group manager of Retirement Thought Leadership in Global Brand Marketing. Joshua is responsible for leading a team of researchers and writers who create retirement thought leadership in support of the firm's workplace retirement, intermediary, and institutional businesses. He also is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
Joshua’s investment experience began in 1995 and he has been with T. Rowe Price since 2017. Prior to this, he was employed by Strategic Insight as head of Retirement and Institutional. He also was managing director with Chatham Partners, director of Product Marketing and Management with ADP Retirement Services, and associate director of Institutional Markets with Cerulli Associates.
Joshua earned a B.A. in history from Bates College. He is a Series 7 and 66 registered representative. Joshua is a member of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and its Retirement Research Center as well as a former member of its Executive Committee.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
What do current equity valuations and bond yields potentially mean for returns in the coming decade? Today, Rob Arnott, Chairman of Research Affiliates gets out his crystal ball and shares his thoughts. If you have heard Rob on prior episodes of the podcast, you will know he is not shy and doesn’t pull any punches. More importantly, he also shares a some good ideas for retirement plans on how they can design investment menus by understanding where we are today and looking forward into the coming decade. If you like what you heard today, Rob has three prior appearances on the podcast you can check out. Links are in the podcast episode notes.
Before we get started today, I am always looking for new ideas for podcast guests, topics or questions. If you have something or someone in mind that would benefit retirement plan sponsors or those who partner with them, send me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
Prior Episodes with Rob Arnott
The Death of Investment Diversification?
Tariffs, Interest Rates & Market Volatility
Avoiding The Bubble in Complacency
Do Third Pillar Investment Belong In Your 401(k)?
Guest Bio
Rob Arnott is the founder and chairman of the board of Research Affiliates, a global asset manager dedicated to profoundly impacting the global investment community through its insights and products. The firm creates investment strategies and tools based upon award-winning research, and delivers these solutions in partnership with some of the world’s premier financial institutions. Rob plays an active role in the firm’s research, portfolio management, product innovation, business strategy and client facing activities. With Chris Brightman, he is co-portfolio manager on the PIMCO All Asset and All Asset All Authority funds and the PIMCO RAE™ funds.
Over his career, Rob has endeavored to bridge the worlds of academic theorists and financial markets, challenging conventional wisdom and searching for solutions that add value for investors. He has pioneered several unconventional portfolio strategies that are now widely applied, including tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index™ approach to investing. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world’s most provocative practitioners and respected financial analysts.
In 2002, Rob founded Research Affiliates as a research-intensive asset management firm intent on delivering innovative and impactful products and insights. Using a unique business model, Research Affiliates delivers investment solutions globally in partnership with leading financial institutions. Rob served as chairman and CEO from 2002 to 2018.
Prior to establishing Research Affiliates, Rob managed two asset management firms. As chairman of First Quadrant, LP, he built up the former internal money manager for Crum & Forster into a highly regarded quantitative asset management firm. He also was global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup), the founding president and CEO of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic Investors, LLC), and a vice president at The Boston Company.
Rob has published more than 130 articles in such journals as the Journal of Portfolio Management, Harvard Business Review, and Financial Analysts Journal, where he also served as editor in chief from 2002 through 2006. In recognition of his achievements as a financial writer, Rob has received seven Graham and Dodd Scrolls, awarded annually by CFA Institute to the top Financial Analysts Journal articles of the year. He also has received four Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy awards from the Journal of Portfolio Management. He is co-author of The Fundamental Index: A Better Way to Invest (Wiley 2008).
Rob Arnott received a BS summa cum laude in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
At least once a year it makes sense to check in on what our friends at the state run retirement plans are up to. Today, I am happy to have Katie Selenski, the Executive Director of CalSavers, the California State Retirement Plan and Dylan Giambatista, the with the new Vermont or Green Mountain Secure Retirement Plan. Katie shares some encouraging data on what they are seeing thus far from CalSavers and Dylan shares the unique approach Vermont took to creating their retirement plan. I learned a lot, hopefully you do as well.
Before we get started, if you are not already on our email list, make sure you take care of that today. We will announcing our next webinar on Pooled Employer Plans shortly. Go to www.401kfridays.com/subscribe today.
Here are the statistics from the CalSavers plan Katie mentioned.
Guest Bios
Katie Selenski is the Executive Director of CalSavers, the State of California’s pioneering retirement savings program that provides a path to retirement security for Californians who lack access to a retirement plan at work. Appointed by the State Treasurer in 2017 shortly after legislative passage, Ms. Selenski took CalSavers from concept through design, build, and launch. Ongoing marketing for the three-year rollout aims to engage an estimated pool of more than 250,000 employers and their eight million employees.
Prior to taking the helm at CalSavers, Ms. Selenski was the State Policy Director for pension policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., where she advised policymakers in a dozen states and cities. Previously, she was a senior manager with the nonpartisan public sector consulting firm Harvey M. Rose Associates, based in San Francisco, where she advised municipal leaders on a wide array of budget, management, and policy matters, including pensions. Earlier, she was a municipal bond rating analyst at a leading rating agency, a legislative aide in the California Assembly, and the director of an historic statewide youth voter turnout initiative.
Ms. Selenski is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Dylan Giambatista is the Director of Outreach & Financial Literacy for the Office of the Vermont State Treasurer, where he is a member of the project management team for the Green Mountain Secure Retirement Plan. Dylan served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2017 until January 2021. He was a member of the House Education Committee, and was elected Assistant Majority Leader. Prior to his service in the Vermont General Assembly, Dylan was Chief of Staff to the Vermont Speaker of the House. He is a Trustee on the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees and serves on several community boards.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
If you couldn’t tell, the COVID pandemic and its impact on the economy, retirement plans and individuals has really gotten me thinking. Along those lines, a recent presentation from this week’s return guest, David Blanchett, the head of retirement research for Morningstar’s Investment Management group, on Total Economic Worth, struck a chord. A very interesting concept that I felt was very applicable to retirement plans to help communicate the importance of saving today and how that translates to resources to fund your lifestyle in retirement. We cover that and much more today in a fast paced and entertaining episode. If you listen to your podcasts on 1.5 or 2 times the normal pace, you might not want to do that for this one. Also, if you didn’t know you can listen to podcasts at a faster pace, your welcome and now you can listen to more episodes in a shorter period of time!
If you like what you hear from our guests on the podcast, be sure to look them up on LinkedIn or other social media sites. Let them know you enjoyed listening to them on the 401(k) Fridays Podcast and engage what the put out into the world. That always helps great repeat guests like David have an easy decision on whether to join me again.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with David!
Guest Bio
David M. Blanchett, PhD, CFA, CFP® is head of retirement research for Morningstar Investment Management LLC. In this role, he helps develop and maintain methodologies relating to wealth forecasting, general financial planning, automated investment selection, and portfolio assignment for Morningstar Investment Management LLC. Prior to joining Morningstar, he was the Director of Consulting and Investment Research for the Retirement Plan Consulting Group at Unified Trust Company. He has published over 100 papers in a variety of industry and academic journals. His research has received best paper awards from the Academy of Financial Services (2017), the CFP Board (2017), the Financial Analysts Journal (2015), the Financial Planning Association (2020), the International Centre for Pension Management (2020), the Journal of Financial Planning (2007, 2014, 2015, 2019), and the Retirement Management Journal (2012).
He is currently an Adjunct professor of Wealth Management at The American College of Financial Services, an Expert Panelist for the Wall Street Journal, a member of the Executive Committee for the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), and a member of the ERISA Advisory Council. In 2014, InvestmentNews included him in their inaugural 40 under 40 list as a “visionary” for the financial planning industry, and in 2014, Money magazine named him one of the brightest minds in retirement planning. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in financial services from the American College, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a doctorate in personal financial planning program from Texas Tech University. When David isn’t working, he’s probably out for a jog, playing with his four kids, or rooting for the Kentucky Wildcats.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The financial markets have started the decade on a feverish pace despite a brief pandemic induced bear market. Today, Dr. David Kelly, CFA with J.P. Morgan Asset Management joins me to share his thoughts on where we go from here. As usual he has great insights on what it will take to get some inflation in the economy, what impact new policies from the Biden administration could have on financial markets, and with the current equity valuations and low interest rates, does that mean employers should be thinking differently about investment diversification in their retirement plans?
For more insights on the financial markets from the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Team, check out their Guide to the Markets.
Guest Bio
Dr. David Kelly is the Chief Global Strategist and Head of the Global Market Insights Strategy Team for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. With over 20 years of experience, David provides valuable insight and perspective on the economy and markets to the institutional investor and financial advisor global communities.
Throughout his career, David has developed a unique ability to explain complex economic and market issues in a language that financial professionals can use to communicate to their clients. He is a keynote speaker at many national investment conferences and a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, and other financial media outlets.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Asset Management, David served as Economic Advisor to Putnam Investments. He has also served as a senior strategist/economist at SPP Investment Management, Primark Decision Economics, Lehman Brothers and DRI/McGraw-Hill.
David is a CFA® charterholder. He also has a Ph.D and M.A. in Economics from Michigan State University and a B.A. in Economics from University College Dublin in the Republic of Ireland.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Happy New Year! I could not think of a better way to kick off 2021 than with an update from Pete the Planner on the impact of the pandemic on personal finances. Some of what he says you might expect, but the group of employees he feels are at the most risk will likely surprise you. That and a whole lot more are part of our conversation.
As a reminder, if you have been enjoying the podcast please share with a friend, colleague, or peer group. Best thing to do is encourage people to search "401(k) Fridays" on their favorite podcast app, or go online to www.401kfridays.com.
Enjoy!
Guest Bio
Peter Dunn a.k.a. Pete the Planner® is an award-winning comedian and an award-winning financial mind. He’s a USA TODAY columnist and the author of ten books, six of which were featured in a nationwide launch at Barnes & Nobles stores in January of 2015. He is the host of the popular radio show and podcast The Pete the Planner Show. Pete has appeared regularly on CNN Headline News, Fox News, Fox Business as well as numerous nationally syndicated radio programs. In addition to his work educating the public, Pete is also the CEO and Founder of Your Money Line and Hey Money. Your Money Line is a corporate financial wellness solution connecting employees to confidential, unbiased financial guidance. Hey Money is a direct-to-consumer monthly subscription that connects people to friendly financial experts. Pete lives in Carmel, Indiana with his wife and two young children.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Admittedly, when I develop topics and content for the podcast I am generally catering to the mid to large plan market. Today, I am excited to welcome Chad Parks, the Founder & CEO of Ubiquity Retirement + Savings to discuss the world of small retirement plans. As you will hear, Chad brings his years of experience and is not shy to share his perspectives. We talk about everything from how do you define a small plan, how they are similar and different from mid to large plans, to the launch of PEPs, and potential changes to retirement plans with a new administration. We also get Chad looking into his crystal ball. Even if you don’t sponsor or support “small retirement plans”, there is a lot of great info here that might help you when your friend who does have a small plan has some questions.
Before we get started, as we go into the New Year, tis the season of giving, please consider either sharing the podcast with a friend, or leaving a rating or review on your favorite podcast app. Either or both of those help us to grow our audience and continue to attract great guests like Chad.
Guest Bio
Chad Parks is CEO and founder of the first online and flat-fee retirement service for small businesses: Ubiquity Retirement + Savings, formerly The Online 401(k). Known for his unique and irreverent approach to business and the financial industry as a whole, Chad is regularly quoted in national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fox Business, Yahoo! Finance, USA Today, CNN Money, Bloomberg Wealth Manager, Business Week, Entrepreneur and Plan Sponsor for his passion for small business and entrepreneurship.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
If you have stable value investments on your mind, my conversation today with Debbie Vince & Ken Sommers of New York Life should address your questions or concerns. We start with Debbie providing some background on stable value investments, how they work and some pros and cons compared to other cash equivalent options in workplace retirement plans. Then we transition to Ken for his thoughts on the realities of managing stable value investments in an historic low interest rate environment. Great stuff, if we missed anything shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
Disclosures:
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Debbie Vince and Ken Sommer as of [date podcast recorded] and are subject to change without notice. Any forward-looking statements may not come to pass.
The information provided in this podcast is general in nature and is provided solely for educational/informational purposes. It is not intended as investment advice nor as a solicitation for any specific investment.
Stable value investments seek capital preservation, but there can be no assurance that this goal will be achieved. Returns will fluctuate with changing interest rates and market conditions. A stable value fund is not a mutual fund. Money market funds are not guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. They generally seek to preserve the value of an investment at $1.00 per share, but it is possible to lose money by investing in a money market fund. All investing involves risk, including the loss of principal.
Guest Bio
Kenneth Sommer is a Managing Director and Head of the Investment Grade Portfolio Management team of NYL Investors' Fixed Income Investors. He joined New York Life in 2005 and has over 17 years of investment experience. He is responsible for managing all multi-sector third-party fixed income portfolios, including retail mutual funds and institutional separate accounts. Previously, Mr. Sommer was a sector specialist overseeing all corporate bond execution for the Investment Grade Portfolio Management team. Prior to joining New York Life, he was an Investment Analyst at MetLife Investments. Mr. Sommer received a B.S. from Binghamton University and an M.B.A. from Fordham University.
Deborah Vince is a V.P of Sales for New York Life. Debbie joined New York Life in 2009, and has more than 22 years of experience in financial services, including 19 years in the retirement plan industry. In her current role, she is responsible for Stable Value investment business development in the Western region. Prior to joining New York Life, she was a Senior Vice President with National Retirement Partners (NRP) and worked as a Retirement Plan Consultant at 401k Advisors and helped launch Retirement Plan Advisory Group (RPAG). Debbie received a BS in Business Management from the University of Redlands. She maintains FINRA Series 6, 7, and 63 registrations and holds life and health licenses in all states. She is currently a board member for Su Casa – Ending Domestic Violence in Southern CA. In her free time she enjoys spending time with family, her dog Bodhi, cooking and travel.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Could Retirement Income be the hot topic of 2021? It was supposed to be the hot topic of 2020, then we got a little derailed. To chat through this with be today, I am excited to have Doug McIntoch, Vice President of Investment with Prudential Retirement. We go through all the stuff you would expect us to. What is retirement income, what are the employer attitudes, what are employee attitudes, what are the lingering concerns despite the new protections provided in the SECURE Act. We also delve into public policy, the legislative environment and where we go from here. I hope you get as much out of this as I did!
Guest Bio
Douglas S. McIntosh, Jr. is vice president of Investments for Prudential Retirement. In this role, Doug supports the investment product function, working across the enterprise to source best-in-class investment & guaranteed solutions for retirement investors on Prudential’s recordkeeping platform and beyond. His team also oversees third-party asset managers that deliver on the promise to help Americans retire with dignity.
Along with product development responsibilities, he works closely with the firm’s Regulatory and Legislative Affairs groups to promote understanding and use of investments and guaranteed outcome vehicles within DC plans. This work has taken him to the Department of Labor and both houses of Congress, and he is a frequent speaker at industry conferences (eg Institutional Investor, Pensions & Investments, SPARK).
Prior to his current role, Doug held the position of vice president, Investments within Prudential Annuities, in which he led all aspects of sales support and strategic direction for that division’s investment platform. Doug previously held the position of vice president, Distribution for Prudential International Investments, creating custom principle-protected and lifelong income products for the world’s largest asset aggregators. Earlier in his career in the United States, Doug held the role of vice president, Distribution for Prudential IncomeFlex within Prudential Retirement.
Prior to working for Prudential Retirement, Doug was Director, International Sales for Mentor Ophthalmics, a specialty medical manufacturer, where he ran distribution in Europe, Asia and Latin America. This work was an outgrowth of his time working hands-on with patients in a large, international vitreoretinal medical and surgical practice (Retina Associates). As a result, he sat in on ophthalmic surgeries on six continents (if we include Australia). Direct interaction with patients and practitioners, in both the office and surgical suite, gave Doug a deep understanding of ocular anatomy, pathology and surgical technique, an interest which he maintains until the present.
Doug holds an MBA with Distinction in International Management & Finance from Cornell University, and received a B.A. in English & Communications from Fairfield University. Doug is currently a board member of both the Connecticut Secure Retirement Authority Board, and the Center for Latino Progress, and was formerly the chairman of the Pension Board for the Town of West Hartford CT. He speaks Spanish, French and Italian in addition to English, plus a little Portuguese.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Today’s episode came by request from several listeners, so thank you for that! The topic is retirement plan fees. My guest is Jim Scheinberg, Managing Partner of North Pier Search Consulting and North Pier Fiduciary Management. We started off with some basics on fees, then get into some of the tricker considerations such as how do you charge fees to plan participants, per head or pro-rata, how do you account for proprietary products when evaluating fees, whether institutional share classes are really the best choice and much more. We also left some things on the table as we ran out of time, so please send me your feedback and questions to feedback@401kfridays.com and I will get that worked into a part two with Jim. Also, the timing of that will be based on your feedback, the more we get, the sooner he will be back!
Also, if you have been enjoying the the podcast, next time you are on your favorite podcast app please leave us a rating or review. Those go a long way to help more people find the podcast and to help our show continue to grow.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jim!
Guest Bio
Born and raised in the North Suburbs of Chicago, Jim Scheinberg came to Southern California in 1987 to pursue his B.A. in Political Science at University of California, Los Angeles. He achieved the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) designation in 2001 from The Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA®) in conjunction with the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a published author, a frequently quoted resource to journalists, a regular speaker at industry conferences, and guest on finance podcasts. Jim also regularly serves as a consulting expert for U.S. government regulatory agencies and as an expert witness for ERISA litigation. He is also a member of the Chancellor's Cabinet of UCLA, sitting on the Board of Visitors of the Political Science Department. Jim passionately serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for foster care youth in the Los Angeles County Children's Court system.
Jim began his career in venture capital in 1990 moving to general securities with Smith Barney Harris Upham in 1992. He joined Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. in 1994 as an Associate in the Oppenheimer Consulting Group, the firm's institutional investment management consulting department, where he worked with institutional fiduciary clients. In 2001, Jim founded what would become the Corporate Services Group of Oppenheimer Co., Inc. (CSG), where he eventually held the position of Director and Senior Vice President. CSG was an industry pioneer in providing conflict-free, fee-only investment consulting and fiduciary advocacy for institutional, participant-directed plan sponsors. In 2008, Jim and key members of CSG founded North Pier.
Professional Activities Member of the Board of Visitors of the UCLA Political Science Department
Member of the Sharpe Fellows Selection Committee of the UCLA Economics Department
Member of Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA)
Court Appointed Special Advocate for the Los Angeles County Children's Court
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
When it comes to M&A activity in the retirement service provider ecosystem, there has been a lot of activity to say the least. This is something my guest, Dick Darian, the CEO of Wise Rhino Group saw coming and has been actively involved in. During our conversation we hit on a few recent headline grabbing announcements, how the traditional lines between traditional service provider roles continue to blur and the argument for how all of this M&A activity benefits employers, their retirement plans and participants. Dick also shares his thoughts on one of my observations that the M&A trends seem to be moving in the opposite direction of the litigation trends. Good stuff.
If you liked what you heard today, check out my prior conversation with Dick back in February of 2019. In the coming weeks on the podcast we have thoughts on how the upcoming election could impact retirement plans, you might have seen a few headlines about that, we will tackle stable value funds in this low interest rate environment.
Finally, if you are want to have a little fun while listening, my microphone died while recording this episode, see if you can tell when I had to switch things out. That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dick!
Guest Bio
Dick Darian is a Partner at Wise Rhino Group. He lives in Charleston SC with his wife Mary and various four-legged friends. He enjoys spending time with family above all, especially his granddaughters Poppy, Parker, and Lottie!
Since relocating from the New York area in 2017, he has begun working with The College of Charleston assisting with classes within the business school's entrepreneurial program.
Dick’s interests beyond family and business include traveling, reading, sports, and music.
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Education: University of Arizona
Top 5 Albums of all time:
Pink Floyd – Dark Side of The Moon
Beatles – Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
Black Sabbath – Paranoid
Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
The Feelies – Crazy Rhythms
Musical artist you would most like to have a meal with (alive or dead):Frank Sinatra
Song Lyric that best describes you:Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging
Madly across the Sun
It’s not aimed at anyone
It’s just escaping on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facing
-“Mr. Tambourine Man” – Bob Dylan
Musical Artist you would most like to see perform (alive or dead):
James Brown
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Tis the season for talk about elections and boy do we have that today. To lend some muscle to the conversation I have Nevin Adams with the American Retirement Association. We start at the top of the ticket as they say and discuss how who sits in the White House could impact retirement policy going forward, we hit on what that would mean to the priorities and focus of various government agencies, then we move to congress as a whole and hit on how influential races and committee leadership roles influence things. Finally, as we recorded this prior to the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we have some written bonus content from Nevin you can find in the podcast notes in your podcast app about how a new Supreme Court justice could impact workplace retirement plans litigation. Check that out when you have a chance.
While you are there, if you have been enjoying the podcast please leave a review or comment. That goes a long way to help more people find the podcast, continue to grow our audience and help me bring you great content and guests like Nevin.
Bonus Question: Could a new Supreme Court Justice impact retirement litigation now or in the future?
Bonus Answer: Unlike many issues that come before the court, there don't seem to be the same kind of partisan splits in retirement issue outcomes. In fact, the most recent case - the Intel decision that set the "actual knowledge" standard for participant awareness of disclosures was UNANIMOUS.
The bottom line is that while every new justice brings a different experience and perspective to issues, but the impact of RBG's replacement is more likely to impact the legislative balance than it is the leaning of the Supreme Court.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy our conversation!
Guest Bio
Nevin E. Adams, JD, is Chief of Content Officer for the American Retirement Association, where he is responsible for all marketing and communications for the organization, as well as its sister organizations, ASPPA, the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA), the ASPPA College of Pension Actuaries (ACOPA), and the National Tax Sheltered Accounts Association (NTSA).
Previously he was the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s Director of Education and External Relations, Co-Director of EBRI’s Center for Research on Retirement Income and Director of the American Savings Education Council, and prior to that spent a dozen years as Global Editor-in-Chief of PLANSPONSOR magazine and PLANSPONSOR.com, as well as PLANADVISER and PLANSPONSOR Europe magazines. He was the originator, creator, writer and publisher of PLANSPONSOR.com’s NewsDash. He began his retirement services career at Northern Trust in Chicago, where he later served in a variety of management roles, culminating in the development of a proprietary recordkeeping platform, and at Wachovia Bank, leading their defined contribution/recordkeeping businesses.
He has been honored three times by the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) with their Media Recognition Award (in 2002, 2004 and 2013), and has regularly been noted as one of the Most Influential People in Defined Contribution by the 401kWire. He graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Finance from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois and after a number of years working with retirement plans, also received his JD from DePaul University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
A few months ago, Vanguard made a significant announcement about the future of their recordkeeping business. To be honest, there was a lot of confusion and questions about the rationale, details and what the future holds for them. To address those and many more questions I am excited to have Dean Edwards, a Principal and Head of Institutional Strategy and Market Leadership with Vanguard join me on the podcast. Our conversation has a great beginning, middle and end. You don’t want to miss any of it. I learned a lot from Dean, and hope you do as well.
Coming up on the podcast we have conversation about politics, elections and 401(k) plans, in another episode we dive into some of the driving forces behind the M&A activity in the retirement ecosystem, we are going to explore best practices on plan fees and much more as we look to close out the year that has been 2020. If you aren’t subscribed to the podcast, take care of that today by searching 401(k) Fridays on your favorite podcast app or going to 401kfridays.com/subscribe
Guest Bio
Dean Edwards is a principal, a member of the Institutional executive leadership team, and the head of Vanguard Institutional Strategy and Market Leadership. In this role, he oversees the strategy and innovation agenda for participant advice, the digital client experience, institutional product and service development, and thought leadership. Dean has more than 15 years of experience in the asset management and recordkeeping industries. In previous roles, he was responsible for the development and launch of Vanguard's participant advice and guidance offer, oversight of all plan participant marketing and digital experiences, recordkeeping operations and contact center, and leadership of the mega-market client service teams serving our largest 401(k) plan sponsors. He also served as an engagement manager on Vanguard's internal strategy consulting team. Dean earned a dual B.A. in business administration and communications at Ursinus College and an executive M.B.A. at Villanova University. He has also completed his Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) designation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Episode Disclosures:
**For more information about any fund, visit institutional.vanguard.com or call 800-523-1036 to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.**
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.
Vanguard is client-owned. As a client owner, you own the funds that own Vanguard.
Vanguard Digital Advisor’s services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc., a registered investment advisor. Go to vanguard.com/digitalbrochure for important details about this service. Vanguard Digital Advisor’s financial planning tools provide projections and goal achievement forecasts that are hypothetical in nature. They are provided for educational purposes only and are not guarantees of future results.
Vanguard Personal Advisor Services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc., a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company, a federally chartered, limited-purpose trust company. The services provided to clients who elect to receive ongoing advice will vary based upon
the amount of assets in a portfolio. Go to vanguard.com/brochurepas for an overview of the service.
Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor of the Vanguard Funds.
Hard to believe, but the economic and financial market impact of COVID-19 first materialized about seven months ago. Since then, we have been seen record breaking market volatility, a spike in unemployment, a recession in the U.S. economy, and dramatic changes to daily life and routines. With all that said, how are retirement savers weathering this storm? To share some details, I am excited to welcome back Nathan Voris, a Managing Director of Business Strategy with Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services. In his role, Nathan is responsible for leading the client experience, platform, and product development strategy to help retirement sponsors, consultants, and participants meet their goals. During our conversation, he pulls from his observations and conversations as well as a the recent 2020 401(k) Participant Survey they recently completed. We covered everything you would expect us to. Some things are you would expect, and others aren’t. I f we missed anything please let me know. Shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com or send me a note on LinkedIn.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Nathan!
Guest Bio
Nathan Voris joined Schwab Retirement Plan Services in 2016. He is responsible for leading the client experience platform and product development strategy to help retirement sponsors, consultants, and participants meet their goals.
Mr. Voris previously worked at Morningstar, where he held several roles within Morningstar Investment Management, including portfolio management and asset allocation responsibilities. His most recent focus there was on product development and strategy for the retirement solutions, including wellness, advice and managed accounts, and target-date solutions.
He was also previously a consultant with R.V. Kuhns & Associates, where he worked with defined contribution plan sponsors to help improve asset allocation and solve other needs of plan participants. In that role, Mr. Voris was responsible for all aspects of portfolio construction, including asset allocation and manager selection/duediligence for plan sponsors, retirement plan providers, and asset managers. He began his career working for defined contribution plans, including Wal-Mart and the Ohio Public Employees’ Retirement System. Mr. Voris has earned a bachelor’s in education from the Ohio State University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The 401(k) world if nothing else loves its acronyms. Today, I am excited to welcome Alison Cohn, a Partner and attorney with Ferenczy Benefits Law Center to the podcast! Alison brings her quick wit and enthusiasm to a conversation around PEPs, MEPs, and SEPs which can generally be confusing or just plan dull. With new regulations coming online, understanding the differences, pros and cons and decision points will be important as we head into 2021. Also, I loved her analogy involving ships and barnacles. I will definitely be stealing that one in the future.
General reminder, if you have been enjoying the podcast, please share with a friend, colleague or give us a shout out on social media. As our audience continues to grow, so does the caliber of guests I am able to bring to keep you informed and sometimes entertained.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Alison!
Guest Bio
Alison J. Cohen, J.D., APA, APR is a Partner with Ferenczy Benefits Law Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Alison advises clients on many issues related to qualified retirement plans, including design, mergers and acquisitions, audits, and operational issues. Alison commonly works with clients that have operational issues to guide them through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and/or Department of Labor (DOL) corrective programs, prepare corrective filings, and prepare and support clients through audits conducted by the IRS and/or DOL.
Alison is a member of the Georgia and California State Bars. Prior to joining Ferenczy Benefits Law Center, Alison worked at a large bundled service provider for nearly 16 years as an Associate Vice President, Compliance Manager and Regulatory Liaison. As part of her responsibilities there, Alison served as a national speaker on audit and correction issues. She served on the Employee Plans Subcommittee of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Governmental Entities (ACT). Alison has been actively involved with the National Institute of Pension Administration (NIPA) serving as a speaker, author, and developer/teacher, and received NIPA’s Excellence in Education Award in 2019. The award recognizes outstanding educators within the national membership who have made significant contributions and improvements to NIPA’s educational programs. She holds designations as an Accredited Pension Administrator (APA) and Accredited Pension Representative (APR) from NIPA. Alison is also the current President of the Pension Education Council of Atlanta. In 2019, Alison assumed co-authorship of “ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide,” along with Ms. Ilene H. Ferenczy.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
A major challenge for let's call it 40% of the workforce here in the United States is access to a retirement plan at work. Recently, several states have launched retirement plans to help provide more access to workers and close the coverage gap. To discuss this and more, I am happy to welcome back to the podcast, Lisa Massena, Principal at Massena & Associates. During our conversation Lisa shares her experience and insights helping launch the state retirement plan in Oregon and now actively partnering with other states and institutions looking to improve retirement security for millions of workers.
Coming up on the podcast, we have episodes which hit on the new Pooled Employer Plans or PEPs, the impact of COVID on workplace retirement plans, a conversation with Vanguard about their decision to partner with Infosys, thoughts on retirement policy in the upcoming election and more! If you are not subscribed to the podcast, take care of that today by searching 401(k) Fridays on your favorite podcast app or going to www.401kfridays.com/subscribe.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Lisa!
Guest Bio
Lisa A. Massena, CFA, is a retirement leader partnering with governments and service providers to develop savings programs focused on increasing private sector retirement coverage.
In 2020 Lisa founded Massena Associates to help clients successfully navigate new spaces, achieving on-budget implementation, state of the art operations, and happy users.
Services to support these outcomes include strategic advice on market position and opportunities; financial analysis; program design and development; implementation planning and support; issue expertise and testimony; marketplace updates and education; and communication.
Prior to establishing Massena Associates, Lisa served on the Government Savings team at Ascensus, the nation’s largest independent recordkeeper, and as the founding Executive Director of the OregonSaves program. She has also held executive positions at State Street and mPower. Lisa is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a graduate of Portland State University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
We have talked about Regulation BI and the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule before on the podcast, however, it has been a while. Reg BI is now live and the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule has been revamped after its prior version was vacated a while back. To share an overview of what each are, the impact on plan sponsors, participants and industry I am happy to welcome Chris Giorgi and Carrol Waddel, both with Empower Retirement to the podcast. Chris provides great background and perspective on the legal front as Associate General Counsel and Carrol offers her insights on how all of this will impact plan sponsors and workplace retirement plan participants. We also hit on the role of advice in the post COVID world and what that could mean for all involved.
That’s it for now, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Chris and Carrol!
Guest Bios
Chris Giorgi is Assistant General Counsel for Empower Retirement. Prior to joining Empower, he served as Senior Counsel in the legal and compliance department for Putnam Investments and as Director of the ERISA compliance team for The Hartford. He has 27 years of experience in ERISA legal and compliance matters.
Chris holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Suffolk University and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. He is the co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s ERISA Committee and a member of various industry groups, including the ICI Pension Committee. He also maintains FINRA Series 6, 26 and 63 securities registrations and holds FINRA Series 7 credentials.
Carol Waddell is Senior Vice President and Head of the Retirement Solutions Group for Empower Retirement. In her role, she oversees the teams that deliver guidance, advice, managed accounts, and financial wellness and planning across all corporate and government defined contribution segments for Empower and leads the consumer IRA, taxable and Empower Brokerage businesses.
Previously, Carol served as Head of Product and Marketing for J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services. At J.P. Morgan, she led product management and development, which included products, services, tools and websites for advisors, plan sponsors and participants, and oversaw the firm’s marketing strategy and communications, segment management and award-winning participant experience.
Carol has also worked for T. Rowe Price, where she served in various leadership roles. In addition to providing oversight for defined contribution, defined benefit and nonqualified plan product development and marketing — including customer digital channels; investment products; and services for intermediaries, plan sponsors and participants — she contributed significantly to the firm’s overall retirement income and target date product strategies. Carol has also served at Citibank in a variety of positions focused on marketing and customer experience.
Carol holds an MBA from Loyola University Maryland. She currently maintains the FINRA Series 6 securities registration and holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 credentials.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Is private equity on its way to 401(k) plans? What actually is private equity? How could this work? What is the investment need that is not being filled? We discuss all of this and more with Doug Keller, Head of Private Wealth and Defined Contribution at the private equity firm Pantheon. Coincidentally, Doug and his firm were also one of the private equity firms to request the information letter from the Department of Labor that has been making headlines and prompting a lot of questions. I learned a lot from this conversation, I hope you will also. If we missed anything today let me know. Send me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com or shoot me a message on LinkedIn.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Doug!
Guest Bio
Doug Keller, Head of Private Wealth and Defined Contribution (joined 2013, 10 years of private markets experience)
Doug is Head of Private Wealth and Defined Contribution at Pantheon. He focuses on the origination, structuring and marketing of registered and unregistered offerings to clients globally. He previously worked in the Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments group where he was involved in screening, structuring and offering private equity and private real estate investments through the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management platform. He has a BA in Economics from Tufts University. Doug is based in New York.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
With the COVID related volatility in the financial markets and the impact on employees and businesses, one question lingering in the back of employers minds has been, am I more likely to be the target of a 401(k) lawsuit now? To answer this and some other topical questions that have come up, I am excited to welcome back Carl Engstrom, a 401(k) plaintiff’s attorney with Nichols Kaster. Carl and his firm have numerous lawsuits against retirement plan sponsors and to date have garnered over $150 million of dollars in settlements on behalf of 401(k) plan participants. In addition to some answers on the first question, we hit on why employers are getting sued, where 401(k) litigation is likely headed and some thoughts on other timely developments. With that said, since we recorded the episode and our release date, there have been a few announcements on private equity and ESG investment strategies we did not discuss. As those situations evolve, we will surely revisit them in the future.
Guest Bio
Prior to joining Nichols Kaster, Carl worked as a judicial law clerk for Judge Natalie E. Hudson of the Minnesota Court of Appeals and for Judge Philip C. Carruthers and Judge Tamara G. Garcia of the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Minnesota.
During law school, Carl was a staff member and articles submission editor of the Minnesota Law Review, where his note on the Fair Labor Standards Act was published in April 2012. Carl was on the Dean’s List all three years at law school and received four Faculty Book Awards given to the top-performing student in a course. Carl also worked as a research assistant to Professor Daniel Schwarcz. Carl began his legal career in 2010 as a Law Clerk with Nichols Kaster.
Carl’s passion for helping people save for retirement began before law school, when Carl spent six years working as a Certified Financial Planner, with a particular focus on helping clients plan and save for retirement.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Recently, there has been a lot of money, trillions of dollars, pumped into the markets and economy. What is the impact on inflation, how could this impact the broader markets, what do near zero interest rates mean? To tackle this and much more, I am happy to welcome back Rich Weiss, a Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Multi-Asset Strategies for American Century Investments. Rich brings some great stories, ability to break down complex topics and make them understandable and a few jokes to the podcast today.
Before we get started, we have some great new episodes coming up featuring my conversation with a 401(k) plaintiff’s attorney, another one talking with one of the private equity firms who applied for the recent DOL information letter to get their thoughts on allowing private equity in 401(k) plans and a detailed look at Regulation BI which takes effect on June 30th. If for any reason you are not subscribed to the podcast, you can take care of that by searching 401(k) Fridays on your favorite podcast app or by visiting 401kfridays.com/subscribe.
Guest Bio
Richard Weiss is senior vice president and chief investment officer, Multi-Asset Strategies for American Century Investments.
Mr. Weiss oversees the team that manages the firm's multi-asset strategies, including the One Choice (Target Risk and Target Date) Portfolios®, Strategic Allocation and investments offered in the Learning Quest® 529 Education Savings Program. He also serves as a member of the American Century Investments Asset Allocation Committee, which is responsible for establishing investment policy and reviewing investment decisions for all of the firm's multi-asset products.
Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Mr. Weiss was executive vice president and chief investment officer of City National Bank, where he was responsible for the bank's investment management group and directed investment policy and strategy. Previously, he was executive vice president and chief investment officer at Sanwa Bank California, where he managed all aspects of their investment department. Earlier in his career, Mr. Weiss held senior investment positions at Vantage Global Advisors, TSA Capital Management, PaineWebber and Mellon Bank.
An investment veteran with over 35 years of experience, Mr. Weiss holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has authored several academic papers and is well known for his advanced work in the field of global investing. Mr. Weiss is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, Fox Business and Bloomberg Radio.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Student debt or student loans has been a hot topic and a challenge for millions for several years now. So much so that employers are now including some type of student loan assistance in their benefits program or even their 401(k) plan. There was also a provision in the CARES Act which addressed what employers can do to help employees who have student debt. To chat about this and more, I am excited to welcome Romy Parzick, the CEO of Vault to the podcast. During our conversation, she effortlessly addresses every question I could think to ask her about student loans, what the current reality of student debt is, the impact from COVID, how employers are addressing them in their benefits programs, will the 401(k) matching program gain traction and what she sees still on the horizon.
Before we get started, I apologize for the gap in episodes early this month. We are back on track and will be putting out more valuable episodes here in the coming weeks. As a reminder, if you have an idea for a guest, topic or question we should address on the podcast please either message me on LinkedIn or shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Romy!
Guest Bio
Romy Parzick is the CEO of Vault, bringing two decades of fintech innovation, operational excellence, and leadership experience to the organization. Her work spans the consumer and commercial finance sectors, where she has worked across organizations to launch new products, drive operational scaling, transform struggling business units, and manage large-scale change initiatives.
Prior to taking the helm at Vault, Romy led operations and client experience for the commercial division of a $4B consumer payments company and implemented national consumer advocacy initiatives at the Financial Health Network and as EVP of a leading Community Development Financial Institution.
Passionate about leveling the playing field for women and minorities, Romy is an active and outspoken First Movers Fellow and advisory board member with the Aspen Institute. She holds an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week, I am happy to share my conversation with Tom Clark, ERISA Attorney and COO of the Wagner Law Group! Tough to put a nice bow around this one, as we delved into a host of issues retirement plan sponsors face in the wake of COVID and as people start planning for their businesses to reopen. We hit on plan design issues, employee education, fiduciary considerations and much more. Tom has been a regular guest on the podcast, had to go back and confirm but this was his fifth episode on the podcast If you like what you heard today, be sure to check on his prior appearances on the podcast. He consistently brings his A game!
Before we get started, a big welcome to our new listeners. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app or by going to 401kfridays.com/subscribe. This way, you will always know when we have a new episode for your enjoyment.
Guest Bio
Tom Clark serves as the firm's Chief Operating Officer and leads the firm’s St. Louis office. His expertise encompasses all aspects of employee benefits programs, including the design, implementation and compliance of retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and executive and incentive compensation arrangements. He also has a robust practice assisting covered service providers in meeting their ERISA compliance needs. Mr. Clark’s vast litigation experience complements the firm’s strong and growing ERISA and employment litigation department and includes work on landmark ERISA cases involving complicated ERISA fiduciary duty issues. He has been quoted extensively as an ERISA and employee benefits expert by outlets such as Reuters, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and Forbes. Mr. Clark teaches ERISA fiduciary law as an Adjunct Professor at The Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, his alma mater. He is a co-author of the Second Edition of "ERISA: Principles of Employee Benefits Law," the only treatise of its kind that provides an overview of the regulation of employee benefit plans by highlighting the central principles and competing policies of employee benefits law in a compact and accessible format for a broad audience of readers.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week I had a timely conversation with a new guest, Chris Anast, CFA, and Senior Vice President, Senior Retirement Strategist with the Retirement Strategy Group at American Funds, part of Capital Group. We focus mostly on the paper he authored with DCIIA about the "Five Practical Barriers to Better Retirement Outcomes.” Interestingly, this was released shortly after the world was turned on its ear with the COVID pandemic. While I wont’ steal his thunder on the five practical barriers, I will say we thoroughly vet if their findings are still relevant today. Towards the end, we take a little tangent and think about other barriers employees face on their journey to retirement and how employers can help. You can find a copy of the report and more information on this episode at 401kfridays.com/barriers
Before we get started, thank you to all of our loyal listeners. I hope the content has helped you navigate this crazy time in the markets and economy. As a reminder, please share the podcast or any takeaways you have with friends, colleagues or anyone you feel could benefit. They can find us by searching 401(k) Fridays on their favorite podcast app, or by going to the website at 401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Chris Anast, CFA, is a Senior Vice President, Senior Retirement Strategist with the Retirement Strategy Group at American Funds, part of Capital Group. Chris has 20 years of institutional investment experience and joined Capital Group in 2017.
Prior to joining Capital, Chris was a Director, Chicago Investment Practice Leader, and a Senior Investment Consultant at Willis Towers Watson. His primary responsibilities at Willis Towers Watson included leading the investment consulting practice for the Central United States, participating on strategic leadership roles for the global business, and lead investment consultant on Fortune 500 companies for defined benefit and defined contribution plans on both and advisory and delegated/OCIO basis.
Chris was also one of the founding members of the Mesirow Financial Investment Strategies defined contribution practice offering 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary services.
He has been a regular contributor to DCIIA Plan Design and Administration Committee including a primary author of the DCIIA white paper, “Defined Contribution Plan Success Factors”.
Chris has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Florida. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute of Chicago and participates in other organizations such as EBRI, PSCA, and WISER.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
One common question amongst employers during the COVID-19 pandemic has been how their employees have been reacting in their 401(k) plans. To delve through this, I am excited to welcome back Josh Dietch, VP of Retirement Thought Leadership at T. Rowe Price. During our conversation, we hit on a few of the obvious thinks like stats around investment and contribution changes, but quickly delve into some of the bigger challenges retirement savers face as a result of recent events. Josh also shares some eye popping numbers on the new CARES act provisions and how their clients are approaching them. Since we missed this point in our conversation, Josh is pulling his data and observations from the over 5,700 retirement plans and 2 million participants that T. Rowe Price works with.
Before we get started, if you have been enjoying the podcast please mention it to anyone you think would benefit from listening. If they already like podcasts, suggest they search 401(k) Fridays on their favorite podcast app, if they are new to podcasts, you might have to explain a few things to them.
Guest Bio
Joshua Dietch is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and the group manager of Retirement Thought Leadership. Joshua joined T. Rowe Price in 2017 and is responsible for leading a team of researchers and writers who create retirement thought leadership in support of the firm's workplace retirement, intermediary, and institutional businesses. Prior to joining the firm, he held a number of senior industry roles, including head of Retirement and Institutional with Strategic Insight, managing director with Chatham Partners, director of Product Marketing and Management with ADP Retirement Services, and associate director of Institutional Markets with Cerulli Associates. In addition to his current role at T. Rowe Price, Joshua is an Executive Committee member of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and is chair of its Retirement Research Board. He earned a B.A. in history from Bates College and is a Series 7 and 66 registered representative.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Have questions about where the financial markets are today, interested in how things could unfold as the world re-opens? We cover this and more with my guest Frances Donald, a Managing Director, and Global Chief Economist & Global Head of Macroeconomic Strategy for Manulife Investment Management. In her role, Frances forecasts global macroeconomic and financial trends, analyzes the economy and capital markets for potential opportunities and risks, and serves as a thought leader both within the firm and externally. As you will hear, Frances makes this all very understandable and has some good stories to help explain some very unique events we are living through.
Before we get started, if you are not receiving invites to our new Webinar Wednesdays events you aren’t on our email list. To take care of that, go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe. What is Webinar Wednesdays, well it is a timely webinar series that I host every other Wednesday where we digest timely retirement related issues plan sponsors should be thinking about. Take care of that today, and you will get an invite to our future events and more info.
Thats it, I know you will enjoy my conversation with Frances.
Guest Bio
Frances Donald is Managing Director, Global Chief Economist & Global Head of Macroeconomic Strategy for Manulife Investment Management. In her role, Frances forecasts global macroeconomic and financial trends, analyzes the economy and capital markets for potential opportunities and risks, and serves as a thought leader both within the firm and externally. As a senior member of the asset allocation team, she coordinates global macro research, assists in the team’s return forecasts, and contributes to portfolio positioning views. Prior to joining Manulife, Frances worked as a financial economist for Scotiabank in Toronto, and before that as a global macro analyst for Pavilion Global Markets in Montreal. Earlier in her career, she held various positions at Deloitte, Roubini Global Economics, and Bank of Canada. Frances earned a B.A. (Honours) in Economics from Queen’s University and a Master’s in Economics from New York University. She’s a frequent public speaker and regularly appears in international media, including Bloomberg and CNBC.
Education: Queen’s University, BA in Economics, 2008; New York University, MA in Economics, 2010
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
I hope this episode finds you safe and healthy during these crazy times. This episode had a lot of twists and turns to get to you. My guest today, Sherrie Boutwell, ERISA Attorney with Boutwell Fay and I had planned this originally as a conversation about some of the trickier distribution scenarios employers face and what to do about them. As things unfolded, we felt it would be helpful to include some commentary on the new COVID related distribution and loan options. So, we start with COVID related topics and then pivot to some of the trickier distribution options that relate to divorce, death and hardship requests.
Before we get started, with many conferences and other traditional sources of information for people wanting to keep up with retirement plan information postponed or canceled, please share the podcast with your friends, colleagues, within a professional group or with anyone who has an interest in key topics and trends to managing 401(k) plans. You can send them to 401kfridays.com or suggest they search 401(k) Fridays on their favorite podcast app.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Sherrie!
Guest Bio
Sherrie Boutwell has focused for thirty years in the areas of employee benefits law and ERISA, with an emphasis on retirement and deferred compensation plans. She advises and counsels a broad range of clients, including employers, employees, plan fiduciaries, financial institutions, government agencies and trade associations, on a wide range of employee benefits matters. Sherrie has extensive experience and is a highly sought after speaker and writer on employee benefits topics.
Sherrie has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association and the United States District Court with respect to employee benefits issues. Sherrie has experience working with the unique deferred compensation issues that arise in the non-profit and governmental employer arena and also has many years of experience in the design and operation of non-qualified executive deferred compensation plans including the requirements under Section 409A of the Code.
Sherrie takes pride in bringing a practical and down to earth approach to resolving complex benefits issues involving qualified plans, non-qualified plans and health and welfare plans.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
I hope this episode finds you safe and healthy in these unprecedented times. There are a lot of questions about coronavirus, the new CARES Act, the bear market. All of these moving parts also brings up inevitable concern in the back of many employers heads, will we be sued over how we have handled our 401(k) plan during this time in the future? To help wade through this I am happy to welcome back David Levine, ERISA Attorney with Groom Law Group to the podcast. He shares his perspectives on administrative or business decisions employers are being asked to make. We also delve into the fiduciary considerations and decisions employers are currently or could be faced with in the future. David also delves into what we have learned from some recent major 401(k) litigation, including one that went to the Supreme Court. While we tackled a lot, if we missed something shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com and we will get you an answer or address it on a future episode!
Before we get started, you have my commitment during this time to continue with our weekly episodes where we tackle a timely and relevant workplace retirement plan topic. With many conferences and other traditional sources of information for people on hold, I would encourage you to share the podcast with your friends, colleagues or within a professional group. You can send them to 401kfridays.com or suggest they search 401(k) Fridays on their favorite podcast app.
Guest Bio
David N. Levine is a principal at Groom Law Group, Chartered. Mr. Levine advises plan sponsors, advisors, and other service providers on a wide range of employee benefits matters, from health and welfare to retirement and executive compensation matters.
Mr. Levine was previously the Chair of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (2011-2013) and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association. Mr. Levine regularly speaks on plan design, fiduciary governance, and legislative issues. He is recognized in the Chambers USA guide for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation. Mr. Levine received his J.D., from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his B.A., with general and departmental honors, from Johns Hopkins University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
I hope this episode finds you safe and healthy! While there is no specific Coronavirus talk today, the concept of managed accounts could get a boost once the dust settles in the financial markets. To help us navigate things I am excited to welcome back David Blanchett, who is the head of retirement research for Morningstar Investment Management. We touch on many of the basics of managed accounts, then look at how they compare to TDFs, roboadvice, and how they are currently offered in workplace retirement plans. We also discuss where things are headed and how managed accounts could change some thinking about investment default options in retirement plans in the future.
Before we get started, two thoughts. First, if you are not subscribed to the podcast take care of that today. You can click subscribe on your favorite podcast or go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe as well. Second, if you like what you hear from David or our other guests on the podcast I would encourage you to follow them on social media. They usually have some pretty informative and timely things to share.
Guest Bio
David M. Blanchett, PhD, CFA, CFP® is head of retirement research for Morningstar Investment Management LLC. In this role, he helps develop and maintain methodologies relating to wealth forecasting, general financial planning, automated investment selection, and portfolio assignment for Morningstar Investment Management LLC. Prior to joining Morningstar, he was the Director of Consulting and Investment Research for the Retirement Plan Consulting Group at Unified Trust Company. He has published over 100 papers in a variety of industry and academic journals. His research has received best paper awards from the Academy of Financial Services (2017), the CFP Board (2017), the Financial Analysts Journal (2015), the Journal of Financial Planning (2007, 2014, 2015, 2018), and the Retirement Management Journal (2012).
He is currently an Expert Panelist for the Wall Street Journal, an Adjunct professor of Wealth Management at The American College, a member of the Executive Committee for the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), and a member of the ERISA Advisory Council. In 2014, InvestmentNewsincluded him in their inaugural 40 under 40 list as a “visionary” for the financial planning industry, and in 2014, Money named him one of the brightest minds in retirement planning.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in financial services from the American College, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a doctorate in personal financial planning program from Texas Tech University. When David isn’t working, he’s probably out for a jog, playing with his four kids, or rooting for the Kentucky Wildcats.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
If you are looking for a great conversation about the realities, challenges and opportunities for individuals on their journey to retirement, this is the episode for you. If you want information and perspectives on the coronavirus, hold onto that thought for a minute. This episode features my conversation with Katherine Roy, Managing Director, Chief Retirement Strategist and Head of Individual Retirement for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. During our conversation we hit on many of the key points and Katherine’s perspectives on J.P. Morgan’s recently released Guide to Retirement. We talk about what she wishes people spent more time thinking about, thoughts on how your prioritize different savings goals, how employers can better support their employees as they prepare for retirement, an urban legend or two and one of Katherine’s favorite topics, the Roth 401(k) feature. You can find a link to JP Morgan’s Guide To Retirement and more information from this episode at 401kfridays.com/retirement2020. Great stuff, be sure to check it out.
Before we get started, this episode was recorded prior to recent major market events driven by the Coronavirus. Everything we talk about is very relevant, but if you want to hear more about that, there is double header episode this week where we provide updates for employers about Key 401(k) Plan Management Considerations During COVID-19. That one features yours truly, be sure to check that out as well.
That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Katherine!
Guest Bio
S. Katherine Roy, Managing Director, is Chief Retirement Strategist and Head of Individual Retirement for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. In this role, Katherine is responsible for delivering timely personal retirement-related insights to financial advisors. Focused on the retirement income-related landscape for more than 15 years, Katherine specializes in identifying themes, strategies and solutions that can help advisors successfully partner with individuals in the transition and distribution life stages.
Katherine is consistently ranked as a top speaker at major industry and firm-specific conferences and events. She also has been interviewed and quoted in the financial press on a variety of key retirement planning topics.
Prior to joining the firm, Katherine was Head of Personal Retirement Planning & Advice at Merrill Lynch, where she led strategy and innovation in retirement income solutions for individuals, and the retirement planning, advice and guidance programs available to integrated benefits plan participants. She also held several roles in financial planning product development, participant communications and consulting, and interactive client experience initiatives. Katherine received a B.A. from Yale University and is a Certified Financial Planner®.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This episode is a first in nearly, 200 episodes. We don't have a guest. With as quickly as the financial markets, business conditions and the economy are changing I thought it might be helpful to share some timely information. My commentary is derived from a recent webinar I hosted and covers a brief update on the financial markets, ideas to communicate with employees, process to suspend your match, plan administrative questions and fiduciary considerations.
We have also have a second episode this week which I released separately which follows our more traditional path. It features my conversation with Katherine Roy of J.P. Morgan discussing her perspective on their Guide to Retirement report.
Finally, if you like this episode and would like me to do more of them when the times call for it, let me know. Either shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com or leave a comment on LinkedIn. Hope you enjoy!
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
In this unprecedented economic and market environment it is more important than ever for employers and their retirement service partners to work well together. This week I am excited to welcome back Tom Kmak, the CEO of Fiduciary Benchmarks to share his perspectives. Tom has a great message that is simple in concept but not always followed by employers or their service partners. We also delve into his forward looking thoughts around the effectiveness of workplace retirement plans, creating retirement income for employees, as well as some potential threats and obstacles for employers and the retirement industry. If you like what you hear from Tom today, be sure to check out our prior conversations on the podcast as well.
Before we get started, I would encourage you to look up and follow our guests on the podcast on LinkedIn and Twitter. They love the connections and have a lot to share. Also, if for any reason you are not following me on LinkedIn or Twitter or you are not subscribed to the podcast you can take care of that today by going to 401kfridays.com/subscribe.
Guest Bio
Tom Kmak is the CEO and co-founder of Fiduciary Benchmarks, 2007 to current. Fiduciary Benchmarks (FBi) is a financial services technology firm that helps clients protect their current revenue streams via their patented benchmarking service. Since being founded in 2007, FBI has developed other technologies that help services providers grow their business, manage their business as well as provide research and competitive intelligence on a number of retirement related issues. Their most recent innovation, the Business Management Dashboard, has been selected by a number of the most prestigious Advisory firms in the business.
Prior to founding FBi, Tom Started the JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services business in 1990 with American Century. Upon leaving in October 2007, that business employed 1,100 people serving 200 large plan sponsors with over 1.5 million participants and more than $115 billion in assets.
During his 18 years with Retirement Plan Services, the company initiated numerous industry firsts including no blackout conversions and the innovative employee education program, Audience of One. Tom also served on the Executive Committee for JPMorgan’s asset management business.
Named by Ingram’s magazine as one of Kansas City’s inaugural class of “Forty most influential people under Forty,” Tom is a recognized expert in the retirement services industry who has been a featured speaker at various conferences and has published articles in some of the most well-known periodicals in the industry.
Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University with B.A. degrees in Economics and Computational Mathematics. First graduate of Management Fellows Program and 3 year letterman in inter-collegiate basketball.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Volatility, is an understatement when describing current conditions in the financial markets. To help interpret some recent events and offer thoughts on where we go from here, I am excited to welcome back Scott Kimball, CFA who is a Portfolio Manager with BMO Asset Management. During our conversation he shares very level headed thoughts on what triggered one of the quickest corrections in the stock market we have seen, the rationale for the rapid decline in interest rates, the driving force behind a fall in oil prices, what politics has to do with all this and how could we not talk about the impact of the Coronavirus or COVID-19. Also, be sure to stick around for his wrap up as he shares his thoughts for 401(k) plan sponsors and their employees. We also have a great bonus question this week, check that out at 401kfridays.com/volatility.
One quick request, if you have been enjoying the podcast please be sure to mention it to a friend, colleague or anyone else you think might benefit. Easiest thing to do is suggest they search “401(k) Fridays” on your favorite podcast app, or go to our website at 401kfridays.com. As our audience continues to grow, it helps me secure great guests like Scott that hopefully help you!
Guest Bio
Scott Kimball is a Portfolio Manager with BMO Global Asset Management. He is responsible for the firm’s investment policy and strategy and manages client portfolios. He joined BMO in 2007 and served as a research analyst prior to joining the portfolio management team in 2011. He is also a member of the management committee.
Previously, Scott held positions at Merrill Lynch and other boutique investment firms. He began his career in the investment industry in 2003.
Scott holds an M.B.A. from the University of Miami and a B.A. in international business from Stetson University.
In addition, he is a CFA® charterholder.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Managed accounts have been around for a while in workplace retirement plans. However, according to my guest Jason Roberts, the founder and chief executive officer of the Pension Resource Institute, a consulting firm that delivers compliance, training and technology-based solutions to financial institutions and plan fiduciaries, we are on the verge of major transition to managed accounts 2.0 which will have benefits and implications for retirement plans, employers and plan participants. We logically start with what a managed account is, some general pros and cons, how they differ from target date funds and more. Then we delve into the what managed accounts 2.0 will look like, how this could lead to high utilization as default funds in retirement plans, benefit participants and the fiduciary implications for employers. Jason, who is also the founder and managing partner of Retirement Law Group, a law firm specializing in ERISA, tax and investment related matters shares thoughts on how to monitor managed account providers and why the DOL tips for target date funds could apply and how tips is probably understated. Lot’s of great stuff to dig into.
Before we get started, we have had a lot of new listeners to the podcast this year, don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you are notified of each new episode. Like the name implies, we publish new episodes nearly every Friday. That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jason!
Guest Bio
Jason C. Roberts, Esq. is the founder and managing partner of Retirement Law Group (RLG), a law firm specializing in ERISA, tax and investment related matters. He is also the founder and chief executive officer of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI), a consulting firm that delivers compliance, training and technology-based solutions to financial institutions and plan fiduciaries serving retirement investors.
Jason currently represents clients in a variety of capacities, including business transactions as well as SEC, FINRA, DOL and IRS compliance and investigative matters.
He also provides counsel to employers with respect to the successful development, implementation and ongoing management of their employee benefit plans.
Prior to founding PRI and RLG, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a national ERISA law firm and the head of the Investment Fiduciary practice for a prominent securities litigation defense firm.
Jason has been repeatedly recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution by the 401(k) Wire and a Rising Star by SuperLawyers Magazine. He was selected by InvestmentNews as one of the Top 40 Advisors and Associated Professionals under 40, and The Wall Street Journal tapped Jason to participate in its Ask the Experts series answering readers’ questions relating to the Department of Labor Fiduciary Regulation.
Jason has published numerous articles focusing on ERISA compliance, fiduciary best practices and is a frequent speaker at retirement plan and financial industry conferences. He is a contributing author and faculty member for the Practicing Law Institute.
Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from UCLA Law School.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Originally, this was going to be a cyber episode, but based on a recent conversation with plaintiff’s attorney Jerry Schlichter and some subsequent litigation, thought it might be good to expand our horizons to include employee data. My guest today, Jenny Eller, Principal and co-head of the Fiduciary Practice at Group Law Group brings her experience and perspective to the conversation. We first dive into the data side of the conversation with some general thoughts on the business practices around data, whether it is a plan asset, and why it could be a hot topic for the foreseeable future. Then we make a soft pivot to cyber risks, share thoughts on where employers might be worrying too much and where maybe they are not worrying enough. Jenny also makes some interesting points on how ERISA doesn’t even contemplate some of the losses we are experiencing in plans today and what plan sponsors can to to protect their plan, participants and themselves. Good stuff!
Before we get started, I am so excited to share that with some help, I finally got the website in much better working order. Check it out when you have a chance. For more information about this episode go to www.401kfridays.com/cyber2020, to see prior episodes click on “Podcast Episodes” on the top and if for any reason you are not subscribed you can take care of that while you are there as well.
Guest Bio
In her practice, Jennifer Eller advises financial institutions on the design and delivery of products and services to the retirement plan marketplace, and advises large corporate and public plan sponsors on all aspects of ERISA fiduciary compliance.
Jenny writes and speaks frequently on fiduciary issues, appearing at conferences held by the Fiduciary Risk Management Association, the Practising Law Institute, and the ALI CLE among others.
Jenny is co-head of Groom’s Fiduciary Practice Group. In her role as practice group co-head, Jenny is responsible for ensuring that the strategic direction and new initiatives of the Fiduciary Group position Groom to serve the needs of its financial, corporate, and public plan clients.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Despite the divisiveness in our government right now, they were able to get things together and bring us the SECURE Act, arguably the most significant retirement legislation in over a decade. Today, my guest & I, Bob Holcomb, Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at Empower Retirement, discuss how this came back from the dead, this significance for employers and employees, and much more. We dive into new retirement income provisions, multiple employer plans, the new concept of a long-term part-time employee, changes to required minimum distributions, and the introduction of birth and adoption distribution provisions. Also, Bob and I debate the effectiveness or impact some of these changes could have. As we wrap-up, we take a look into the future of what could be coming down the road and how the 2020 election could impact retirement plans. Finally, there is a great bonus question on the website for this week that Bob answers. Check that out at 401kfridays.com/secure.
Before we get started, if you have been enjoying the podcast, please take 30 seconds and leave us a rating and review. The easiest thing to do is go to Apple Podcasts, search “401(k) Fridays”, scroll to the ratings and review section and tap on that, select a star rating, leave a short review or comment and hit submit. Thanks in advance, this goes a long way to help more people discover the podcast.
Guest Bio
Robert A. Holcomb, is Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for Empower Retirement.
In his role, he oversees retirement policy efforts on behalf of Empower. In addition, he interprets pension-related legislation and regulations, consults with clients and internal partners on legislative and regulatory issues, and represents the organization in advocacy groups.
Bob joined the organization in 1991 and has been in the retirement services industry for 30 years, serving in client management, operations, technical consulting and sales support roles. Bob is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The last decade came to a close with us in the midst of a bull market in for the ages, while that was great, what's next? Will the good times continue to roll? Or, will the 2020’s be a lost decade for returns? Or something in between? To help chew on this, I was happy to welcome back Rob Arnott, Chairman of Research Affiliates to the podcast. If you are not familiar with Rob, despite his fancy titles, he plays an active role in the firm’s research, portfolio management, product innovation, business strategy, and client-facing activities. He has pioneered several unconventional portfolio strategies that are now widely applied, such as tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index™ approach to investing. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world’s most provocative practitioners and respected financial analysts. During our conversation about what the next decade could hold for the financial markets, he shares the difference between a nowcast and a forecast, some amusing “death of” statements, inflation, and a few truisms. He also provides the best explanation I have heard of yet about negative interest rates and their impact on individuals, economies, and the markets.
Before we get started, if you a new to the podcast, don’t forget to check out our nearly 200 prior episodes with expert guests like Rob. You can easily scroll through them and listen on-demand on your favorite podcast app, if you are looking for something specific and can’t find, shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com and we will see what we can do to tackle it in a future episode.
For the episode transcript, bonus questions and more go to www.401kfridays.com/arnott2020
Guest Bio
Rob Arnott is the founder and chairman of the board of Research Affiliates, a global asset manager dedicated to profoundly impacting the global investment community through its insights and products. The firm creates investment strategies and tools based upon award-winning research, and delivers these solutions in partnership with some of the world’s premier financial institutions. Rob plays an active role in the firm’s research, portfolio management, product innovation, business strategy and client facing activities. With Chris Brightman, he is co-portfolio manager on the PIMCO All Asset and All Asset All Authority funds and the PIMCO RAE™ funds.
Over his career, Rob has endeavored to bridge the worlds of academic theorists and financial markets, challenging conventional wisdom and searching for solutions that add value for investors. He has pioneered several unconventional portfolio strategies that are now widely applied, including tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index™approach to investing. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world’s most provocative practitioners and respected financial analysts.
In 2002, Rob founded Research Affiliates as a research-intensive asset management firm intent on delivering innovative and impactful products and insights. Using a unique business model, Research Affiliates delivers investment solutions globally in partnership with leading financial institutions. Rob served as chairman and CEO from 2002 to 2018.
Prior to establishing Research Affiliates, Rob managed two asset management firms. As chairman of First Quadrant, LP, he built up the former internal money manager for Crum & Forster into a highly regarded quantitative asset management firm. He also was global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup), the founding president and CEO of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic Investors, LLC), and a vice president at The Boston Company.
Rob has published more than 130 articles in such journals as the Journal of Portfolio Management, Harvard Business Review, and Financial Analysts Journal, where he also served as editor in chief from 2002 through 2006. In recognition of his achievements as a financial writer, Rob has received seven Graham and Dodd Scrolls, awarded annually by CFA Institute to the top Financial Analysts Journal articles of the year. He also has received four Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy awards from the Journal of Portfolio Management. He is co-author of The Fundamental Index: A Better Way to Invest(Wiley 2008).
Rob Arnott received a BS summa cum laude in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
My now annual conversation with Jerry Schlichter, plaintiffs attorney with Schlichter Bogard & Denton has been one of the more popular episodes on the 401(k) Fridays podcast. This year was one of our best and most forward looking. In case you are not familiar with Jerry and his work in successfully brining 401(k) or ERISA litigation against employers, he has a pretty impressive track record. He burst onto the scene with a flurry of litigation in 2006 and to date he has secured settlements of over $300 million and what he would call significant improvements in their plans. In total, this relief is valued at more the $1.5 billion. In Jerry’s prior appearances on the podcast we have talked about how the modern era of 401(k) litigation started, his unanimous victory in the Supreme Court and several other of his thoughts and observations. This time, we briefly touch on the current state of litigation and spend most of our time talking about how he thinks litigation will evolve in the coming decade. This is a great listen, be sure to stick around for the end when I ask him about his third act in retirement plan litigation.
If you want to check out my prior conversations with Jerry you can either search or scroll through your podcast app and look for titles with "Boogey Man" in it. Those are not required listening to follow along in this episode, but are good none the less. Also, please share your thoughts on this episode on social media. Be sure to tag me, Rick Unser or the 401(k) Fridays Podcast. Or, if you would prefer send me a private message or an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
For the episode transcript, bonus question and more information go to https://www.401kfridays.com/schlichter2020
Guest Bio
Jerry is founding and managing partner of the firm. He has been repeatedly elected by his peers for inclusion in "Best Lawyers in America” and “Lawyer of the Year” and is listed in the 2019 edition.
Jerry has been featured in numerous national publications, including the New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal, for his and the firm’s success in pioneering claims of excessive fees in 401(K) plans and obtaining precedent-setting results involving claims of excessive fees against large employers, and for the reduction in fees his cases have caused throughout the 401(k) industry.
He and the firm have obtained settlements in these 401(k) excessive fee cases of more than $300 million for employees and retirees, in addition to significant improvements in their 401(k) plans; in total, this relief has been valued at more than $1.5 billion. He also was lead attorney for the firm in the first and only full trial of an excessive fee case in the country, resulting in a verdict of $36 million. In recent rankings of the most influential people in the 401(k) industry by 401kWire.com, Jerry has repeatedly ranked in the top 5.
According to a recent article published in Reuters, the CEO of Brightscope, an independent company which evaluates 401(k) plans, stated, speaking of Mr. Schlichter’s national impact on 401(k) plan fees, that “[h]is impact has been humongous." The New York Times has referred to Jerry as “a Lone Ranger of the 401(k)’s,” and he has been referred to by Investment News as “public enemy no. 1 for 401(k) profiteers” and by Chief Investment Officer as “the industry’s most feared attorney.” In describing the effect of his work on behalf of employees in 401(k) plans, the Wall Street Journal referred to it as being “Schlicterized”.
In 2014 and 2015, Mr. Schlichter’s firm obtained the two largest 401(k) excessive fee settlements in history. The first was a settlement for $62 million against Lockheed Martin on behalf of Lockheed Martin employees, which included significant changes to the Lockheed Martin 401(k) plan. The second was a settlement for $57 million from Boeing, which likewise included significant non-monetary relief.
Also in 2015, Mr. Schlichter won a unanimous 9-0 decision in the U.S. Supreme Court in Tibble v. Edison, the first U.S. Supreme Court case to consider fees in 401(k) plans.
In an order in the case of Nolte v. Cigna Corporation in 2013, the U.S. District Court judge stated: “As the preeminent firm in 401(k) fee litigation, Schlichter, Bogard & Denton has achieved unparalleled results on behalf of its clients. Jerome Schlichter and Schlichter, Bogard & Denton’s work throughout this litigation stands as yet another example of the firm’s acting as a private attorney general, risking breathtaking amounts of time and money while overcoming many obstacles for the benefit of employees and retirees. . . . Mr. Schlichter and the Schlichter, Bogard & Denton firm’s actions have led to dramatic changes in the 401(k) industry, which have benefited employees and retirees throughout the country by bringing sweeping changes to fiduciary practices.”
The U.S. District Court in Tussey v. ABB similarly found of “special importance . . . the significant, national contribution” made by the team led by Mr. Schlichter, which has “educated plan administrators, the Department of Labor, the courts and retirement plan participants” about the fiduciary obligations of 401(k) plan administrators.
Jerry has received numerous awards, such as the Levee Stone Award and "What's Right with the Region Award" for his contributions to revitalization of the city of St. Louis and the state of Missouri.
In December 2013, Jerry was honored with the prestigious St. Louis Award, given to the person who has accomplished the most in the prior years for the development of St. Louis.
Jerry spearheaded the founding and development of another St. Louis not for profit, Arch Grants, which is a global competition for startup businesses in which winning entrepreneurs come to St. Louis, receive $50,000.00 and a broad package of support services including business mentoring, discounts on office space, and free legal, accounting, and marketing services. Arch Grants has provided grants of $50,000.00 to 114 startups since its founding in 2012, and has been the subject of numerous national articles describing its building of entrepreneurial businesses in St. Louis.
Education: University of Illinois, B.S., Business Administration, 1969, (in 3 years) with honors; James Scholar. University of California at Los Angeles, J.D. 1972; Associate Editor, UCLA Law Review.
Admitted: California (1972); Illinois (1973); Missouri (1982).
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Welcome back to another year and another decade of the 401(k) Fridays Podcast! Sorry for the delay in getting new episodes out, had some last minute scheduling challenges along with sickness that got us off track. Don’t fear though, we are back and ready for an exciting 2020! To kick things off, I am excited to welcome back Andrew Biggs, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute to the podcast. As a retirement policy expert and researcher he brings a sober perspective of how our private workplace retirement plan system is really doing. During our conversation we hit on why there is so much focus on how 401(k) plans are broken, data on how current retirees are doing, somethings to future retirees can expect and much more.
Coming up on the podcast we welcome back a fan favorite Jerry Schlichter, the plaintiffs attorney who has shaped retirement plan litigation, Bob Holcomb of Empower to talk in more detail about the new SECURE Act and Rob Arnott of Research Affiliates to discuss what he sees coming for the markets in the near and not so near term. Exciting stuff, please be sure to share with anyone you think could benefit from listening.
Guest Bio
Andrew G. Biggs is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits.
Before joining AEI, Biggs was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA’s policy research efforts. In 2005, as an associate director of the White House National Economic Council, he worked on Social Security reform. In 2001, he joined the staff of the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Biggs has been interviewed on radio and television as an expert on retirement issues and on public vs. private sector compensation. He has published widely in academic publications as well as in daily newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has also testified before Congress on numerous occasions. In 2013, the Society of Actuaries appointed Biggs co-vice chair of a blue ribbon panel tasked with analyzing the causes of underfunding in public pension plans and how governments can securely fund plans in the future. In 2014, Institutional Investor Magazine named him one of the 40 most influential people in the retirement world. In 2016, he was appointed by President Obama to be a member of the financial control board overseeing reforms to Puerto Rico’s budget and the restructuring of the island’s debts.
Biggs holds a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, master’s degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London, and a PhD from the London School of Economics.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
While every industry has its own unique characteristics, not every industry has enough of them related to retirement plans to deserve a special report or podcast episode to discuss them. Healthcare though, is one of those industries which does. To dive into the topic I was excited to welcome back to the podcast Brodie Wood, National Practice leader for Healthcare, Education and Not-for-Profit markets at Voya Financial. We quickly jump into multiple hot topics such as outcomes based approaches, financial wellness, employer contribution strategies, recruiting, student loan debt and much more. If you like what you hear today, be sure to check out Voya’s Healthcare Survey that was just released this week. You can find that, a bonus question from Brodie and the episode transcript all at 401kfridays.com/healthcare2019.
Tis the season for sharing, whether you are a new or long time listener please take a moment and share the podcast with a friend, colleague or someone you think could benefit. You can do that by liking or sharing a post on social media, showing them how to subscribe to a podcast on their mobile device, or send them to 401kfridays.com/subscribe.
Guest Bio
Brodie Wood is Senior Vice President, Healthcare and Education for Voya’s Tax-Exempt Markets business. He is responsible for developing and maintaining new and existing relationships with plan sponsors, intermediaries and consultants to support the broader strategic growth of the firm’s Tax-Exempt Markets business. He has more than 20 years of industry sales experience, with a broad knowledge of products, services, distribution channels and the competitive landscape – specifically within the 403(b) and 457 plan markets. Most recently, Wood served as senior vice president of Healthcare, Education and Not-for-Profit Markets at Transamerica. He has also served on the board of the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity in Health Management since 2010. He has been involved in the retirement plan field for the past fifteen years helping participants become retirement ready. He earned his B.A. with a dual major in Spanish and Business from Utah State University. He has also completed his M.B.A. from Brigham Young University in 2002. He is a Six Sigma Green Belt and holds FINRA Series 26, 7, 63, and CRPC designations. Registered representative of Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. (member SIPC).
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
In a somewhat related follow-on to our conversation last week about the long term impact of automatic enrollment, today we tackle the emerging auto concept of auto portability. My guest, Spencer Williams, Founder & CEO of Retirement Clearing House has been intimately involved in the process to get this off the ground and available in a workplace retirement plan near you! As you might expect, we discuss what auto portability is, the retirement challenges it intends to solve, how it differs from todays auto-cashouts or auto-rollovers and much more. We also wax philosophical once or twice and be sure to stick around for the end where Spencer shares how employers or retirement service partners can help move the auto-portability concept further down the road.
As we get ready to kick off a new year and new decade for that matter, I would love to get any input on bigger picture topics or guests you would like me to tackle. Send your ideas to feedback@401kfridays.com. We will take it from there.
Guest Bio
Spencer Williams is Retirement Clearinghouse’s Founder, President and CEO. Retirement Clearinghouse is a specialized provider of portability and consolidation services for America’s mobile workforce and has serviced more than 1 million job-changing participants during Mr. Williams’ 9 year tenure with the company. Prior to joining Retirement Clearinghouse, Williams served in a number of senior executive roles at MassMutual Financial Group, and as a retirement Services executive at Federated Investors, Inc.
Williams earned his B.A. degree in English from the United States Naval Academy and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Automatic enrollment has been a regular theme on the podcast, in fact when I first launched the podcast I got a little worried because we seemed to hit on it in nearly every episode regardless of the topic. Today, I am excited to welcome back Josh Dietch, a Vice President with T. Rowe Price and the group manager of Retirement Thought Leadership. Without stealing too much of his thunder, Josh and his team have just released a very interesting and thought provoking report called “Auto-Enrollment’s Long-Term Effect on Retirement Savings”. As you will hear, some assumptions we have made about the benefits of automatic enrollment hold up, but other conclusions they come to were eye opening and have made me rethink a few things. You can find a link to the study, this week’s bonus question and the episode transcript at 401kfridays.com/trp2019.
Before we get started, ’tis the season to be thankful so on that note I want to thank all of my amazing guests on the podcast who have shared their time and expertise. Also, thank you to all of our listeners. I really appreciate the feedback, interaction on social media and sharing with friends. As the podcast continues to grow, I look forward to a great 2020 with more new episodes, guests and topics.
Guest Bio
Joshua Dietch is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and the group manager of Retirement Thought Leadership. Joshua joined T. Rowe Price in 2017 and is responsible for leading a team of researchers and writers who create retirement thought leadership in support of the firm's workplace retirement, intermediary, and institutional businesses. Prior to joining the firm, he held a number of senior industry roles, including head of Retirement and Institutional with Strategic Insight, managing director with Chatham Partners, director of Product Marketing and Management with ADP Retirement Services, and associate director of Institutional Markets with Cerulli Associates. In addition to his current role at T. Rowe Price, Joshua is an Executive Committee member of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and is chair of its Retirement Research Board. He earned a B.A. in history from Bates College and is a Series 7 and 66 registered representative.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
When we get to tackle new topics and shed some light where there is confusion, that get’s me really excited. Regardless of what state you live in, this is timely and relevant as we tackle cannabis companies and their unique challenge of setting up 401(k) plans. My guest, Jewell Lim Esposito an ERISA Attorney with FisherBroyles has specific hands on experience working with companies in the cannabis, hemp, cbd space. She shares some of the challenges they face in setting up 401(k) plans for their employees, why various service providers have been hesitant to enter the space and what cannabis and other similar companies can do to provide a 401(k) plan to their employees. Also, if you are like me and are a little confused on the difference between marijuana, cannabis, hemp and cbd is, we discuss that as well. Really great conversation and a ton of information for employers and retirement service partners who are trying to figure out what to do.
During our conversation Jewell references supporting material from her blog All Things ERISA. You can find the link, the bonus question for this week, an episode transcript and more at 401kfridays.com/cannabis.
Guest Bio
Jewell Lim Esposito offers decades of in-the-trench practical experience in the Employee Benefits/Tax legal world. She further sub-specializes in Title I (Department of Labor fiduciary issues) and Title II (IRS tax qualification issues) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Ms. Esposito's strength is understanding the business and demographics of her clients, who are headquartered across the nation. That is, with her practice being federal law, the location of the US client needing ERISA/Tax guidance on tax compliance and fiduciary duties is immaterial.
She advises in "plain English," even when the issues are complex and is able to size up exposure for C-suite executives to help them select an optimal Tax and ERISA strategy. The range of Ms. Esposito's practice extends to work in the areas of government pension plans, Executive Compensation, the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, health and welfare fringe/prevailing wage under the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon, and ERISA prohibited transaction exemptions.
In the area of cannabis/hemp/CBD, Ms. Esposito counsels associations, member companies, and growers/distributors/dispensaries/license holders on how Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code affects their payroll, 401(k), health benefits, and insurance deductions. She currently chairs and coordinates her firm's efforts in showcasing all the legal services already provided to the Cannabis, Hemp, and & CBD industry and in education related to marijuana use to the general workplace.
Ms. Esposito is the editor of and contributing author to the AllThingsERISA blog.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
We revisit our sponsor spotlight theme on the podcast this week! Tony Tomich, the Head of Pension Investments at Farmers Insurance® shares some great perspective on the company and their retirement plan. We had fun digging into how their plan works, how it helps with recruiting and retaining talent, how decisions are made and much more. One major theme we dig into is the concept of retirement readiness and retirement income. Both hot topics in their own right and really impactful to hear how Tony thinks about both. Finally, despite Farmers® being a very large company with a very large retirement plan, there are plenty of great take aways for companies and plans of all sizes.
Before we get started, we have several exciting episodes coming up where we will welcome back some prior guests, tackle new topics and have all sorts of retirement plan fun. If you have an idea for a topic, guest or question we should tackle on the podcast I would love to hear about it. Just shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
Now, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Tony!
Guest Bio
Tony Tomich manages Farmers’ retirement investments. He has a BBA and an MPP from The College of William & Mary, in Williamsburg, VA. Tony began his career in NYC in the banking industry then moved to the internet and telecom industries in the Silicon Valley in the early 2000s. He joined 21st Century Insurance in 2004 and held multiple positions during his tenure with the organization, ranging from Treasurer & Investment Relations Officer to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. 21st Century Insurance was purchased by AIG in 2007 and was subsequently sold to Farmers in 2009. Tony transitioned Farmers’ $3B DC plan to an open architecture, white‐label structure in 2013. Tony also manages the company’s Socially Responsible Investments portfolio and has multiple leadership roles in the space. These range from a 3 term member of the California Insurance Commissioner’s COIN Advisory Board (inaugural chairperson) to an Investment Committee member for the California Fair Plan to the Chairman of Impact Community Capital, LLC, a for‐profit entity that facilitates over $1B in SRI investments in California and beyond. Farmers Insurance provides P&C, specialty, life, commercial and other insurance and financial services products.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The business of being in the 401(k) business has been one of our more popular themes on the podcast. Today, should be no different. My guest Tim Wulfekuhle, President of Northwest Plan Services and I dive into the topic of independent recordkeepers. We start with some thoughts about different types or categories of recordkeepers, what the litmus test for an independent recordkeeper is, how in a rapidly changing environment for service providers they are positioned and what does scale mean. Tim also shares thoughts on consolidation trends, bright shiny objects, capturing employer and employee attention when you don’t have a household brand name and what the future of the retirement business could look like.
Guest Bio
Tim Wulfekuhle is President and CEO of Northwest Plan Services, Inc. (NWPS), which is a non-producing retirement plan recordkeeping and administration firm headquartered in Seattle. NWPS provides services to all sizes of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. He has over 30 years of retirement plan recordkeeping, administration and consulting experience and has been an owner of NWPS since 2002. Prior to joining NWPS, Tim was the Director of Retirement Plan Administration Services for Howard Johnson & Company. Throughout his career he has specialized in large, complex defined contribution relationships and has been the lead consultant for numerous national clients.
Tim holds a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Washington State University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Today we have a little fun, I am excited to welcome back J.D. Carlson who by day is the President & CEO of Plan Design Consultants, a Third Party Administration firm and by night is a YouTube sensation as one fourth of the Retireholiks. Our conversation is a follow-up to one we had on the podcast last year where we tackled some tricky workplace retirement terms to either decipher some industry jargon, declare they are pure Gibberish or if they are real terms or concepts that can be confused or jumbled together. I think the conversation we have falls into the edutainment category. Oh, and two things not to miss this week, our bonus question which you can find a 401kfridays.com/jgj2019 and when JD gets fired up towards the end of the episode.
While you don’t have to listen to the first version of Jargon, Gibberish or Jumbled, you can find it by scrolling through your favorite podcast app and look for the title Frustrated Complex 401(k) Terms in March of 2018. While you are there, we do have over 175 episodes in our podcast library. If you find something else that catches your eye, give it a listen as well. Our episodes are evergreen and don’t tend to expire over time.
Guest Bio
We're Plan Design Consultants, Inc. a retirement company that since 1975 has been providing businesses with affordable, quality plans customized to meet the specific needs of our clients.
Over four decades in the business has given PDC the experiences we need to evolve our service model to what it is today. A smart, easy process centered on the needs of our clients. A service model designed to be AWESOME!
It is our deep understanding of all areas of retirement plans combined with a constant commitment to customer service that sets us apart. We share our expertise with our clients to make sure they are comfortable and confident in making decisions around maintaining a successful Employer sponsored plan.
As an independent company, client advocacy is a major strength of our firm. We partner with Financial Advisors to offer our clients a very healthy choice in vendors. A strong understanding of fees and services allows PDC to help clients find the perfect fit.
Thousands of retirement plan clients from all over the country have relied on PDC to assist them in offering the right plan to help their employees reach retirement goals.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
When you listen to this episode, some of what we talk about might not directly impact you if you are not a caregiver. However, as you will hear the odds are someone you know, work with or is a client likely is. My guest today, Bill Harmon, President of Corporate Retirement Markets at Voya Financial and a caregiver himself, talks candidly about how to define caregiver, the challenges they face in the workforce, how employers can help and why introducing more support for caregivers in the workplace through a wellness or other similar program just makes good sense. As in interesting tidbit, you might be surprised by which generation is the most likely to be a caregiver. We also reference specific links, statistics, checklists, this weeks bonus question and episode transcript can all be found by going to 401kfridays.com/care2019.
Before we get started, each week I create a LinkedIn and Twitter post to share the podcast episode and links to listen. This week, the image we use is actually of Bill and his son, not a stock image like I typically use. If you are not connected with me on LinkedIn or Twitter take a moment and do that. Please like, share or comment on the post for this episode. We discuss some powerful info that needs your support to help raise awareness.
Guest Bio
William Harmon is president of Retirement Corporate Markets for Voya Financial.
In his role, Harmon oversees all aspects of the Corporate 401(k) market, including sales, relationship management, strategy and profitable growth for all segments of the market — from small- and mid-sized companies to some of the nation’s largest corporate employers. He and his team support Voya Retirement’s efforts to deliver next-generation customer experiences and solutions that drive positive retirement outcomes.
Harmon is a member of CEO of Retirement Charlie Nelson's leadership team, as well as Voya's Operating Committee.
Most recently, Harmon served as senior vice president, Core Markets, for Empower Retirement, where he was responsible for the segment’s overall success. During his 29-year tenure at Empower, the U.S. retirement business of Great-West Lifeco, he contributed to significant growth in plan sales, assets and earnings.
For 11 years, including five as president, Harmon served on the board of Adam’s Camp, a group of non-profit organizations providing a variety of intensive, personalized, and integrated therapeutic programs for children with special needs and their families. He has also been closely involved with organizations supporting the special needs community including Special Olympics and Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association.
Harmon holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Interest rates could be a significant risk to retirement savers that is hiding in plain sight. During my conversation with Mike Barry, President of O3 Advisory Services, we connect a lot of dots on how low interest rates could impact the retirement of current and future retirees. We also hit on several reasons why interest rates have been trending lower, whether student debt plays into the conversation and why employers who are even considering pursuing a retirement income strategy should think very carefully about all of this prior to making a decision. Mike and I definitely get into the weeks on a few things but pull everything together in a way that will leave you with a better understand of the impact of interest rates on retirement plans.
Before we get started, a simple rating or comment on your favorite podcast app goes a long way to help others discover the podcast. Next time you log on, if you could give us a rating or leave a comment that would be great. Also, if you have a favorite podcast app that you can’t find us on please shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com and we will get the show added.
Guest Bio
Michael P. Barry is a senior consultant at October Three and President of O3 Plan Advisory Services LLC, which provides retirement plan regulatory analysis targeted at plan sponsors and those who provide services to them. Plan Advisory Services publishes analyses of regulatory developments affecting private employer defined benefit and defined contribution plans, focusing on the challenges, opportunities, and consequences for sponsors that regulatory changes present. Mike has had over 40 years’ experience in the benefits field, in law and consulting firms, concentrating on the regulation of private employer DB and DC retirement plans.
Beginning law practice in 1976, the year that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) became effective, Mike has worked with and studied the evolving complexities of regulation in this heavily regulated field. Before founding Plan Advisory Services in 1998, Mike was Managing Director at Bankers Trust and, before that, a New York benefits partner at LeBeouf, Lamb, Greene & McRae. He writes a regular column for PLANSPONSOR magazine (“Barry’s Pickings”). Mike blogs at moneyvstime.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @PlanAdvisorySvc. His book – Retirement Savings Policy – Past, Present, and Future, published by De|G PRESS is available on Amazon.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
We last spoke with my guest Fred Reish, ERISA Attorney and Partner at Drinker Biddle in the immediate aftermath of the demise of the DOL Fiduciary Rule. Today, we catch-up on what has happened since and what implications they have for employers, their employees and retirement service providers. Without stealing too much of Fred’s thunder, we start with why this conversation and regulations exists, what has changed in concept and with new and newish players entering the fray like the SEC and several states. We also put a finer point to some concepts that sound the same but have different meanings like conflict of interest & prohibited transaction or fiduciary & best interest. Also Fred is pretty candid about what he thinks the result of these regulations will be and for my closing question, I get him to wax a little philosophical.
As a reminder, check out the website for todays episode at 401kfridays.com/reish2019 for a full transcript, links to Fred’s blog and other information he puts out as well as his answer to this weeks bonus question. To give you a little preview, Fred shares his opinion on whether the DOL will revisit the fiduciary rule and what that could look like.
Guest Bio
Fred Reish is an ERISA attorney whose practice focuses on fiduciary responsibility, prohibited transactions and plan qualification and operational issues. He has been recognized as one of the “Legends” of the retirement industry by both PlanAdviser magazine and PlanSponsor magazine. Fred has received awards for: the 401(k) Industry’s Most Influential Person by 401kWire; one of RIABiz’s 10 most influential individuals in the 401(k) industry affecting RIAs; the Commissioner’s Award and the District Director’s Award by the IRS; the Eidson Founder’s Award by the American Society of Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA); the Institutional Investor and the PlanSponsor magazine Lifetime Achievement Awards; and the ASPPA/Morningstar 401(k) Leadership Award. He has also received the Arizona State University Alumni Service Award. Fred has written more than 350 articles and four books about retirement plans, including a monthly column on 401(k) fiduciary issues for PlanSponsormagazine. Fred Co-Chaired the IRS Los Angeles Benefits Conference for over 10 years, served as a founding Co-Chair of the ASPPA 401(k) Summit, and has served on the Steering Committee for the DOL National Conference.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Depending on who you ask, fiduciary liability insurance might not be on the top of their list as the most exciting topic, but it is important. For my guest today, Reid Eanes, a Senior Vice President with Lockton Insurance Brokers, helping insure fiduciary is from workplace retirement plans is a key part of his day job. We start with a few basics on how fiduciary liability insurance works and differs from other types of insurance programs a company might have, we then delve into what types of “issues” can be covered, thoughts on how to determine the amount of fiduciary liability insurance and what types of plans are harder or more expensive to insure. Finally, with all the talk of cyber liability we hit on what employers can do to insure potential risk there. Oh, and don’t miss the part where we talk about what to do if you think you want or need to make a claim on your fiduciary liability insurance policy, some definite do’s and don’ts.
Before we get started, if you have been enjoying the podcast if you could either go to your favorite podcast app and either like or leave a comment. Based on the way their technology works, that goes a long way in helping other people find the podcast. As our audience grows, it helps me continue to attract great guests and bring you their unique perspectives on workplace retirement plans.
Guest Bio
Reid is a Senior Vice President and Practice Leader for the Pacific South region of Lockton Financial Services (LFS), the National D&O and Governance Risk Management Group. Reid has responsibility for the Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Diego LFS teams.
Reid is responsible for operations and client servicing for Executive Liability coverages. He provides full contract analysis, coverage negotiation, claims advocacy, and alternative program design. Reid is well versed in the financial and analytical review of companies, from a risk management perspective.
Reid is a regular pubic speaker on the topic of Executive Risk insurance and Governance Risk Management.
Reid works with a diverse set of clients, especially those with more complex risk needs. His expertise includes public and private companies, financial institutions, and healthcare risks
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week we try something a little different. This episode is the audio portion of a webinar I hosted a few weeks ago. The content was great and I thought it would make sense share with you. My conversation features Sam Henson and Ethan McWilliams, both members of Lockton's ERISA regulatory and compliance team and both spent time as investigators with the Department of Labor. We start with a quick overview of an employer's fiduciary responsibilities, then compare and contrast how they relate to retirement and benefits plans, next we hit on the DOL's enforcement priorities, the every popular topic of HSA plans and where they fit in the fiduciary conversation, plan assets and fees and close out with everyone's favorite topic compliance and reporting.
I host several webinars are year, if you did not get an invite to this one and would like to in the future, just go to www.401kfridays.com/subscribe today and join our email list. Next one is coming up in November and will feature a prior podcast guest as we talk about how a plaintiff's attorney views your retirement plan.
Guest Bios
Sam Henson serves as Director, Legislative & Regulatory Affairs
for Lockton Retirement Services. He acts as a subject
matter expert on ERISA compliance, DOL/IRS activities,
and the legislative landscape. In addition, Sam supervises
compliance services for more than 1,000 Lockton
retirement clients and 100 retirement Associates.
Prior to joining Lockton, Sam spent almost 10 years
with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits
Security Administration. While with the DOL, Sam was
a Senior Investigator, conducting more than 100 civil and
criminal investigations of employee benefits plans, service
providers, and fiduciaries. Sam supervised enforcement
efforts for benefit plans funded by prevailing wage laws
under the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act.
In his current role, Sam is able to leverage his past
experiences to assist employers with reducing their
fiduciary risks.
Ethan McWilliams brings five years of ERISA regulatory compliance
experience to his position as Lockton Benefit Group’s
Senior Compliance Analyst. At Lockton, Ethan’s
primary responsibility is heading up the newly launched
simulated Department of Labor investigation service,
ACE.
Working with client or prospect representatives and
Lockton’s account teams, Ethan simulates every step of
the DOL investigation process with the ultimate goal of
preparing plan sponsors for the process of a real DOL
investigation. Through a review of plan documents
and mock fiduciary interviews, Ethan identifies red-flag
items and suggests available remedies, recommends
the implementation of best practices where established
procedures may be weak, and educates plan sponsors
on exactly what to expect when their benefit plans are
chosen for investigation.
Before joining Lockton, Ethan worked
as an Investigator for the US Department of Labor -
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). At
EBSA, Ethan conducted a variety of employee benefit plan investigations on both the retirement and health/
welfare sides, running the gamut from complex defined
benefit pension plans and 401(k)/403(b) defined
contribution plans to multi-option medical, dental, and
life insurance plans. Ethan also served as a member of
several regional and national project teams, including
initiatives aimed at identifying best practices for plan
procedural prudence and establishing baselines for
reasonable plan fee calculations.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Should employers focus their efforts to help employees on the journey to retirement by providing true investment advice or more in the trenches financial support? To debate the finer points and provide his in the trenches experience, I was excited to welcome back Peter Dunn, aka Pete the Planner to the podcast. Pete has a pretty unique vantage point as he provides employers with a suite of financial wellness tools but he also has a support center for employees of his clients to speak, email or text with. During our conversation, Pete shares some common real life questions and challenges his team gets from real life employees. We hit on why honesty and empathy is important in financial conversations, examples of how investment advice only scratch s the financial surface for most employees, a few thoughts on where plan design fits in the conversation, a few sanity checks for me and strategies to move farther down the path towards providing holistic financial support to help improve employees financial wellbeing. Also, don’t miss where I was actually more eloquent in describing something than Pete, defiantly a first for me.
Before we get started, a few of the suggestions I have received to improve the podcast was to share more of my personal opinions. This episodes definitely gets there. If you have further ideas or suggestions to improve the podcast please shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Peter Dunn a.k.a. Pete the Planner® is an award-winning comedian and an award-winning financial mind. He’s a USA TODAY columnist and the author of ten books, six of which were featured in a nationwide launch at Barnes & Nobles stores in January of 2015. He is the host of the popular radio show The Pete the Planner Show on 93 WIBC FM and is a columnist for the Indy Star. Pete has appeared regularly on CNN Headline News, Fox News, Fox Business as well as numerous nationally syndicated radio programs. In 2012, Cision named Pete the fourth most influential financial broadcaster in the nation. Pete lives in Carmel, Indiana with his wife and two young children.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Wars have been started over words, and retirement outcomes for employees can also be impacted by words. My guest today, Steve Jenks, a Senior Vice President and the Chief Marketing Officer at Empower shares his over 20 years of experience on how word choice can make a big difference to someone’s ability to retire. Key words you find commonly in retirement plan communications like match, assets, participants, deferral percentage don’t have the meaning or impact you think it should have with your employees. We also hit on the differences in impact of illustrations vs. words, the importance of keeping calls to action simple, how automatic plan features have changed communications, measuring results, social media strategies and much more. Also, he had a surprising conclusion on how employees like to receive information about their retirement plans and their desire for in person meetings, don’t miss that.
Steve also references a few white papers from studies he and his team have conducted at Empower. You can find links to those along with his answer to a bonus question, the transcript from the episode and much more at www.401kfridays.com/words.
Guest Bio
Steve Jenks is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Empower Retirement and Great-West Financial®.
Steve has 28 years of marketing, product and business leadership experience. He joined Empower and Great-West in 2014. Previously, Steve served as Head of Defined Contribution Product and Marketing for Putnam Investments, where he helped shape and execute growth strategies for the organization’s defined contribution, investment-only and rollover businesses. Steve began his investment industry career in 1990 with Fifth Third Bank. From there, he held leadership roles in marketing, product, finance and relationship management for Fidelity Investments from 1992 to 2009. Steve also co-founded Acceleration Retirement, a marketing analytics and outsourcing firm, and Stable Two Financial, a registered investment advisory company. He served as CEO of both companies.
Steve holds a bachelor’s degree with distinction in business analysis from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. He is a registered representative of GWFS Equities, Inc. and maintains FINRA Series 6, 26 and 63 securities registrations. Steve is currently on the boards of the American Red Cross, Mile High Chapter; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado; and Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) Colorado.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Could retirement plan loans be the next big fiduciary concern for plan sponsors? Hard to tell, but my conversation today with Bruce Ashton, ERISA Attorney and Partner in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice at Drinker Biddle, will certainly help you understand why multiple regulators are taking a harder look at the retirement plan loans, especially defaults. We cover a ton of ground including my opening question which is likely the first thing that would come to the minds of most employers, we delve into how loans become a fiduciary concern and much more. I also ask Bruce the inevitable question of whether the time has come to eliminate loans in workplace retirement plans.
Before we get started, don’t forget that we have bonus question on the website, a full transcript of the episode, a copy of the white paper Bruce authored on the loan challenges we discuss today and much more. You can find it by going to 401kfridays.com/ashton.
Guest Bio
Bruce L. Ashton has more than 35 years of experience handling employee benefits matters. His practice concentrates on representing plan service providers (including RIAs, independent record-keepers, third-party administrators, broker-dealers and insurance companies) in fulfilling their obligations under ERISA. His experience includes representing public and private sector plans and their sponsors, negotiating the resolution of plan qualification issues under IRS remedial correction programs, advising and defending fiduciaries on their obligations and liabilities, and structuring qualified plans, non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements.
Combining his employee benefits and transactional experience, Bruce is also active in the installation and funding of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).
Bruce is a contributor to Drinker Biddle’s Broker-Dealer Law Blog, which provides practical insights on litigation, regulatory, compliance and fiduciary issues impacting broker-dealers. He has co-authored four books on employee benefits issues and a quarterly column in the Journal of Pension Benefits on IRS remedial programs, and is a frequent contributor to various tax and pension publications. He is a frequent speaker on employee benefits issues ranging from fiduciary responsibility to ESOPs, and is a regularly featured speaker at conferences sponsored by ASPPA, and other organizations.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
There are three state run retirement plans that are now live. Despite the fact they have been in the news, there are still a lot of questions about what they are, how they work and how they impact employers and employees who already have a 401(k) or other workplace retirement plan. To help provide some information and clear up misperceptions I am excited to have Katie Selenski, the Executive Director of CalSavers, the newly launched California state retirement plan join on the podcast. During our conversation, Katie takes care of the basics and also shares the highlights of some research they did when preparing to launch their plan, some of which might be a bit surprising and other points could help employers with some decisions about their own retirement plans. We also discuss the profile of the businesses that will benefit from state plans, how wage theft laws provide some protection to employees who participate in them, whether there might be a national plan at some point in the future and what’s next for state plans.
As we did on last week’s episode, Katie answers a written bonus question, we have a full episode transcript, how to get in touch with Katie and more on the website. You can find that by going to www.401kfridays.com/calsavers2019.
Guest Bio
Katie Selenski was appointed in 2017 by the California State Treasurer to serve as the first Executive Director of the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board which operates CalSavers, the state’s pioneering retirement savings program. The program will provide a path to retirement security for millions Californians who currently lack access to a retirement savings vehicle at work.
Prior to taking the helm at CalSavers, Ms. Selenski was the State Policy Director for pension policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., where she managed Pew’s efforts to help fiscally distressed states and cities undertake data-driven pension system improvements. Previously, she was a senior manager with the nonpartisan public sector consulting firm Harvey M. Rose Associates, based in San Francisco, where she advised policymakers on a wide array of budget, management, and policy matters, including pensions. She has also worked as a municipal bond rating analyst, a legislative fellow in the California Assembly, and the director of an historic statewide nonpartisan youth voter turnout initiative. Ms. Selenski is a member of the advisory board of the Aspen Institute’s Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
After a quick hiatus in July, we are back and excited about what we have in store! To kick things off, this episode features my conversation with Jeff Holt, CFA and Director, Multi-Asset & Alternative Strategies with Morningstar Research Services and a lead author of the annual Morningstar Target Date Landscape Report. This is the third time Jeff has been on the podcast and his return does not disappoint. The broader theme of our conversation was the importance of avoiding oversimplifications when evaluating target date funds. As you will hear, this ranges from cost, glide path, the classic too vs. through distinction, mutual funds vs. CITs and many more. With the prevalence of target date funds in workplace retirement plans, I thought this would be a great way to get things going again.
Before we get started, a few tweaks to look forward to going forward. First, we will provide a transcript on the 401(k) Fridays website for each episode. Second, also on the website each guest will provide a written answer to a bonus question. For this specific episode, we have a link to the 2019 Target Date Landscape Report we discussed today. You can find all this and more by going to www.401kfridays.com/holt2019. If you have any other ideas to improve the podcast please share them with me via email, feedback@401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Jeff Holt, CFA, is director of multi-asset and alternative strategies for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. He covers target-date funds and other multi-asset funds from various asset managers.
Before joining Morningstar in 2014, Holt spent nearly nine years at Jeffrey Slocum & Associates (since acquired by Pavilion Financial), where he was responsible for investment research to support the firm’s defined-contribution practice. He covered target-date funds, stable value funds, and other asset classes specific to defined-contribution clients.
Holt holds a bachelor’s degree in management, with a concentration in corporate finance, from Brigham Young University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This episode is a follow on conversation to an episode a few months ago where we talked about the operational aspects of self-directed brokerage accounts in workplace retirement plans. While you don’t have to listen to the prior episode first, it is definitely worth checking out if you are interested in the topic. Today, Tom Clark, a Partner and ERISA Attorney with the Wagner Law Group and I jump into the sometimes scary and confusing fiduciary territory of offering self-directed brokerage accounts. Tom shares great input on the general fiduciary concepts around self-directed brokerage, fee equity issues, discrimination issues, prohibited investments, the DOL’s attitude towards them and much more. Tom also talks about a few left turns employers can take off a cliff when offering self-directed brokerage accounts, a few great responses to participant questions about self-directed brokerage, thoughts on beanie babies and his take on whether Ralphie will shoot his eye out.
Quick reminder, this will be our last episode prior to a brief hiatus in July. Rest assured we will be back in August with some exciting new episodes. During the break, check out some of the 160 episodes we have released. Most of them are evergreen and do not have an expiration to them. Also, I will be thinking about ways to make the podcast more valuable. Please shoot me any ideas for improvement, future guests, topics or questions I should be asking. Love to hear what you have to say, shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Tom Clark leads the St. Louis office of the Wagner Law Group. His expertise encompasses all aspects of employee benefits programs, including the design, implementation and compliance of retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and executive and incentive compensation arrangements. He also has a robust practice assisting covered service providers in meeting their ERISA compliance needs.
Mr. Clark’s vast litigation experience complements the firm’s strong and growing ERISA and employment litigation department and includes work on landmark ERISA cases involving complicated ERISA fiduciary duty issues. He has been quoted extensively as an ERISA and employee benefits expert by outlets such as Reuters, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and Forbes.
Mr. Clark teaches ERISA fiduciary law as an Adjunct Professor at The Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, his alma mater. He is a co-author of the Second Edition of "ERISA: Principles of Employee Benefits Law," the only treatise of its kind that provides an overview of the regulation of employee benefit plans by highlighting the central principles and competing policies of employee benefits law in a compact and accessible format for a broad audience of readers.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
For the last several years a consistent message in the marketplace for retirement plan sponsors, participants and the industry has been the importance of investment fees. The good news is nearly all investment fees have been on a downward trend. As the cost of many passive investment options approach zero, is expense still the most important factor when evaluating index strategies? Today, I am happy to welcome Marty Kleppe, Head of Index Investing at Vanguard to share his thoughts. With the continued popularity of index funds in retirement plans, Marty shares some timely thoughts about index investing is more than just low cost, what securities lending is and the role it plays and finally how there is skill involved in managing index funds. This was a great conversation and one to definitely stick with to the end as I give Marty the opportunity to respond to some of comments active managers have shared about index managers over the years.
Also, Marty and his team put together a white paper on this topic which you can access from the link in the notes or by searching Vanguard Beyond Expense Ratio.
Guest Bio
Martin Kleppe is the head of Equity Index Product Management in Vanguard Portfolio Review Department, where his team is responsible for conducting surveillance of competitor products and positioning, meeting with clients and prospects to discuss Vanguard's equity index lineup, publishing on noteworthy developments in the equity index marketplace and Vanguard lineup, and supporting equity index education initiatives. Mr. Kleppe joined Vanguard in 1989, and joined Portfolio Review in 2003. For the majority of his tenure with Portfolio Review, Mr. Kleppe was a senior member of the Product Strategy team, which is responsible for researching, designing, and launching new funds; monitoring the health of the existing fund lineup; researching, proposing, and implementing changes to the existing fund lineup; and coordinating these functions across five global jurisdictions. In 2016, Mr. Kleppe became the Global SMA Product Manager. His responsibilities included researching and defining the investment capabilities available to SMA (separately managed account) clients and overseeing the various organizational processes needed to support SMAs. He assumed his current role in 2017, and continues to work with SMAs. Mr. Kleppe earned a B.S. from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. Saint Joseph's University. In addition, he is a CFA® charterholder and is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia.
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
One of the most popular questions we get from employers is what is going on with 401(k) or ERISA litigation, or the close cousin to the question, what is on the horizon that we should be aware of? To share some perspective on that and much more, I am happy to welcome Carl Engstrom, a partner with Nichols Kaster, a plaintiff’s litigation firm who has secured over $100 million in ERISA settlements in the last few years. During our conversation, Carl does a great job sorting through some headlines and predictions that he agrees with and some that he does not agree with on the future direction of ERISA litigation. As you will hear, Carl is not shy and shares his candid insights and predictions so I won't steal his thunder.
One thing before we get started, our podcast community continues to grow. Thank you for sharing the podcast with friends, colleagues or members of your professional network. As our audience continues to grow, it helps me attract great guests to share helpful insights with you!
Guest Bio
Carl F. Engstrom is a partner at Nichols Kaster, PLLP, a plaintiff’s litigation firm located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a founding member of Nichols Kaster’s ERISA litigation group, Carl has been counsel of record in every ERISA case brought by the group since its inception in 2015. In that time, Nichols Kaster’s ERISA litigation group has helped negotiate settlements totaling over $100 million on behalf of defined contribution plan participants harmed by fiduciary self-dealing, excessive fees, and imprudent retirement plan investments. Notable settlements include cases against Deutsche Bank, American Airlines, Allianz Asset Management of America, Fujitsu, and BB&T.
Prior to entering the legal profession, Carl spent six years working as a financial advisor, providing retirement and investment advice to hundreds of clients, and earning the Certified Financial Planner™ designation, though he has not maintained his certification.
Carl graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School and earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, where he also graduated with honors.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Student loans have gotten a lot of attention recently. Whether it is due to the sheer number of loans and size of the outstanding debt, or due to the competition for talent, employers are weighing whether they should offer new benefit to help those who have them. Today, we take a little different view on student loan debt and delve into the impact they might have on the economy and unpack a few popular narratives in the marketplace. To provide the intellectual muscle to the conversation I was glad to have Scott Kimball, a portfolio manager for BMO Global Asset Management join me today. Scott does a great job helping explain the impact of student loan debt on the economy and creates the case for why employers should consider their impact on the employees, even if you don’t have a lot of millennials. Also, don’t miss his take on whether Student Loans are the next sub prime mortgages and stick around for Scott's thoughts on some other things he is concerned about that could pose a threat to the economy.
Before we get started, we have a few more new episodes coming out in June before we take a little hiatus in July. During the short break, I will be thinking about ways to improve the podcast, kicking around future topics and looking for future guests. I would love to get feedback from our listeners. Please shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com if you have something to share. Anything good, bad or just a note saying that you enjoy the show is appreciated.
Guest Bio
Scott Kimball, CFA Director & Portfolio Manager is responsible for the firm’s investment policy and strategy and manages client portfolios. He joined BMO in 2007 and served as a research analyst prior to joining the portfolio management team in 2011. He is also a member of the management committee.
Previously, Scott held positions at Merrill Lynch and other boutique investment firms. He began his career in the investment industry in 2003.
Scott holds an M.B.A. from the University of Miami and a B.A. in international business from Stetson University. In addition, he is a CFA® charterholder.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
A few years ago, the idea that participants in 401(k) plans were going to keep their money in their retirement plans longer started to gain traction. Today, my guest Sue Walton, a SVP and Senior Retirement Strategist with The Capital Group shares how that idea got started and more. I start with sharing a few of my preconceived notions about how retirement plans work for retirees, Sue responds to a few cynical comments and then get into the meat of how to make your workplace retirement plan more retiree friendly and how that could help your company and employees. With some potential help on the way in the form of legislation, don’t miss our conversation on the current state of retirement income and how employers could integrate that into their plans going forward. Finally, I stepped all over Sue’s great wrap up, but i think it was worth it.
Quick thought before we get started, next time you are on LInkedIn, be sure to follow the 401(k) Fridays Podcast page. I use that to announce new episodes, give you opportunities to ask questions of future guests and more. And, don’t be shy. If you have a question you want me to ask a future guest, leave it in the comments or shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Sue Walton is a senior defined contribution strategist at American Funds, part of Capital Group. She has 21 years of industry experience and has been with Capital Group for two years. Prior to joining Capital, Sue was a director at Towers Watson Investment Services. Before that, she was an investment consultant at Mercer Investment Consulting and Ellwood Associates. She holds an MBA from DePaul University with a concentration in finance and a bachelor’s degree in business administration, economics and international business from Marquette University. Sue is based in Chicago.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Disclosure
Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value.
American Funds distributed by American Funds Distributors, Inc.
Thought it might be helpful to discuss a core retirement plan fiduciary concept, the duty to monitor. To lend some muscle to the conversation I was excited to welcome back Jim Scheinberg, the Managing Partner and Founder of North Pier Fiduciary Management. We kick off with one of the best explanations of what it means to be a fiduciary that I have heard and then we delve into the world what the fiduciary duty to monitor means, best practices for plan sponsors to follow and much more. Jim also has some interesting points about how M&A in the retirement industry ties into monitoring, and some important differences between the roles of benchmarking, RFIs and RFPs. Stick around for my wrap up this week to get an interesting story about one thing Jim and I had in common that we didn’t realize.
Guest Bio
Born and raised in the North Suburbs of Chicago, Jim Scheinberg came to Southern California in 1987 to pursue his B.A. in Political Science at University of California, Los Angeles. He achieved the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) designation in 2001 from The Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA®) in conjunction with the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. He has also earned the Accredited Investment FiduciaryTM (AIF®) and Accredited Investment Fiduciary AnalystTM(AIFA®) designations, awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, which is associated with the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business of the University of Pittsburgh. He also earned the PLANSPONSOR Retirement Professional designation (PRP) from the PLANSPONSOR Institute and sits on the Steering Committee of The Center for Due Diligence. He is a quoted resource to journalists, a regular guest expert on a syndicated radio and a regular speaker at industry conferences. Jim also regularly serves as a consulting expert for U.S. government regulatory agencies and as an expert witness for Federal ERISA litigation.
Jim Scheinberg began his career in venture capital in 1990 moving to general securities with Smith Barney Harris Upham in 1992. He joined Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. in 1994 as an Associate in the Oppenheimer Consulting Group, the firm’s institutional investment management consulting department, where he worked with sponsors of trustee-directed plans and other institutional clients. In 2001, Jim founded what would become the Corporate Services Group of Oppenheimer Co., Inc. (CSG), where he eventually held the position of Director and Senior Vice President. CSG was an industry pioneer in providing conflict free, fee-only investment consulting and fiduciary advocacy for institutional, participant-directed plan sponsors. In 2008, Jim and CSG Partner Brant Griffin founded North Pier Fiduciary Management LLC. His tenure in the industry has also included experience in hedging and monetization, corporate executive services, and corporate cash management. 401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
We break new ground today on the podcast as we talk about FOMO, catching falling knives, Uncle Warren and chewing glass. My guest today is John Allen, CFA the Chief Investment Officer at Aspirant. We also hit on some other great concepts such as why it is important to understand vs. observe what your investment managers are doing, thoughts on the impact of investment bubbles in the short, medium and long term. I also have a new word for my vocabulary, conflate, John makes some insightful observations about how that term applies to risk and return for some people which dovetails nicely into some other thoughts on whether some traditional guidance 401(k) participants get, still makes sense. Finally, John makes some not so rosy predictions for what the next seven to ten years could look like for investors and why that matters to 401(k) plans and participants. Not always fun to consider, but definitely worth the listen.
Before we get started, a lot of the topics John and I cover on the podcast came from the quarterly newsletter John and his firm Aspiriant put out. If you want to check them out or subscribe, the link is below. Click on that and you can figure it out from there. Finally, be sure to catch my post episode wrap up for a few more interesting tidbits on this episode and what we have coming up in future episodes.
http://aspiriant.com/fathom/insight/
Guest Bio
John Allen joined Aspiriant in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer. As CIO, John is primarily responsible for leading the firm’s overall Investment Strategy & Research Group, broadly consisting of twelve investment professionals. The group is responsible for asset allocation, portfolio construction, manager selection and risk management. John is also the Chair of the firm’s Investment Committee and serves on a number of other committees. He has nearly twenty years of experience in investment management, investment banking, corporate finance advisory and business strategy consulting.
Prior to joining the firm, John was a senior member of the client service team at Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo (“GMO”), which manages approximately $115 Billion across a wide-range of public equities, fixed income, hedge funds and asset allocation funds. In that role, John had primary responsibility for 80 clients and $6.5B in assets under management.
Prior to joining GMO, John was the Head of Investments at a large family office in Los Angeles. There, John had responsibility for managing the firm’s overall investment portfolio as well as its direct investments.
John established his career working in the investment banking department at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and in the business consulting practice at Stern Stewart & Co. Throughout his career, John has served on the boards of directors of three private companies.
John earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree with high distinction from the Economics Department at the University of Virginia. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation. He is also a member of the CFA Institute and CAIA Association.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This episode is a companion episode to a similar one we released a few weeks about which focussed on the equity side of the conversation. Not require listening, but if this one caught your eye, you should check that one out as well. My guest today, John Bellows, PhD, a Portfolio Manager with Western Asset Management and a member of their US Broad Strategy Committee, the Global Investment Strategy Committee and the Global Portfolios team. We jump into the recent market action right out of the gate to help interpret some recent events and how they could impact fixed income investments in workplace retirement plans. We also hit on some topics that can cause confusion such as do we want inflation which makes things more expensive and want to avoid deflation which makes things less expensive. With the background set, John then shares some great input on evaluating the fixed income portion of investment menus. Be sure to stick around for his comments towards the end about the index vs. active conversation in the fixed income space.
Guest Bio
John L. Bellows, PhD, is a Portfolio Manager with Western Asset Management Company, LLC. Prior to joining the Firm in 2012, Mr. Bellows served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, most recently as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy. At Western Asset, he is a member of the US Broad Strategy Committee and the Global Investment Strategy Committee. In 2018 he took on an elevated role in the Global Portfolios team where he is a leading voice for US and global macro strategies.
Mr. Bellows holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Dartmouth College, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, and a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds the CFA designation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The title for this episode might seem a little confusing, but after you listen to my conversation with Don Trone, CEO and Co-founder of 3Ethos it will make a lot more sense. This is Don’s second visit to the podcast, if you missed his first one, Building a Stronger Retirement Plan Fiduciary, it is a great listen as well. Today we kick off with a quick post mortem on the DOL fiduciary rule and thoughts on the movements within some states to create their own version of a fiduciary rule. We also tackle a bigger question of whether you can regulate or legislate someone into being a good fiduciary, interesting response to an interesting question. Don also shares what he feels the future of fiduciary holds and shares input on robo-fiduciaries and if fee compression is impacting the fiduciary world. Finally, we also discuss how plan sponsors can keep their fiduciary roles in perspective while keeping their important day jobs.
Guest Bio
Don Trone is the CEO and one of the Co-founders of 3ethos, which conducts original research in the new field of Behavioral Governance (BG). BG is the follow-on to Behavioral Finance, except now the focus is on how the behavior of a fiduciary impacts the quality of retirement outcomes.
Don Trone is the CEO and one of the Co-founders of 3ethos, which conducts original research in the new field of Behavioral Governance (BG). BG is the follow-on to Behavioral Finance, except now the focus is on how the behavior of a fiduciary impacts the quality of retirement outcomes.
Don was the founding CEO of fi360; founder and President of the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies; and the first person to direct the Institute for Leadership at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Over the past three decades, Don has trained more than 10,000 investment fiduciaries on the subject of procedural prudence. In 2015 he was named by Investment Advisor magazine as the “Father of Fiduciary” and one of the 35 most influential people in the financial services industry. In 2003, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Labor to represent the investment counseling industry on the ERISA Advisory Council, and in 2007 he testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on the fiduciary issues associated with the management of retirement plans. He is the author or co-author of ten books on the subject of fiduciary responsibility, portfolio management, and leadership.
Don is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and served for ten years on active duty, most notably as a long-range search and rescue helicopter pilot. He has a Master’s from The American College and has completed post-graduate studies in theology from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Trinity Episcopal Seminary.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Today I welcome back Marcia Wagner, ERISA Attorney and founder of the Wagner Law Group, to tackle the not so straightforward lifecycle of a 401(k) or workplace retirement plan document. Logically we start at the beginning on what it takes to create a 401(k) plan document, and move through common steps to maintain a document and things that happen along the journey, and close with terminating a retirement plan. With several changes in rules, IRS programs and some general confusion in many of these areas, this was a fun and informative conversation that hopefully helps you as much as it did me!
Guest Bio
Marcia S. Wagner is the founder of The Wagner Law Group, a certified woman-owned and operated business and one of the nation’s largest and most highly regarded boutique law firms, specializing in ERISA, employee benefits, executive compensation, employment, labor, human resources, personal law (estate planning, family and immigration) and investment management law.
Ms. Wagner has been practicing employee benefits law for over 32 years. She founded The Wagner Law Group more than 20 years ago and is the Firm’s Managing Partner. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
Ms. Wagner is an authority on employee benefits matters, including qualified and non-qualified plans, fiduciary issues, deferred compensation, and welfare benefit arrangements. Her experience in employee benefits includes plan design, drafting and preparation, compliance, tax planning and consultation on all aspects of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. She consults with law firms, employee benefits organizations, and corporate and public plan sponsors, and serves as an expert witness in ERISA litigation.
She counsels plan sponsors on qualified plans, 403(b) and 457 plans, multiple employer plans (MEPs), IRAs, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), executive compensation arrangements and retiree medical benefits in matters involving plan operation and maintenance, plan terminations, mergers and acquisitions, tax treatment of plan participants, use of life insurance and annuities, and derisking of pension liabilities.
Ms. Wagner also specializes in Title I of ERISA, and has obtained advisory opinions, information letters and prohibited transaction exemptions from the U.S. Department of Labor. She handles fiduciary matters impacting plan sponsors, investment and other fiduciary committees, investment managers and advisors, recordkeepers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial services firms. Ms. Wagner advises clients on the avoidance and rectification of prohibited transactions, the development of compliance programs, and investment policies. She is a renowned expert in issues concerning pension plan investments and fiduciary issues, and her opinion has been sought by noted authorities in the employee benefits area, including governmental agencies.
Ms. Wagner works on Department of Labor, IRS and PBGC audits of plans as well as of financial institutions that service plans, and has negotiated numerous favorable closing agreements.
She was appointed Chair of the Employee Plans subcommittee of the IRS Tax Exempt & Government Entities Advisory Committee and received that agency’s highest honor. She is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and is the recipient of more than 50 professional honors.
Finally, Ms. Wagner has written hundreds of articles and 15 books. She is a highly sought after lecturer, and is widely quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Pension & Investments. She has been a guest on Fox, CNN, Bloomberg, and NBC.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This episode is inspired by some recent conversations I have had with workplace retirement plan or fiduciary committees and some hesitancy they have had in speaking with managers of invests they offer in their plans. My guest today is John Forrest, Head of the Research Practice at Russell Investments, and to say the least, he has a little experience in this area. In my experience, some members of retirement plan committees have avoided speaking with managers as they don’t feel equipped to ask questions, or don’t feel they would be able to understand what a manager would share. John does a great job sharing why it is valuable to speak with investment managers, questions you can ask, and things to listen for that can shed light on their people, process and perspectives. We also talk about different questions or things to listen for when speaking with an equity vs. a fixed income manager, how the numbers or results are important but not the whole story, and why it might be more important than ever to take time to speak with a manager of investment you are considering replacing or adding to your investment menu.
Guest Bio
John Forrest is head of Russell Investment’s global manager research practice. His role is to guideand support the manager research effort to ensure it continues to be an industry standard for identifying and recommending the very best managers globally. His role includes defining andrefining Russell Investments’ manager research process, training analysts in the art and science ofmanager research, developing and improving analytical tools and a variety of other activities that support, evaluate and improve the manager research practice.
As part of his tenure at Russell Investments, which began in 1997, John has spent more than a decade researching, interviewing, evaluating and recommending professional money managers forRussell Investments’ Funds and clients. He has applied his expertise in a range of asset classes and in multiple geographic regions spanning equity, fixed income, currency and property. John has also managed consulting client relationships and participated in specialist projects for selected clients in his areas of expertise.
Prior to joining Russell Investments, John was a senior analyst managing the BHP Superannuation Fund, a major Australian pension fund. John spent the early part of his career gaining practical experience working as a securities analyst and portfolio manager for a global money manager, specializing in equities, derivatives and property securities.
John has presented lectures to a variety of securities industry forums on topics including the investment process, the art of manager research, applied portfolio management and performance measurement.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week we take our first glimpse into self directed brokerage or brokerage accounts linked to workplace retirement plans. Historically this has been a confusing and polarizing topic amongst retirement plan sponsors and the retirement industry. To help with the conversation, I have Nathan Voris, Managing Director for Business Strategy of Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services. During our conversation, we tackle a statement popularized in a movie classic that probably applies to how some people view these accounts, we discuss the basics and mechanics of self-directed brokerage accounts, some creative things that plan sponsors are doing with them and trends to keep an eye out for in the future. This episode focuses mostly on the operational side, my conversation with Nathan also has inspired me to bring back to popular podcast guests to discuss the fiduciary and regulatory side of the conversation in the near future.
Guest Bio
Nathan Voris joined Schwab Retirement Plan Services in 2016. He is responsible for leading the client experience, platform, and product development strategy to help retirement sponsors, consultants, and participants meet their goals.
Mr. Voris previously worked at Morningstar, where he held several roles within Morningstar Investment Management, including portfolio management and asset allocation responsibilities. His most recent focus there was on product development and strategy for the retirement solutions, including wellness, advice and managed accounts, and target date solutions. He was also a consultant with R.V. Kuhns & Associates, where he worked with defined contribution plan sponsors to help improve asset allocation and solve other needs of plan participants. In that role, Mr. Voris was responsible for all aspects of portfolio construction, including asset allocation and manager selection/due diligence for plan sponsors, retirement plan providers, and asset managers. He began his career working for defined contribution plans, including Wal-Mart and the Ohio Public Employees’ Retirement System.
Mr. Voris has earned a bachelor’s in education from the Ohio State University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 150 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Numerous guests have hinted at the capital market forecasts they or others have made with the common theme of anticipating lower returns than we had in the last decade. I thought it might be timely and helpful to steer into this and talk about what that could mean for workplace retirement plan investment menus. With me today, I have Andy Pyne, Executive Vice President and Equity Strategist at PIMCO to dive into the equity piece of the conversation. We start with a quick discussion on the go forward predictions about growth and what that means for the markets, what late cycle means, address some of the challenges active managers had in the last decade and what the next decade could mean for them and whether plan sponsors as well as participants are performance chasers. Andy also shares some specific investment concepts workplace retirement plans should consider going forward.
Guest Bio
Mr. Pyne is an executive vice president and strategist in the Newport Beach office, focusing on PIMCO’s equity strategies. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2011, he was a managing director and client portfolio manager for fundamental equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, serving as a member of the growth team investment committee. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 1997, Mr. Pyne was responsible for product management at Van Kampen Investments. He has 26 years of investment experience and holds an undergraduate degree in business/economics from Wheaton College in Illinois.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred and fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Today we explore the changing landscape of Third Party Administrators, better known as TPAs. With me, I am excited to have Jerry Bramlett, Head of TPA Solutions for Acensus. During our wide ranging and insightful conversion we cover the current realities and challenges of TPAs, why consolidation wave has begun and how will the business and service models of TPAs either change or stay the same going forward. We also hit on a few questions I received from listeners such as the impact of fee compression on TPAs, whether their will be any local TPAs going forward and how do things like ERISA 3(16) fiduciary services and payroll integration evolve. Fun stuff!
Guest Bio
Jerry Bramlett was the Founder, President and CEO of The 401(k) Company (1983), which was sold to Charles Schwab in 2007. At the time of the sale, The 401(k) Company had 350 employees and served over 100 clients with approximately $25 billion in plan assets and more than 425,000 plan participants.
After the sale of The 401(k) Company Mr. Bramlett assumed the role of President and CEO of BenefitStreet, a financially troubled firm with 7,000 retirement plans under administration, over 400 employees and 10 subsidiaries. After taking BenefitStreet through a restructuring process, Mr. Bramlett and Peter Lynch, Vice Chairman of Fidelity Investments, acquired the assets of BenefitStreet and founded a new firm, NextStep, which was sold to The Newport Group in 2010.
Between 2010 and 2018, Mr. Bramlett has been engaged in industry consulting with some of the largest defined contribution investment advisory and asset management firms in the country.
In 2018, Mr. Bramlett became head of Ascensus TPA Solutions, which has acquired over 20 TPA firms since 2016. These firms, which offer services through 41 locations across the country, administer over 34,000 retirement plans.
Mr. Bramlett holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Southern Methodist University
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The worst nightmare of many retirement plan fiduciaries is to find themselves the target of a class action ERISA or 401(k) lawsuit. My guests today, are intimately familiar with that feeling and more importantly, lived to tell about it. Returning to the podcast I have Jamie Fleckner, ERISA Litigation Chair at Goodwin and Diane Gallagher, the Chair of the American Century Corporate Retirement Plan Committee. During this fascinating conversation you will hear how the 401(k) class action against American Century got started, what the plaintiffs were alleging, what it was like to be personally named in a multi-million dollar lawsuit, defending fiduciary decisions at trial and much more. This episode is probably one of the more timely, informational and even emotional ones to date, enjoy!
Guest Bios
Diane Gallagher is the Chair of the American Century Investments Corporate Retirement Plan Committee. She is responsible for developing content and value-add programs for clients and is also a spokesperson on retirement investing.
Diane originally joined American Century Investments in 1995 and developed communication programs for clients of J.P. Morgan/American Century Retirement Plan Services. Prior to returning to American Century in 2012, Diane was vice president, Retirement Insights for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Previously, she led product marketing for J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services and directed the participant communications and education department. Prior to 1995, Diane served as media relations manager for the Mutual Fund Education Alliance (MFEA). She also worked in Corporate Communications and Marketing for Sinai Health Care System in Detroit, Michigan.
Diane earned a bachelor’s degree in communications, magna cum laude, from the University of Detroit. She is accredited by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and has earned many awards for her communication programs. She is a Board member of the Hands & Hearts Auxiliary for Children for Children’s Mercy Hospital and is a member of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Centurions Leadership Program, class of 2019.
She is Past-President of the Board of Directors of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City and currently serves on its Advisory Board. In 2007, Diane was named one of Kansas City’s “40 Under 40” leaders by Ingram’s magazine. A frequent conference speaker, she holds Series 7, 63 and 24 licenses.
Jamie Fleckner is a partner in Goodwin’s Financial Industry practice and Chair of its ERISA Litigation practice. Mr. Fleckner represents clients in a wide array of complex commercial litigation, with a focus on financial services and products, including investment management. He regularly litigates class and derivative actions under ERISA, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and related federal and state laws. His practice also focuses on regulatory investigations and governmental proceedings, and has represented clients before the U.S. Department of Labor, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and state authorities.
Mr. Fleckner’s success in litigating cutting edge legal issues has been profiled in The American Lawyer’s Big Suits and Litigator of the Week features.According to Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business where Mr. Fleckner has been selected for inclusion since 2014, Mr. Fleckner is “at the top of his game,” and is “a rare thought leader” on ERISA litigation. Since 2015, he has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the list of Who’s Who Legal: Pensions and Benefits.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Maybe its just that time of year again, but a few articles have popped up recently about how we need to overhaul 401(k) plans, or how we need to scrap the 401(k), you get the picture. However, my guest today, Sarah Holden, Senior Director of Retirement & Investor Research at the Investment Company Institute has some powerful data which tells a different story. While few would suggest that 401(k) plans are perfect, Sarah and ICI have spent years delving into what people really think about their 401(k) plans. I won’t spoil this too much, but safe to say Sarah will leave you feeling good about 401(k) plans and the benefits they offer employees and the positive feelings they evoke even from people who don’t have one yet.
Guest Bio
Sarah Holden, Investment Company Institute (ICI) senior director of retirement and investor research, leads the Institute’s research efforts on investor demographics and behavior and retirement and tax policy. Holden, who joined ICI in 1999, heads efforts to track trends in household retirement saving activity and ownership of funds as well as other investments inside and outside retirement accounts. She is responsible for analysis of 401(k) plan participant activity using data collected in a collaborative effort with the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), known as the EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project. In addition, she oversees The IRA Investor Database™, which contains data on more than 17 million IRA investors and allows analysis of IRA investors’ contribution, rollover, conversion, and withdrawal activity, and asset allocation. Before joining ICI, Holden served as an economist at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. She has a PhD in economics from the University of Michigan and a BA in mathematics and economics, cum laude, from Smith College.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
It’s been a little while since we have focussed an episode on plan design of behavioral finance. So, no time like the present to make that happen! To provide the mental muscle behind the conversation I was excited to have Steve Shu, a Managing Principal at Digitai and a Researcher, at the City University of London. As an expert in behavioral science and someone who has worked with the likes of Schlomo Bernartzi and other pioneers in the field, he brings some current and unique insights on how behavioral finance continues to drive retirement plan design, technology and influences retirement outcomes. We start with an update on the auto features, move to nudges, predictive technology, deaccumulation, digital fiduciary concept and much more. Be sure not to miss Steve’s thoughts on democratizing of behavioral science.
Guest Bio
Steve Shu specializes in incubating new initiatives and business lines with a primary focus on services, technology, and behavioral science. He serves as a Managing Principal at Digitai, a behavioral economics consultancy and innovation firm. Steve has consulted to or had management roles at organizations such as The Voya Behavioral Finance Institute for Innovation, Allianz Global Investors Center for Behavioral Finance, Allscripts, Nortel Business Consulting, PRTM Management Consultants (acquired by PwC), and numerous startups.
Steve holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and both an ME and BS in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University. In parallel with Steve’s work with Digitai, he conducts behavioral finance research as part of City, University of London, Cass Business School.
Steve has put his decades of experience into his solo-authored books, Inside Nudging: Implementing Behavioral Science Initiatives and The Consulting Apprenticeship.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Whether you are passing or failing your discrimination testing, this is a great episode to help get your arms around some of the key concepts and fundamentals behind coverage and discrimination testing. My guest is Doug Van Galder, a Compliance Analyst with the ERISA Law Firm Boutwell Fay, who has worked with countless employers over his 35 year career to help them navigate the sometimes challenging testing waters. We start with the basics, discuss strategies to improve testing results and believe it or not, we don’t even mention the concept of safe harbor until the very end! As you’ll hear, its all about getting the math to work in your favor!
Guest Bio
Douglas Van Galder is a Compliance Analyst who is committed to the favorable tax-qualified status and success of the private and public pension systems in America. Therefore, Doug assists Boutwell Fay LLP Clients and their service providers in properly administering retirement plans that remain compliant and deliver the intended benefits.
Boutwell Fay LLP is a highly rated, women-owned law Firm specializing in employee benefits and ERISA. We have seven Attorneys with Offices in Newport Beach, CA and New York City, NY. Boutwell Fay LLP is the only boutique law firm in Orange County, CA that focuses exclusively on employee benefits and ERISA. The Firm provides high quality legal services normally associated with large law firms, while its smaller size allows us to be more accessible to our Clients and more responsive to their needs. The Firm helps Clients with legal issues that arise in the context of: Qualified and Non-Qualified Plans, Health and Welfare Plans, Plan Corrections and Government Audits, ERISA and Fiduciary Consulting and ERISA Claims and Disputes.
In his capacities as a Compliance Analyst, Third Party Administrator (TPA), Record Keeper, Executive, Plan Sponsor/Trustee and Fiduciary Administrator, Doug has amassed 34 years of experience in the intricate business development, compliance and consulting aspects of retirement plans. Most recently, Doug was an Executive Vice President with both QBI, LLC and Fiduciary Administration, LLC serving as Defined Contribution Practice Leader and a Fiduciary Administrator, respectively. He previously founded and was the President of Strategic Pension Services, Inc. (SPS), where he led expert teams of Consultants and Administrators. SPS was acquired by QBI, LLC in January of 2015.
Doug is an Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent and earned the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries' designation of Qualified Pension Administrator. He is also the President for the Orange County Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Today we gaze into the future and explore how retirement service providers business models and product offerings to employers and employees could evolved in the coming years. My guest, Dick Darian, the founder and CEO of Wise Rhino Group brings his tremendous enthusiasm for the topic and his years of diverse experience leading firms like BlackRock, MFS and ING, now Voya to the conversation. Be forewarned, there is definitely some inside baseball and with as busy as Dick is these days, I had to corner him on his cell phone so the audio is good, but not great. However, his insights, the most important part are fantastic. We hit on the ongoing impact of technology in retirement services, how private equity and venture capital could disrupt the industry, whether outside players could enter the business and what that would mean, and the ultimate customer the retirement industry is after.
Guest Bio
Dick is the founder and CEO of Wise Rhino Group, which provides M&A Consulting and Advisory services to firms focused in the retirement space. Prior Dick managed BlackRock’s DCIO business.
He began his career as a retirement consultant with Williams Thacher and Rand where he was a partner and DC national practice leader. He also led DC distribution at MFS Investment Management and ING. Prior to joining BlackRock, Dick was a co-founder and on the leadership team at National Retirement Partners.
Dick lives in Charleston SC with his wife Mary.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Today we take leave the world of 401(k) plans and enter the parallel universe of nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans. This is a new topic on the podcast and was happy to have Will Tysse and Taylor French, Partners and co-chairs of the employee benefits and executive compensation practice at the law firm McGuireWoods join me. This is a broad topic so we started picking away at it by discussing why employers start nonqualified plans, how they are similar and different from 401(k) plans and some pitfalls to be aware of right out of the gates. There is also some discussion of a Rabbi.
Guest Bios
G. William Tysse - Will is co-chair of the McGuireWoods employee benefits and executive compensation group. He focuses his practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. He has extensive experience advising public, private and nonprofit clients on all aspects of non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements, including excess and supplemental retirement plans, cash and equity incentive plans, and employment and severance agreements.
Taylor French - Taylor is co-chair of the McGuireWoods employee benefits and executive compensation group. His employee benefits practice covers a wide-range of traditional executive compensation and employee benefits matters along with a variety of inter-disciplinary practice areas and industries that are affected by executive compensation and employee benefits laws.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
If you are looking for a some timely insights on where the economy and markets head from here, my conversation today with Dr. David Kelly, CFA Managing Director and Chief Global Strategist for J.P. Morgan Asset Management hits the mark. We cover arguments for why the bull market may continue and why a bear market could set in. We also share some thought provoking points for individuals sitting in the proverbial conference room making decisions about their investment menu design. And towards the end, don’t miss a great new quote, well it was from a Greek philosopher so not sure if that counts as new but, it involves a man and a river, pretty good analogy for where we are today in the market and economy.
Guest Bio
Dr. David Kelly is the Chief Global Strategist and Head of the Global Market Insights Strategy Team for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. With over 20 years of experience, David provides valuable insight and perspective on the economy and markets to the institutional investor and financial advisor global communities.
David’s research focuses on investment implications of an evolving economic environment. He has written extensively on all aspects of the U.S. economy and his proprietary U.S. economic forecasting model helps shape his views on both the economic landscape and prospective asset class returns. He currently sits on JP Morgan Fund’s operating committee.
Throughout his career, David has developed a unique ability to explain complex economic and market issues in a language that financial professionals can use to communicate to their clients. He is a keynote speaker at many national investment conferences and a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, and other financial media outlets.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Asset Management, David served as Economic Advisor to Putnam Investments. He has also served as a senior strategist/economist at SPP Investment Management, Primark Decision Economics, Lehman Brothers and DRI/McGraw-Hill.
David is a CFA® charterholder. He also has a Ph.D and M.A. in Economics from Michigan State University and a B.A. in Economics from University College Dublin in the Republic of Ireland.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
I don’t know who said it first, but every company is a technology company. That becomes very evident during my conversation with Tom Conlon of Betterment, a start-up fintech company or what some also refer to as a Robo Advisor in the 401(k) space. Tom does a great job sharing how technology enabled companies are looking to disrupt the 401(k) space for companies and plans of all sizes. You will hear him comment on different strategies they use to attract clients, how technology is drives their business and his responses to some criticism tech enabled 401(k) providers have received.
Guest Bio
Tom Conlon is Head of Client Relations at Betterment for Business, a technology-led 401(k) provider that aims to deliver better retirement outcomes and personalized advice. Tom has spent the last 10 years in the retirement services industry where he has held various positions leading teams and helping plan sponsors accomplish their goals for their retirement plans. His focus has always been on helping plan sponsors simplify plan design and administration to help achieve broader goals for impactful participant outcomes.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The mere thought of a 401(k) lawsuit can send shivers down the spine of even the most experienced retirement plan fiduciary. However, when you have a grasp on why workplace retirement plans are being sued, how the economics of a lawsuit work and what you can do to make the job of a plaintiff’s attorney harder, the risk can be a little easier to manage. For answers to these and more questions, I thought it was time to invite Jerry Schlichter, the plaintiff’s attorney who has sued numerous 401(k) and 403(b) plans around the country and even successfully argued a 401(k) case before the US Supreme Court back to the podcast to share his thoughts.
I was also able to work in several questions from our listeners into the episode. If you missed your opportunity to submit a question be sure are one of our email subscribers, we often send announcements out about future guests and give you the opportunity to share your questions in advance. Go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe today to take care of that. If after listening to this episode you feel like you need a little fiduciary refresher, check out last week’s episode with Jason Roberts. Some good points there to help you sleep better and keep the boogeyman away.
Guest Bio
Jerry is founding and managing partner of the firm. He has been repeatedly elected by his peers for inclusion in "Best Lawyers in America” and “Lawyer of the Year” and is listed in the 2019 edition.
Jerry has been designated legal counsel for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers for many years and is currently designated legal counsel for the United Transportation Union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He has represented railroad workers in trials in many states and has had record-setting jury verdicts in numerous jurisdictions. He obtained a verdict of $27 million for the widow and children of a St. Louis firefighter for a defective breathing apparatus which caused the firefighter's death. This verdict, which was increased to $40.4 million with pre and post judgment interest, was the highest jury verdict in Missouri in 2007 and one of the highest in the United States. The entire amount was collected after appeal. He has also obtained multiple precedent-setting judgments against railroads, including successfully requiring a railroad and the Federal Railroad Administration to modify rules on certification of railroad engineers; successfully obtaining a permanent injunction against the Union Pacific Railroad on behalf of all of its employees, which stopped the railroad's practice of interfering with employees' ability to pursue injury claims; and obtaining the first and only jury verdict in the United States in which a jury determined that a locomotive was not crashworthy, resulting in a jury verdict of $4.75 million, which was the highest verdict against that railroad by an injured employee in its history.
Throughout his career, he has also handled major precedent-setting class action and mass tort cases on behalf of individuals.
Jerry has been featured in numerous national publications, including the New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal, for his and the firm’s success in pioneering claims of excessive fees in 401(K) plans and obtaining precedent-setting results involving claims of excessive fees against large employers, and for the reduction in fees his cases have caused throughout the 401(k) industry.
He and the firm have obtained settlements in these 401(k) excessive fee cases of more than $300 million for employees and retirees, in addition to significant improvements in their 401(k) plans; in total, this relief has been valued at more than $1.5 billion. He also was lead attorney for the firm in the first and only full trial of an excessive fee case in the country, resulting in a verdict of $36 million. In recent rankings of the most influential people in the 401(k) industry by 401kWire.com, Jerry has repeatedly ranked in the top 5.
According to a recent article published in Reuters, the CEO of Brightscope, an independent company which evaluates 401(k) plans, stated, speaking of Mr. Schlichter’s national impact on 401(k) plan fees, that “[h]is impact has been humongous." The New York Times has referred to Jerry as “a Lone Ranger of the 401(k)’s,” and he has been referred to by Investment News as “public enemy no. 1 for 401(k) profiteers” and by Chief Investment Officer as “the industry’s most feared attorney.” In describing the effect of his work on behalf of employees in 401(k) plans, the Wall Street Journal referred to it as being “Schlicterized”.
In 2014 and 2015, Mr. Schlichter’s firm obtained the two largest 401(k) excessive fee settlements in history. The first was a settlement for $62 million against Lockheed Martin on behalf of Lockheed Martin employees, which included significant changes to the Lockheed Martin 401(k) plan. The second was a settlement for $57 million from Boeing, which likewise included significant non-monetary relief.
Also in 2015, Mr. Schlichter won a unanimous 9-0 decision in the U.S. Supreme Court in Tibble v. Edison, the first U.S. Supreme Court case to consider fees in 401(k) plans.
In an order in the case of Nolte v. Cigna Corporation in 2013, the U.S. District Court judge stated: “As the preeminent firm in 401(k) fee litigation, Schlichter, Bogard & Denton has achieved unparalleled results on behalf of its clients. Jerome Schlichter and Schlichter, Bogard & Denton’s work throughout this litigation stands as yet another example of the firm’s acting as a private attorney general, risking breathtaking amounts of time and money while overcoming many obstacles for the benefit of employees and retirees. . . . Mr. Schlichter and the Schlichter, Bogard & Denton firm’s actions have led to dramatic changes in the 401(k) industry, which have benefited employees and retirees throughout the country by bringing sweeping changes to fiduciary practices.”
The U.S. District Court in Tussey v. ABB similarly found of “special importance . . . the significant, national contribution” made by the team led by Mr. Schlichter, which has “educated plan administrators, the Department of Labor, the courts and retirement plan participants” about the fiduciary obligations of 401(k) plan administrators.
Another example of his work on behalf of individuals is his representation of a class of African-American employment applicants in the case of Mister v. Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, a case in which he obtained an extraordinary Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in which the court stated: "One could not imagine a stronger case of discrimination short of an announcement of it." This resulted in a $10 million settlement. In the Mister case, the U.S. District Court judge described his work stating: "The Court is unaware of any comparable achievement of public good by a private lawyer in the face of such obstacles and enormous demand of resources and finances." The judge also stated: "This Court finds that Mr. Schlichter's experience, reputation, and ability are of the highest caliber."
Jerry handled the nationally-recognized Times Beach dioxin case in which he represented a group of people in the community of Times Beach, Missouri who were exposed to dioxin when their streets were sprayed with the chemical. He obtained a record setting $19 million settlement on behalf of the residents against a chemical company in that case.
Jerry handled a national employment discrimination class action case on behalf of all women employees of Rent-a-Center. In that case, he confronted for the first time in a national employment discrimination class action a "reverse auction" in which the defendant attempted to destroy the case by an inadequate settlement with others. Jerry successfully defeated this attempt and obtained a $47 million settlement for the class as well as a complete revamping of company policies. This is one of the largest class action settlements for women in the United States and the U.S. District Court judge stated: "In essence, it is an example of advocacy at its highest and noblest purpose, and Class Counsel accomplished a great public good." The judge further stated: "I have never seen an effort like that effort put forth by the plaintiffs' counsel' – it's beyond an extraordinary effort."
Jerry is a past national President of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates. He has authored articles in the field of personal injury litigation and has spoken at numerous seminars on trial techniques, mass torts, class actions, and complex litigation. He has taught trial techniques as an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law.
Jerry has also been recognized for his involvement in community initiatives. He and his wife founded Mentor St. Louis, Inc., a not-for-profit organization which obtains adult mentors for disadvantaged elementary students in the St. Louis Public Schools, which has become the largest volunteer program in the St. Louis Public Schools and has been nationally recognized. He also successfully initiated and spearheaded the passage of a law, "The Missouri State Historic Tax Credit," which has been widely acknowledged for its role in revitalizing St. Louis and the State of Missouri, and which is the national model for legislation aimed at revitalizing older communities. He has also spearheaded and led the effort to pass the Missouri "Rebuilding Communities Act" designed to attract businesses to distressed communities and the "Neighborhood Preservation Act" to develop housing in distressed communities.
Jerry has received numerous awards, such as the Levee Stone Award and "What's Right with the Region Award" for his contributions to revitalization of the city of St. Louis and the state of Missouri.
In December 2013, Jerry was honored with the prestigious St. Louis Award, given to the person who has accomplished the most in the prior years for the development of St. Louis.
Jerry spearheaded the founding and development of another St. Louis not for profit, Arch Grants, which is a global competition for startup businesses in which winning entrepreneurs come to St. Louis, receive $50,000.00 and a broad package of support services including business mentoring, discounts on office space, and free legal, accounting, and marketing services. Arch Grants has provided grants of $50,000.00 to 114 startups since its founding in 2012, and has been the subject of numerous national articles describing its building of entrepreneurial businesses in St. Louis.
Education: University of Illinois, B.S., Business Administration, 1969, (in 3 years) with honors; James Scholar. University of California at Los Angeles, J.D. 1972; Associate Editor, UCLA Law Review.
Admitted: California (1972); Illinois (1973); Missouri (1982).
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Happy New Year and here is looking forward to another successful year on the 401(k) Fridays Podcast! We kick things off with my conversation with Jason Roberts, ERISA Attorney and the Founder & CEO of the Pension Resource Institute. As a prior and early podcast guest, the two prior episodes we did are still very relevant. While you don’t need to listen to them prior to this conversation, they are good to check out when you have a minute.
Prior Episodes: Are You Running Your 401(k) Committee Meeting Wrong & A Misunderstood Risk In Your 401(k) Plan
This time we connect on what has or hasn’t changed relating to fiduciary governance since we last got together, we also delve into the three distinct buckets of fiduciary duties Jason recommends plan sponsors think about, what the Department of Labor has on their focus list, the double edge sword of fee disclosure, everyone’s favorite fiduciary topic, target date funds, and some unique insights on “proprietary” investments. Jason also hits on a the hot topic of missing participants and a few investment policy statement tips and a few other nuggets.
Guest Bio
Jason C. Roberts, Esq. is the founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI), a consulting firm that delivers strategic, compliance, training and technology-based solutions to financial institutions, retirement plan sponsors and asset managers. He is also a founder and shareholder at Retirement Law Group (RLG), a law firm specializing in ERISA and investment-related matters.
Prior to founding PRI and RLG, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading ERISA law firm and the head of the Investment Fiduciary practice for a prominent securities industry legal defense firm.
Jason has been repeatedly recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. In 2015, he was selected by InvestmentNews as one of the “Top 40 Advisors and Associated Professionals under 40” in the financial planning industry.
Jason has published numerous articles focusing on ERISA and securities compliance, fiduciary best practices and is a frequent speaker at retirement plan and financial industry conferences. He is a contributing author and faculty member for the Practicing Law Institute (PLI). Jason is also currently serving a two-year term as an advisor to the finance committee for the Beach Cities Health District.
Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law. He is a graduate of FINRA’s Compliance Boot Camp and has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
With market volatility picking up and unique things happening on almost a daily basis, my conversation today with Jeff Shulze, CFA and Investment Strategist withClear Bridge investments is both timely and full of perspective. In classic 401(k) Fridays Podcast fashion be define a few important terms and concepts that keep popping up in the headlines and offer some perspective on how they are moving markets, the economy or both. Jeff also offers a few points of optimism and his input on what could impact the markets in 2019 and beyond.
Guest Bio
Jeffrey is an Investment Strategist and oversees capital market and economic research, contributing thought leadership on these topics that is frequently quoted in the financial media, including the Wall Street Journal, CNBC and CNN. He joined ClearBridge Investments in 2014 and has 13 years of investment industry experience. Prior to joining ClearBridge, Jeffrey was a Portfolio Specialist at Lord Abbett & Co., LLC. He received a BS in Finance from Rutgers University. He is a member of the CFA Institute.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Stable value funds, what are they, how do they work and what should you consider if you have one, thinking about moving to a new one or making the switch from a money market account. My guest, Bob Madore, a Vice President and Stable Value Portfolio Manager with T. Rowe Price answers these questions and much more. I start out with a pretty pointed question right out of the gate that sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. We also cover in great detail the impact of interest rates on stable value funds, why managers have been enforcing their exit provisions and clarify some confusing terms and concepts around stable value. This is a must listen and very timely.
Guest Bio
Bob Madore is a portfolio manager in the Fixed Income Division at T. Rowe Price. Mr. Madore has lead portfolio management responsibilities for the Stable Value Strategy as well as several large Stable Asset Management team accounts. He is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Trust Company.
Mr. Madore has 37 years of investment experience, 16 of which have been with T. Rowe Price. Prior to joining the firm in 2001, he was a senior vice president and portfolio manager at Putnam Investments. At Putnam, Mr. Madore had senior-level responsibility for its stable value business, which included Putnam's Stable Value Fund. Before joining Putnam, he was a founding partner at Fiduciary Capital Management.
Mr. Madore earned a B.A. from the University of Connecticut. He served on the Board of Directors of the Stable Value Investment Association from 2002 to 2007 and again from 2015 to present, currently serving his fourth three-year term. Mr. Madore also is an active member of its Accounting and Government Relations Committees.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
When we get the question of “What is the best strategy for me to save for retirement” and it comes for an entrepreneur, the answer is seldom as simple as it might seem. So, where and how do you start? We thought it would be helpful to cover a few key concepts and then follow the progression of an entrepreneur along their journey from a “solopreneur” with an idea or inspiration for a business to experiencing some success, hiring employees, scaling and eventually selling the business and weave in along the way how different retirement plan strategies could potentially support their personal and business goals along the way.
While I know some in our audience are not necessarily entrepreneurs, however I bet you know someone who is or maybe you might be one down the road! Be sure to share with your friends, colleagues or social networks that might have entrepreneurs, sole proprietors or business owners who could benefit! They can easily find the podcast on iTunes, their favorite podcast app by searching 401(k) Fridays or on the web at 401kfridays.com/Shelton.
Finally, This episode came about because of several questions from our listeners and some recent industry conversations I was a part of. If you have questions or a topic that you think could make for a great future episode, please shoot us an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Patrick is the Managing Member of Benefit Plans Plus and has more than 25 years of retirement plan industry experience in banking/trust, insurance, and third party administrative environments. He is responsible for innovating and executing the firm’s business plan. Additionally, he specializes in financial advisor relations, including 401k sales prospecting presentations, vendor searches, and fiduciary consulting.
Patrick’s reputation as a nationally recognized industry thought leader has allowed him to give back through various platforms in the media, speaking at industry events, and participating on various panelist presentations.
Additionally, Patrick serves on the American Funds, Transamerica, and Lincoln TPA leadership roundtables. He is also a board member and past President of the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA).
Patrick was the first recipient of Brown Smith Wallace’s prestigious Founder’s Award, which recognizes top employees for excellence in leadership and contribu on to firm growth since 2003.
A graduate of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Patrick holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Committee Plan.
He has also earned the Group Benefits Associate (GBA) designation from the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) program. Patrick also holds a Life and Health Insurance License in the state of Missouri and is a member of the Financial Planning Association.
As a youth, Patrick had two separate basketball coaches that were former NBA players, and he also played college basketball. Patrick is also a fan of fantasy/ SIFI.
This is a pretty straightforward episode, Collective Investment Trusts, or CITs are more widely available as options for plan fiduciaries and their service providers to utilize in their investment line-ups, they are still misunderstood by many. To help inform the conversation I have Rob Barnett, Vice President of Wilmington Trust and Head of their Institutional Retirement Sales & Service. I am not going to spoil what the one question is that all retirement plans need to ask, but what you will hear is Rob has a great deal to say about what a Collective Investment Trust is, how they differ from mutual funds and helps dispel some common concerns and misperceptions employers and service partners have. In the current environment which is hyper sensitive to fees, we also discuss how CITs are many times able to offer lower fees for a similar investment strategy than the comparable mutual fund.
Guest Bio
Rob Barnett manages and provides leadership for the institutional retirement sales and service teams. Additionally, he is responsible for national and regional key account relationships. Rob is a subject matter expert in collective investment trusts, retirement advisory solutions, and trust and custody services.
He has over a decade of industry experience, with more than half of those spent with Wilmington Trust, N.A. focused on the institutional retirement services market.
Mr. Barnett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from Washington State University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Today is a real treat, not only is this a timely episode based on current market conditions but we welcome back Rob Arnott, the Founder & Chairman of Research Affiliates who manages billions of dollars and who for the third time, shares his insights with us on the podcast. If you have missed any of our prior conversations go check them out after you finish this one, in 2016 we talked about whether Third Pillar Investment Belong In Your 401(k) Plan, then in 2017 we talked about Avoiding the Bubble in Complacency and this year doesn’t disappoint. With the recent volatility in the financial markets, Rob shares his thoughts on interest rates, inflation, market valuations and how diversification is a double edged sword. We also hit on a few important topics such as smart beta, factor investing and the challenges that come with potential low investment returns in the future. I won’t steal his thunder, trust me this is a good one.
Guest Bio
Rob Arnott is the founder and chairman of the board of Research Affiliates. He is also portfolio manager on the PIMCO All Asset and All Asset All Authority family of funds and the PIMCO RAE™ suite of funds.
Over his career, Rob has endeavored to bridge the worlds of academic theorists and financial markets, challenging conventional wisdom and searching for solutions that add value for investors. He has pioneered several unconventional portfolio strategies that are now widely applied, including tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index approach to investing. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world’s most provocative practitioners and respected financial analysts.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Maybe you’re are like me, you have heard the term blockchain before, but if someone asked you to define it, you would have a tough time. Hopefully after you listen to my conversation with Micheal Barry, an author and President of O3 Plan Advisory Services, you will have a better idea of what blockchain is, and how it could impact 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans in the future. During our conversation we hit on distributed ledger technology and how it relates to blockchain, how providers will use blockchain in the future & the issues that could come up. We also hit on bitcoin and how it does or doesn’t relate to blockchain as they seem to be used in the same sentence often times and share some thoughts on the balance between privacy and universal data. We touch on a ton of new topics here and hopefully do it in a way that won’t leave you with a headache.
Guest Bio
Michael P. Barry is a senior consultant at October Three and President of O3 Plan Advisory Services LLC, which provides retirement plan regulatory analysis targeted at plan sponsors and those who provide services to them. Plan Advisory Services publishes analyses of regulatory developments affecting private employer defined benefit and defined contribution plans, focusing on the challenges, opportunities, and consequences for sponsors that regulatory changes present. Mike has had over 40 years’ experience in the benefits field, in law and consulting firms, concentrating on the regulation of private employer DB and DC retirement plans.
Beginning law practice in 1976, the year that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) became effective, Mike has worked with and studied the evolving complexities of regulation in this heavily regulated field. Before founding Plan Advisory Services in 1998, Mike was Managing Director at Bankers Trust and, before that, a New York benefits partner at LeBeouf, Lamb, Greene & McRae. He writes a regular column for PLANSPONSOR magazine (“Barry’s Pickings”). Mike blogs at moneyvstime.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @PlanAdvisorySvc.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
From time to time we will take a side trip off the 401(k) path and explore other related topics. Today is a great example of this where we take a minute to explore the 401(k) cousins if you will, in 403(b) and 457 plans. My guest, Sandy Blair is a Director and CALSTRS or the California Teachers Retirement System and a board member at the NAGDCA, or the National Association of Governmental Defined Contribution Administrators. As you will hear, while there are some similarities among governmental plans and their cousins in the corporate world, there are also some important and material differences. We also hit on some important topics and trends we have talked about in many prior episodes such as fees, the use of auto features, fiduciary responsibility and RFPs that have some different nuances to them in the governmental plan world. Finally, Sandy also highlights the resources NAGDCA has to offer anyone who finds themselves in the world of governmental plans, specifically some highlights of next week’s National Retirement Security Week.
Guest Bio
Ms. Blair began her CalSTRS management career in 2009 in the client outreach and guidance business area, where she was instrumental in establishing the model of CalSTRS first Member Service Center in West Sacramento. She became a field manager, overseeing centers in West Sacramento, Glendale and Santa Clara. Under Ms. Blair’s leadership, the CalSTRS defined contribution plan, Pension2®, experienced tremendous growth. It currently administers nearly $600 million in assets on behalf of more than 10,000 plan participants.
Prior to joining CalSTRS, Ms. Blair worked in the private sector in consumer banking, finance and tax preparation. She holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration and finance from California State University, Sacramento.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Do the largest 0.1% of workplace retirement plans in the country or the “Mega Plans” do things the same as the other 99.9% of plans? As you will hear from my guest, Charlie Nelson, CEO of Retirement & Employee Benefits of VOYA Financial, sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. I had a few technical issues and distractions on my end to deal with right before we got started but once we got going this is a fast paced conversation where we hit on some topics things you might expect us to talk about when it comes to what mega retirement plans trends, but we also delve into on a few important topics you might not be thinking about like helping employees figure out what the next best financial decision for them is, whether the prevalence of 401(k) lawsuits in large plans influence their decision making and how some trends in the large market are actually influenced by the small market.
Guest Bio
Charles Nelson is chief executive officer of Retirement and Employee Benefits for Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), which helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings — to get ready to retire better. In his role, Nelson oversees Tax-Exempt and Corporate Markets and Retail Wealth Management, which comprise the company’s workplace and individual retirement businesses, including 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans, as well as its Employee Benefits business.
Prior to joining the company, Nelson served as president of Retirement Services for Great-West Financial through September 2014 and most recently led the legacy Great-West retirement business of Empower Retirement, a business unit of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company.
Nelson has more than 30 years of leadership experience in the retirement and employee benefits industry. He was named the second most influential player in the 401(k) market, according to the 401(k) Wire’s 2012 Most Influential ranking list. During his career, Nelson has managed all aspects of defined contribution businesses. He has overseen government, healthcare, nonprofit, 401(k) and FASCore institutional lines of business, while also managing recordkeeping, administration, operations, sales, products, financial results and broker-dealer services. Nelson began his career at Great-West in the employee benefits business marketing retirement plans, healthcare, stop loss and various benefit offerings.
Nelson is a graduate of Whitman College with a degree in chemistry and economics, and he was a member of the Whitman College Board of Overseers from 2008 to 2017. Nelson served as the past president of the board of directors for The SPARK Institute, a trade institute that represents the entire spectrum of defined contribution service providers. He has also been a member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) since 1985. As a member, Nelson has contributed articles for publication, participated on a number of committees, and spoken at numerous regional and national conferences to support and assist the organization’s efforts to further the industry.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
If you have been searching for a candid overview on the state of workplace retirement plan education in the world of automatic enrollment and changing technology, then look no further than this episode with Catherine Golladay, Senior Vice President for Participant Services & Administration at Charles Schwab. During this fast paced conversation we hit on what is working and not working with 401(k) education, why if you are still offering pizza lunch and learns you aren’t getting the results you are hoping for and a few ideas to rethink your approach to group meetings. We also provide a fresh update on the age old debate of education vs. advice and discuss how there is a disconnect between the retirement industry, employers and employees on the topic. And, how could we talk about education trends without at least an honorable mention of financial wellness. Oh, an stick around for our closing thoughts on how fee competition is also forcing employers to rethink their approach to education. Good stuff and this episode should get you thinking.
Guest Bio
Catherine Golladay is senior vice president of participant services and administration and has been with Charles Schwab since 1996. Golladay is responsible for plan administration, participant service centers and support teams, third party advice services, and education presenters within Schwab Retirement Plan Services.
Previously, Golladay was vice president of participant programs in Charles Schwab’s Corporate & Retirement Services business, where she was responsible for overseeing third party advice and education teams.
Golladay has been serving retirement plan clients since 1990 and has held management positions in compliance, client services, communication consulting, and participant service centers. Prior to joining Charles Schwab, Golladay was vice president of ERISA compliance at Key Bank. Before that she served as a Certified Public Accountant at S.R. Snodgrass and Co., LPA.
She is a Certified Public Accountant and a qualified 401(k) administrator (QKA). She also holds FINRA Series 7, 9/10, 24, 63, and 66 registrations.
Golladay earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Akron. She also has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Based on the recent IRS private letter ruling I though this would be a good episode from the archives to repost. While this episode is almost two years old, my guest, Tony Aguilar, who at the time was the co-founder and CEO of Student Loan Genius could not be more current and relevant about the realities and challenges that come with student debt. What you might be surprised to hear is that nearly half of your workforce could be impacted and its not just a millennial thing! Tony also does a nice job framing how employers have been adding solutions to help employees with their student loan debt as part of their wellness programs and how some employers are even making contributions towards employee student loans as a recruiting and retention tool! What is the tie in to retirement you ask, well it wouldn’t be the 401(k) Fridays podcast if we didn’t address that at some point. As you will hear, paying off debt has an impact on your employees’ ability to save for retirement, however I was pretty excited to learn about some of the new tools and resources employers may offer to help to tackle both loan repayments and retirement savings!
Guest Bio
Tony Aguilar is co-founder and CEO of Student Loan Genius, Austin-based inventor of the first complete student loan employer benefits solution. Today he uses his years of experience as a financial advisor and founder of Amiti Advising and Campus Slice to help crush America’s $1.3 trillion student loan problem. Featured in the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and on CNN, his commitment to helping professionals get ahead and live a life free from debt is the common thread in all of his work. When he’s not leading the team at Student Loan Genius, Tony is spending time with his 3-year old daughter. He can also be found guest lecturing at the University of Texas and Concordia University on entrepreneurship and personal finance, serving as Chairman of Concordia University’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Board, or mentoring fellow social entrepreneurs and startups.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This episode is a perfect example of one where I get to use the podcast as my own research lab and learn right along side of you. Environmental, Social & Governance investments, or ESG or is it ES&G strategies, is a new topic here on the podcast and one that i have been looking forward to exploring. Their popularity seems to have ebbed and flowed in the 401(k) investment world, but as a strategy it is defiantly here to stay. My guest, Sean Kenney, A CFA and Managing Director for MFS Investment Management is, as you will hear, incredibly knowledgable and passionate about all things ESG. We hit on a few familiar themes such as whether the decision to add an ESG strategy or strategies to your workplace retirement plan should be done by evaluating different products or through a broader process. We also discuss who in your population ESG might appeal to, the fiduciary and regulatory implications for offering ESG investments in your plan and close with some solid takeaways and next steps for employers.
Guest Bio
Sean M. Kenney, CFA, is a managing director and head of Defined Contribution at MFS Investment Management® (MFS®). He leads a team focused on selling MFS investment products through retirement plans, advisors, consultants and recording keeping platforms.
Sean joined MFS in 2004, first working in the Retirement Services Division. He subsequently held various distribution roles within the firm. From 2008 to 2017, he served as a managing director of Institutional Sales. In this role, he was responsible for leading the firm’s sales efforts involving institutional investors in the eastern United States.
Sean graduated magna cum laude from Assumption College with a major in economics. He earned an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is actively involved in numerous industry groups.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Guest Bio
Kevin Murphy is a senior vice president and Head of the Defined Contribution Strategic Accounts team for Franklin Templeton's US Investment-Only division. He is responsible for directing and expanding sales of mutual funds and sub-advised portfolio products in employer-sponsored retirement plans. In addition to leading the team of Strategic Account Managers, his primary focus is on mid-market advisory firms with a national footprint, and serves as the primary liaison with these firms at their home offices. Mr. Murphy also leads the firm's Health Savings Account (HSA) initiative.
Mr. Murphy's primary objective is to help more Americans achieve optimal retirement outcomes. He approaches this by offering thought leadership in retirement plan services and investments and working diligently as a key business partner to retirement plan advisory firms, consultants and retirement plan sponsors. His expertise spans qualified plans, investments, current industry trends and Franklin Templeton products and services.
Mr. Murphy began his career in the financial services industry in 1999 and joined Franklin Templeton Investments in 2011. Prior to that, he was a regional vice president on Columbia Management's Defined Contribution Investment Only team. He also served as vice president and regional sales director of corporate retirement plans at Wachovia Retirement Services.
Mr. Murphy holds a B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Delaware. He was selected by National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) for its list of the Top 100 Defined Contribution Wholesalers in the industry in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Among his sales accolades, Mr. Murphy was named Franklin Templeton's Investment-Only Specialist of the year in 2012 and 2014. Kevin, his wife Shannon and their four children reside in Kinnelon, NJ. He is a FINRA registered representative.
We have talked about financial wellness on the podcast before, but not like this. My conversation today with Bill Harmon, President of Retirement Corporate Markets for Voya Financial illustrates how a thoughtful approach to financial wellness can help you become the employer of choice in your market and make a meaningful difference in the battle to attract and retain key talent. As you will hear, Bill shares a very personal and emotional story about how he found comfort in leaving his prior employer of nearly 30 years to join Voya in large part due to their approach in one key area of wellness. He also hits on a few other high value low cost wellness strategies for your consideration. Despite this being the most heartfelt episode I have done, there is a surprising amount of concrete and relevant data as well.
Guest Bio
William Harmon is president of Retirement Corporate Markets for Voya Financial.
In his role, Harmon oversees all aspects of the Corporate 401(k) market, including sales, relationship management, strategy and profitable growth for all segments of the market — from small- and mid-sized companies to some of the nation’s largest corporate employers. He and his team support Voya Retirement’s efforts to deliver next-generation customer experiences and solutions that drive positive retirement outcomes.
Harmon is a member of CEO of Retirement Charlie Nelson's leadership team, as well as Voya's Operating Committee.
Most recently, Harmon served as senior vice president, Core Markets, for Empower Retirement, where he was responsible for the segment’s overall success. During his 29-year tenure at Empower, the U.S. retirement business of Great-West Lifeco, he contributed to significant growth in plan sales, assets and earnings.
For 11 years, including five as president, Harmon served on the board of Adam’s Camp, a group of non- profit organizations providing a variety of intensive, personalized, and integrated therapeutic programs for children with special needs and their families. He has also been closely involved with organizations supporting the special needs community including Special Olympics and Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association.
Harmon holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This episode was a real treat for me and hopefully will be for you. I am excited share my conversation with The Honorable Phyllis Borzi, the former Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration under President Obama. We covered a range of topics that regardless of your involvement with workplace retirement plans should keep your interest. I am also proud that while we talked about her time at the DOL, the majority of our focus was looking forward and exploring how her experience can help employers today and those who want to shape the future of the workplace retirement system. We also hit on two pieces of unfinished business Phyllis wished she had more time to work on while she was at the DOL, what the Perez Principle is and whether employers also suffer from choice overload in retirement plans. Finally, we cover a few topics near and dear to her heart and what she thinks of some of the current retirement proposals in front of congress today to reform the retirement system. Be prepared for some candid insight and some very different perspective than frankly what I expected going into the conversation. And don't miss our call to action at the end.
Guest Bio:
The Honorable Phyllis C. Borzi served as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), an agency that oversees approximately 700,000 private-sector retirement plans, approximately 2.3 million group health plans, and a similar number of other welfare benefit plans that provide benefits to approximately 150 million Americans. As agency head, she oversaw the administration, regulation and enforcement of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
Among her other duties as Assistant Secretary of Labor, she represented the Department of Labor in overseeing implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance market reforms and other ACA rules affecting employer-sponsored group health plans and she was instrumental in the development of various pension regulations, including the Department’s rule requiring individuals providing financial advice to plan sponsors and retirement investors to act as ERISA fiduciaries.
Ms. Borzi also represented the Secretary of Labor in the Secretary’s role as statutory trustee for the Social Security (OASDI) and Medicare Trust Funds and in the Secretary’s capacity as chair of the Board of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
Previously, Ms. Borzi was a research professor in the Department of Health Policy at George Washington University Medical Center's School of Public Health and Health Services. In that position, she was involved in research and policy analysis involving employee benefit plans, the uninsured, managed care, and legal barriers to the development of health information technology. In addition, she was of counsel with the Washington, D.C. law firm of O'Donoghue & O'Donoghue LLP, specializing in ERISA and other legal issues affecting employee benefit plans, including pensions and retirement savings, health plans, and discrimination based on age or disability.
From 1979 to 1995, Ms. Borzi served as pension and employee benefit counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations of the Committee on Education and Labor. In 1993, she served on working groups dealing with insurance reform, workers' compensation and employer coverage in connection with the Clinton Task Force on Health Care Reform.
Ms. Borzi is a charter member and former President of the American College of Employee Benefit Counsel and served on its Board of Governors from 2000-2008; former member and former co-chair of the Advisory Board of the BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter; former member of the Advisory Committee of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; and former member of the Advisory Board of the Pension Research Council, The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania; and former member of the Board of the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER). In 2007, she was appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and served as a public member of the Administrative Committee for the Goodyear retiree health trust until 2009.
Ms. Borzi has published numerous articles on ERISA, health care law and policy and retirement security issues and has been a frequent speaker to legal, professional, business, consumer and state and local governmental organizations both in the United States and internationally. An active member of the American Bar Association, Borzi is the former chair of the ABA's Joint Committee on Employee Benefits. She holds a Master of Arts degree in English from Syracuse University and a J.D. from Catholic University Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the law review. Ms. Borzi currently is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Catholic University Law School. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Maybe I'm a little early with the football analogy, but it seemed to fit. Today, we welcome back Tom Clark, an ERISA Attorney and Partner at The Wagner Law Group as we discuss five 401(k) fiduciary fumbles we see plan sponsors make. As a return guest who I have gotten to know pretty well, we have a little fun and share some insight along the way. Whether it is clarifying the importance of fiduciary analysis vs. process, mistakes to avoid when "outsourcing" fiduciary responsibility, or the inevitable fumbles around fees. Oh, and Tom gives us his feedback from the front lines as to whether the tide has been turning in favor of employers or plaintiffs in ERISA litigation.
Guest Bio
Tom Clark is a partner at The Wagner Law Group, a law firm specializing in ERISA & Employee Benefits. He leads the firm’s St. Louis office. His expertise encompasses all aspects of employee benefits programs, including the design, implementation and compliance of retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and executive and incentive compensation arrangements. He also has a robust practice assisting covered service providers in meeting their ERISA compliance needs. Tom’s vast litigation experience complements the firm’s strong and growing ERISA and employment litigation department and has included work on landmark ERISA cases involving complicated ERISA fiduciary duty issues, such as Tibble v. Edison.
Tom has been quoted extensively as an ERISA and employee benefits expert by outlets such as Reuters, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and Forbes. He teaches ERISA fiduciary law as an Adjunct Professor at The Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, his alma mater. He is also a co-author of the forthcoming second edition of ERISA: Principles of Employee Benefits Law, the only treatise of its kind that provides an overview of the regulation of employee benefit plans by highlighting the central principles and competing policies of employee benefits law in a compact and accessible format for a broad audience of readers.
Tom earned his JD and LL.M. degrees from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, MO. He is a member of the bar in Missouri and Illinois.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Welcome back to new episodes of the 401(k) Fridays Podcast! After taking a little hiatus in July I am really excited about what we have in store for the remained of the year. Also, during our little break I updated the podcast intro, if you skipped it go back and give it a quick listen. We also updated the website, thank you Jonah and Annie at Puddlecreative. Go to 401kfridays.com and check that out, and while you are there don’t forget to subscribe to our email list. All done with housekeeping, now onto the episode at hand.
Its always fun to welcome back a returning guest. Jeff Bograd was one of my favorite guests from last year, if you haven’t listened to his episode scroll down on your podcast app and look for Retirement Plan Design The Next Frontier it is a good one. Today, we tackle some thoughts for employers as they plan for 2019. Recent tax reform brought about a few changes to 401(k) plans that everyone should be aware of. Also, we hit on a few plan design options to think about as you consider changes to your plan for next year. And, since wellness is such a popular topic we hit on a few ideas to dip your tow in the water on financial wellness with simple enhancements to your retirement plan.
Guest Bio
Jeff Bograd is the Vice President, Senior Retirement Plan Consultant for John Hancock Retirement Plan Services and has been with the company for more than 28 years. In this role, Jeff serves as a technical resource to John Hancock’s client service and sales teams, plan sponsors and financial advisors on complex compliance matters and optimal plan design. He provides ERISA and fiduciary training classes to John Hancock employees, plan sponsors and financial advisors and speaks at industry conferences on legislative and regulatory matters and achieving financial independence through plan design. Prior to his current role, Jeff managed the ERISA Consulting Group, served as an ERISA Consultant and managed the ERISA Compliance Department, responsible for all compliance testing, Forms 5500, and IRS and DOL plan audits. Jeff received a B.A. in Economics, cum laude, from Middlebury College. In addition, he is a Registered Representative and maintains his FINRA Series 6 and 63 registrations. Outside of work, Jeff enjoys reading about behavioral economics and personal finance, and playing and coaching lacrosse.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
We are taking a brief summer hiatus. Enjoy this episode from the archives. New episodes will resume again in August. Enjoy!
This episode is fresh out of the 401(k) Fridays Podcast experiment lab. Today my guest JD Carlson, the President & CEO of the legendary Third Party Administration firm Plan Design Consultants and Host of the Retireholi(k)s show we poke a little bit of fun with 401(k) speak. Each of us took the time to prepare a few statements that are full of retirement plan terms, or maybe not, and then put the other person on the spot to determine if the statement is Jargon, Gibberish, or Jumbled. We had a lot of fun recording this but want to make sure we weren’t the only ones. Please share your feedback on whether this was entertaining, informative or both or neither. Shoot us an email to feedback@401kfridays.com or leave a comment on LinkedIn to me, Rick Unser or JD Carlson. If the feedback we get is encouraging, we will tackle some additional retirement plan related topics using this format with future guests. The fate of Jargon, Gibberish or Jumbled is in your hands!
We also have another first with this episode, we have video! If you want to check that out, go to YouTube and search Plan Design Consultants. Or go to www.401kfridays.com/jgjand I will have a link towards the bottom of the page.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Employers consistently want to know what other employers are doing in their 401(k) plan. In this episode we drill into the decisions employers are making about plan design, investment options, fiduciary process and employee retirement outcomes. The heavy lifting is done by Derek Wallen, a SVP at Fidelity and architect of their annual Plan Sponsor Attitudes Survey. Derek does a nice job highlighting the key finds of this years survey which is hot off the presses and comparing result to prior years. He also does all of this in a way that is easy to understand and compare contrast what is going on in your plan.
If you would like a copy of the survey go to 401kfridays.com/wallen and we will have a link. Or, if you are an email subscriber we will send that out to you. If you are not an email suscriber, go to 401kfrisays.com/subscribe today to get that taken care of.
Finally, we are going to take a little summer hiatus so this will be the last new episode for a few weeks. Don’t forget we have over 120 episodes in the archives you can explore and we will repost a few prior episodes while we are on break. When we come back with new episodes we will also have a fancy new website and a few other surprises to be sure to check it out!
Guest Bio
Derek Wallen is senior vice president and head of Defined Contribution Investment Only (DCIO) Sales at Fidelity Institutional Asset ManagementSM (FIAMSM), Fidelity Investments’ distribution and client service organizationdedicated to meeting the needs of consultants and institutional investors, such as defined benefit and defined contribution plans, endowments, and financial advisors.
In this role, Mr. Wallen oversees the DCIO team distributing Fidelity Investment asset management capabilities through advisors, advisory firms, and record keepers focused on serving the small and mid-sized defined contribution marketplace.
Prior to assuming his current position in 2011, Mr. Wallen managed institutional insurance sales for the eastern region of the United States. He joined Fidelity in 1991 as a sales executive responsible for the Chicago, New York, and Boston marketplaces.
Mr. Wallen graduated from Villanova University. He has also completed the Leadership Development Program at the Center for Creative Leadership and the Securities Industry Institute.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Its getting to be that time of year again, no not that time of year, its time to plan for benefits open enrollment. Over the last several years all the changes and activity in health plans has grabbed the headlines and the lions share of the focus of employee meetings. This year, and going forward where does the 401(k) plan fit?
To shed some light on this I am happy to have Peg Knox who today is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of DCIIA. But not so long ago she was the global retirement plans manager at Bechtel Global Corporation, where she worked to generate and implement new ideas for Bechtel retirement plans to enhance retirement security for its employees. She shares some great thoughts right out of the gate on 401(k) plans and open enrollment. We also delve into the hot topics of financial wellness, whether HSAs should be tied to health plans or retirement plans and much more.
Guest Bio
Peg Knox is Chief Operating Officer (COO) of DCIIA. Prior to joining DCIIA, she was the global retirement plans manager at Bechtel Global Corporation, where she worked to generate and implement new ideas for Bechtel retirement plans to enhance retirement security for its employees. Previously she had served as Bechtel’s treasurer, where she ensured efficient global treasury operations including cash management and investments, debt and credit lines, foreign exchange services and other treasury functions to support the company's business lines. Peg has an MBA from Saint Mary’s College and is based in San Francisco.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
There has been vast improvement by retirement plan fiduciaries when it comes to reviewing fees and investments. We even see more retirement plan committee who check the box on other important fiduciary tasks. But does that mean they have a good governance process? With that said, what is fiduciary governance, what does good governance look like and can you be a top notch fiduciary but leave yourself exposed to risk with poor governance?
We tackle this and more today in my conversation with Andy Larson, Director of Retirement Education at the Retirement Leaning Center. Right out of the gate Andy shares what he feels the key missing ingredient to good governance is. We also tackle many common questions we get from employers about governance such as who should be on a fiduciary committee, how often should you meet and what should you address every year. Stay tuned because some answers you have heard in the past have been updated based on what we have learned from ERISA litigation and other trends. You will also here that Andy shares my love for analogies, and there are some good ones!
Guest Bio
With 35 years of experience in the financial services industry, Andy is a respected authority, frequent lecturer and author on industry topics. Andy’s background includes managing and consulting with major recordkeeping platforms, extensive product design for plan sponsors and advanced sales support for intermediaries who work with plans.
As a retirement industry executive, he ran the recordkeeping and consulting practice for Universal Pensions, Inc. (UPI), and headed the BISYS Corporate University. He has served as an adjunct professor for the Central Lakes College system in Minnesota, and provides expert witness services on numerous industry topics. Andy is co-author of RLC’s book, Retirement Resource Guide: Essential ERISA Education & Best Practices for Financial Advisors. He is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and maintains a Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) designation from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Believe it or not, but it has been over six months since we have tackled about financial wellness on the podcast. Today, Chris Whitlow, the Founder & CEO of Edukate, address the red hot topic. In our conversation today we tackle an interesting thought on financial wellness, despite nearly everyone talking about it, are employers actually embracing it? We share some thoughts on that along with four steps to start an effective financial wellness program, if financial wellness is a product or process, how to evaluate VOI & ROI and thoughts for employers to knock down silos between their physical wellness and financial wellness programs and embrace a program based on overall wellbeing. Chris and I also had a few good laughs as he picked away at my compound questions.
Guest Bio
Chris Whitlow is the founder and CEO of Edukate, a workplace financial wellness provider on a mission to give every person access to expert financial guidance. Chris works with the Edukate team to solve problems that ease the financial stress most Americans experience each day. Using cutting edge technology, Edukate helps employers provide the best financial wellness benefits, thus helping employees manage their financial stress, increase their productivity, and live happier, healthier lives.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
In case you hadn’t noticed, Target Date Funds (TDFs) are kind of a big deal in workplace retirement plans. My guest, Jeff Holt, a Director of Multiasset Strategies at Morningstar and one of the authors of their 10th annual Target Date Landscape report cites their use as default funds in retirement plans as one of the key reasons they hit $1 Trillion dollars in assets in 2017.
During our conversation today, we discuss the significance of that accomplishment and hit a few other highlights including thoughts on the flood of money into “passive” target date funds, how TDFs are actually performing, whether you can glean useful information by evaluating the underlying holdings in TDFs and how the competitive environment in TDFs is affecting the industry. Also, don’t miss our discussion on a newer statistic Morningstar has developed comparing the cost of a target date fund with the percent of that fund that is index based.
Whether you are TDF novice or expert, there is something here for you. If you feel like we missed something on TDFs, let me know and we can tackle it on a future episode. Shoot me an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Jeff Holt, CFA, is director of multiasset and alternative strategies for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. He has covered target-date funds and other multiasset funds from various asset managers.
Before joining Morningstar in 2014, Holt spent nearly nine years at Jeffrey Slocum & Associates (since acquired by Pavillion Financial), where he was responsible for investment research to support the firm’s defined-contribution practice. He covered target-date funds, stable value funds, and other asset classes specific to defined-contribution clients.
Holt holds a bachelor’s degree in management, with a concentration in corporate finance, from Brigham Young University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
With the continued focus on fees in workplace retirement plans I thought it might be good to pivot the conversation and tackle some of the realities around the what actually goes into running a successful and compliant plan. To add some muscle to the conversation I have Ed Murphy, President of Empower Retirement. Ed and his team are responsible for over 30,000 of thousands of retirement plans and over 8 million participants. Our conversation ranges from what it takes to keep the proverbial trains running on time, why scale is important in retirement services, how they predict where the puck is going to allocate discretionary spending, and much more. I learned a lot during our conversation and hopefully this will provide you with some helpful perspective when you face the inevitable questions about your retirement plan fees.
Before we get started, we have some exciting new episodes in store where tackle where 401(k) fits in your open enrollment strategy, is financial wellness working, trends in target date funds, input on employer attitudes about retirement plans and much more. However, we definitely want your feedback on other topics to pursue. When you have a suggestion for a guest or topic please just shoot us an email to feedback@401kfridays.com. We will take it from there.
Guest Bio
Edmund (Ed) Murphy provides leadership and strategic direction for Empower Retirement’s 5,000 associates.1 He directs all defined contribution, defined benefit, institutional and IRA markets. He also oversees all sales, marketing and global operations.
Ed brings 30 years of broad industry experience to his role. Before his 2014 appointment as President of Empower, he had served as Managing Director of the Defined Contribution and Investment Only business at Putnam Investments since 2009. He joined the firm’s operating committee in 2011.
Previously, Ed held executive leadership roles for 17 years at Fidelity Investments in its institutional, private equity and retail businesses. He also served as President and CEO of Veritude, LLC, as well as a board member of BostonCoach, Advisor Technology Services, Seaport Hotel, World Trade Center and several other Fidelity-owned businesses. Earlier, he spent six years at Merrill Lynch.
Ed has written articles on retirement-related matters and has testified in Washington, D.C., before the House Committee on Ways and Means. He has also testified before the Department of Labor, the Treasury Department and the IRS. He speaks on topics ranging from investment advice to lifetime income solutions for retirees.
Ed is a board member of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, Cristo Rey School, Boston College Wall Street Council and the New England Council. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. Ed is a graduate of the General Manager Program at Harvard Business School.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The DOL Fiduciary Rule died, or did it? Maybe its coming back to life in another form, through another government agency or even the states will take a crack at it. What should employers know? How will this impact employees? In this timely and action packed episode I am excited to have Fred Reish, ERISA Attorney extraordinaire with Drinker Biddle and the closest follower I know of the long and winding path of the fiduciary rule. For many, Fred requires no introduction. If you are not familiar Fred is perennially listed as one of the most influential individuals in the retirement industry, he has been named one of the “Legends” in the development of retirement plan by PLANSPONSOR Magazine and given multiple lifetime achievement awards and other honors. On top of that, Fred is a great guy with an easy to follow communication style as he shares his insights today. If you want to learn more about Fred or subscribe to his blog that we reference today you can find him at fredreish.com
As a quick aside, I worked in several questions we got from listeners who are email subscribers or follow me on LinkedIn. If you want an opportunity to submit questions to future guests go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe to get connected. Finally, Fred was an inspiration for me to start the podcast. More on that in my wrap-up if you are interested.
Guest Bio
Fred Reish is an ERISA attorney whose practice focuses on fiduciary responsibility, prohibited transactions and plan qualification and operational issues. He has been recognized as one of the “Legends” of the retirement industry by both PlanAdviser magazine and PlanSponsor magazine. Fred has received awards for: the 401(k) Industry’s Most Influential Person by 401kWire; one of RIABiz’s 10 most influential individuals in the 401(k) industry affecting RIAs; the Commissioner’s Award and the District Director’s Award by the IRS; the Eidson Founder’s Award by the American Society of Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA); the Institutional Investor and the PlanSponsor magazine Lifetime Achievement Awards; and the ASPPA/Morningstar 401(k) Leadership Award. He has also received the Arizona State University Alumni Service Award. Fred has written more than 350 articles and four books about retirement plans, including a monthly column on 401(k) fiduciary issues for PlanSponsor magazine. Fred Co-Chaired the IRS Los Angeles Benefits Conference for over 10 years, served as a founding Co-Chair of the ASPPA 401(k) Summit, and has served on the Steering Committee for the DOL National Conference.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
With so much focus on employee engagement and financial wellness, what happens when you actually get your employees attention and they use the tools they are provided to help calculate what they need to do to have a successful retirement, and they are given bad information? My guest today, Tom Kmak, CEO of Fiduciary Benchmarks has thought a great deal about it, so much so that I think he even admitted talking to retirement calculators, but in all seriousness he has some timely input and food for thought for employers. This is the third time I have had Tom on the podcast and love when he shares his perspective from over 30 years in the retirement industry which includes running JP Morgan’s retirement business and founding Fiduciary Benchmarks a decade ago. When Tom invests a lot of time and gets passionate about something, that usually means its important and things will change in the future.
Guest Bio
CEO and co-founder of Fiduciary Benchmarks, 2007 to current. Fiduciary Benchmarks (FBi) is a premier benchmarking service for defined contribution plans that is designed to help fiduciaries determine whether the fees they are paying to their service providers are reasonable in light of the value being received. Through their construction and presentation, FBi’s patented methodology and reports give plan decision makers the context necessary to improve decisions and positively affect the measures of long-term plan success. FBi reports are available primarily through advisor/consultants, recordkeepers, TPAs and other plan service providers.
Prior to founding FBi, Tom Started the JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services business in 1990 with American Century. Upon leaving in October 2007, that business employed 1,100 people serving 200 large plan sponsors with over 1.5 million participants and more than $115 billion in assets.
During his 18 years with Retirement Plan Services, the company initiated numerous industry firsts including no blackout conversions and the innovative employee education program, Audience ofOne. Tom also served on the Executive Committee for JPMorgan’s asset management business.
Named by Ingram’s magazine as one of Kansas City’s inaugural class of “Forty most influential people under Forty,” Tom is a recognized expert in the retirement services industry who has been afeatured speaker at various conferences and has published articles in some of the most well-known periodicals in the industry.
Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University with B.A. degrees in Economics and Computational Mathematics. First graduate of Management Fellows Program and 3 year letterman in inter-collegiate basketball.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
My conversation with Lynn Avitabile, Managing Director in the the Multi-Asset Group of J.P Morgan Asset Management and Wei Hu, Vice President of Financial Research at Financial Engines really cleared some things up for me on the role of Target Date Funds and Managed Accounts in workplace retirement plans. We have talked about Target Date Funds several times on the podcast, but Managed Accounts not so much. As we are accustomed to doing we start with some definitions of terms and then quickly jump into how they compare and contrast with target date funds, how to determine if your plan participants could benefit from one or both strategies. Great dialogue and good input all around. After listening you tell me, do target dates and managed accounts go together like oil & water or peanut butter and jelly? Hope you enjoy, and you don’t want to miss next weeks episode.
Guest Bios
Lynn Avitabile, managing director, J.P. Morgan Asset Management is a Client Portfolio Manager within Multi-Asset Solutions, based in New York. She focuses on our Target Date Fund solutions, and leads our educational efforts on that topic. An employee since 1984, Lynn spent 20 years within Human Resources. She headed Human Resources for J.P. Morgan Global Investment Management and served as a member of the investment company's senior leadership group for six years prior to joining Multi-Asset Solutions. Lynn earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Quinnipiac College and an MBA from Duke University. She is Series 7, 63 and 3 licensed.
Dr. Wei-Yin Hu is Vice President and head of the Financial Research group at Financial Engines. His team’s responsibilities include the development of the analytical models that generate Financial Engines’ recommendations and forecasts, and the design of new retirement advice services. Dr. Hu has expertise in asset pricing, capital markets, taxation, and retirement economics. He joined Financial Engines after leaving a position as an economics professor at UCLA, where he taught for five years. Throughout his career, he has published research in leading academic and practitioner journals and has given invited lectures in numerous academic and non-academic settings. Dr. Hu received a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Unfortunately, mistakes are made when running workplace retirement plans. My guest, Marcia Wagner, the founder of The Wagner Law Group brings her over thirty years of experience working on ERISA matters to the podcast today and shares her list of the top 10 mistakes she sees retirement plan sponsors make. For a little background, Marcia is perennially listed as one of the most influential people in the retirement industry, is frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal and other publications and regular guest on FOX, CNN, Bloomberg, NBC and other news shows. You can find out more about Marcia and this episode at 401kfridays.com/wagner. Back to our conversation today, not surprising, her top ten list is spot on and she does an excellent job explaining the issues, how they happen and probably most importantly how to avoid and thoughts on how fix them if needed. Along the way, we also have a little fun and share some laughs. As far as top ten lists go this one makes my personal list top ten list!
Guest Bio
MARCIA S. WAGNER has been practicing in the employee benefits field for over 30 years, founded The Wagner Law Group over 20 years ago and is the Firm’s Managing Partner. Ms. Wagner is a summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University and a graduate of Harvard Law School. Ms. Wagner is highly regarded for her broad and deep knowledge of the law, flexibility, creativity and sound judgment. She has been at the very forefront of legal and best practices developments in the benefits arena virtually her entire career.
Ms. Wagner’s experience in employee benefits is wide-ranging and she is recognized as an expert in a variety of employee benefits matters, including qualified and non-qualified plans, fiduciary issues, deferred compensation, and welfare benefit arrangements. Her experience in employee benefits includes plan design, drafting and preparation, compliance, tax planning and consultation on all manner and aspect of ERISA issues. Because of her experience and reputation, she has been retained as a legal consultant to other law firms, consulting firms, employee benefits organizations, large corporate and public plan sponsors and as an expert witness in prominent ERISA litigation matters.
As counsel to all types of plan sponsors, she has worked closely on qualified plans, 403(b) and 457 plans, IRAs, employee stock ownership plans, executive compensation arrangements and retiree medical benefits (including 401(h) accounts) regarding plan operation and maintenance, plan terminations, mergers and acquisitions, tax treatment of plan participants, use of life insurance and annuities, and derisking pension liabilities. Ms. Wagner has also advised on the design and redesign of retirement, executive, and health and welfare plans and engages in ongoing, day-to-day counseling of plan sponsors and compliance audits.
Ms. Wagner also specializes in Title I of ERISA, and she has obtained advisory opinions, information letters and prohibited transaction exemptions. Her broad and in-depth range of experience includes handling fiduciary matters impacting plan sponsors, investment and other fiduciary committees, investment managers and advisors, recordkeepers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial services firms. She advises on the avoidance and rectification of prohibited transaction issues, development of compliance programs and investment policies, and day-to-day compliance issues arising under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.
Ms. Wagner has worked on numerous Department of Labor, IRS and PBGC audits of plans and financial institutions that service plans, and negotiated favorable closing agreements with all agencies.
Ms. Wagner was appointed to the IRS Tax Exempt & Government Entities Advisory Committee and ended her three-year term as the Chair of its Employee Plans subcommittee, and received the IRS’ Commissioner’s Award (that agency’s highest honor). Ms. Wagner has also been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, has an “AV” peer review rating by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell indicating very high to preeminent legal ability and integrity and has received over 50 professional commendations and honors. For eight years, 401k Wire listed Ms. Wagner as one of its 100 Most Influential Persons in the 401(k) industry, and she has received the Top Women of Law Award in Massachusetts and is listed among the Top 25 Attorneys in New England. Ms. Wagner has written hundreds of articles and 15 books. Ms. Wagner is a frequent and highly sought after lecturer, is widely quoted in business publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Pension & Investments, is a prolific writer and contributor to the most prestigious journals and periodicals in the benefits area, and has been a guest on FOX, CNN, Bloomberg, NBC and other televised media outlets.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The inspiration for this episode came from a request for proposal I received recently from a company in my day job as a workplace retirement plan consultant After giving it a quick read through, my initial reaction was wow, this company is in a fiduciary defensive shell. Their entire focus was on managing and limiting their fiduciary liability. I guess if you consider the lawsuits and fiduciary messaging I can understand their positioning. So, that got me thinking, should workplace retirement plan fiduciaries be thinking defensively or offensively when making plan decisions?
To bring some perspective to the conversation I was excited to have Jaime Fleckner, a Partner and Chair of the ERISA Litigation Practice at Goodwin Proctor join me. He has a pretty impressive background and experience defending retirement plan fiduciaries which you can check out at 401kfridays.com/fleckner. I won’t steal Jaime’s thunder but I will tell you that if you’re looking for some fresh thoughts on the current retirement plan fiduciary state of affairs he does not disappoint.
If you enjoy Jaime’s insights as much as I did, please tell a friend, share on social media or leave a review or comment on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. Enjoy!
Guest Bio
Jamie Fleckner is a partner in Goodwin’s Financial Industry Practice and Chair of its ERISA Litigation Practice. Mr. Fleckner represents clients in a wide array of complex commercial litigation, with a focus on financial services and products, including investment management. He regularly litigates class and derivative actions under ERISA, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and related federal and state laws. His practice also focuses on regulatory investigations and governmental proceedings, and has represented clients before the U.S. Department of Labor, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and state authorities.
Mr. Fleckner's success in litigating cutting edge legal issues has been profiled in The American Lawyer, Big Suits. Accordingto Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business where Mr. Fleckner has been selected for inclusion since 2014, Mr. Fleckner is “at the top of his game,” and is “a rare thought leader” on ERISA litigation. Since 2015, he has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the list of Who’s Who Legal: Pensions and Benefits.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Today we take a little detour from talking about the usual 401(k) or workplace retirement plan topics and focus on the challenge for many people around the country who are gainfully employed but don’t have access to a retirement plan at work. Personally, when I first heard some of the stats we discuss today they were surprising to me. I have two guests which both shared great perspective today, Lisa Massena, the Executive Director of OregonSaves the first state retirement plan to go live and Andrew Biggs, a resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who has a wealth of data and research about retirement savings at his finger tips. As hopefully you have heard in prior episodes when I have two guests on that usually means they are not always going to agree on everything. Our conversation starts with a conversation around the data, what options individuals who don’t have access to a retirement plan at work have today and how the conversation will evolve in the future. With Lisa here, we also spend some time talking about how state retirement plans factor into the coverage conversation. She shares Oregon’s experience, early results and reactions after their launch in late 2017. Good stuff and I hope you take as much away from our conversation as I did.
Last thing, we had a little challenge with Andrew’s connection, you can hear everything he says but it is a little scratch, just a heads up. Technology is a great thing until it isn’t!
Guest Bios
Lisa Massena, Executive Director, OregonSaves - Ms. Massena joined OregonSaves as its first Executive Director in September of 2015. With its Board and a strong team of internal and external collaborators, Massena helped design and launch the innovative retirement savings program that, when fully implemented, is expected to be available to over 1 million Oregonians who currently do not have access to retirement savings at work.
A native of the Northwest, Ms. Massena began her career in Oregon focused on investment and retirement solutions for employers and individuals, co-founding an investment consultancy in 1991 that specialized in defined contribution plans. When the internet beckoned, she joined a startup firm in San Francisco providing online portfolio advice for 401(k) savers. In 2001 Massena was recruited to State Street Corp. where from San Francisco and Boston she led regional, Americas and global teams providing investment analytics services to institutional clients. She earned a B.A. from Portland State University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Andrew G. Biggs is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits.
Before joining AEI, Biggs was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA’s policy research efforts. In 2005, as an associate director of the White House National Economic Council, he worked on Social Security reform. In 2001, he joined the staff of the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Biggs has been interviewed on radio and television as an expert on retirement issues and on public vs. private sector compensation. He has published widely in academic publications as well as in daily newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has also testified before Congress on numerous occasions. In 2013, the Society of Actuaries appointed Biggs co-vice chair of a blue ribbon panel tasked with analyzing the causes of underfunding in public pension plans and how governments can securely fund plans in the future. In 2014, Institutional Investor Magazine named him one of the 40 most influential people in the retirement world. In 2016, he was appointed by President Obama to be a member of the financial control board overseeing reforms to Puerto Rico’s budget and the restructuring of the island’s debts.
Biggs holds a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, master’s degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London, and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This episode is fresh out of the 401(k) Fridays Podcast experiment lab. Today my guest JD Carlson, the President & CEO of the legendary Third Party Administration firm Plan Design Consultants and Host of the Retireholi(k)s show we poke a little bit of fun with 401(k) speak. Each of us took the time to prepare a few statements that are full of retirement plan terms, or maybe not, and then put the other person on the spot to determine if the statement is Jargon, Gibberish, or Jumbled. We had a lot of fun recording this but want to make sure we weren’t the only ones. Please share your feedback on whether this was entertaining, informative or both or neither. Shoot us an email to feedback@401kfridays.com or leave a comment on LinkedIn to me, Rick Unser or JD Carlson. If the feedback we get is encouraging, we will tackle some additional retirement plan related topics using this format with future guests. The fate of Jargon, Gibberish or Jumbled is in your hands!
We also have another first with this episode, we have video! If you want to check that out, go to YouTube and search Plan Design Consultants. Or go to www.401kfridays.com/jgj and I will have a link towards the bottom of the page.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
It has never made a lot of sense to me how retirement plan participants go missing and lose track of sometimes thousands of dollars of their money. My conversation today with Spencer Williams, the President & CEO of Retirement Clearing House shed a lot of light on just how this happens. We tackle a host of related issues in a face paced back and forth dialogue which highlights some interesting findings from their recent study on the topic, we also hit on how missing participants factor into the concern around retirement plan leakage and what the impact is on both employers and employees when participants go missing. Of course, before we wrap up we provide some concrete thoughts on how to address the issue in your plan and look forward to a few new concepts that might help with this in the future.
Guest Bio
Spencer is Retirement Clearinghouse’s Founder, President and CEO. Retirement Clearinghouse is a specialized provider of portability and consolidation services for America’s mobile workforce and has serviced more than 1 million job-changing participants during Mr. Williams’ 9 year tenure with the company. Prior to joining Retirement Clearinghouse, Williams served in a number of senior executive roles at MassMutual Financial Group, and as a retirement Services executive at Federated Investors, Inc.
Williams earned his B.A. degree in English from the United States Naval Academy and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Some tricky schedules got in the way of my production calendar so no new episode this week. However, as I searched through our archives I thought this episode had some great messages that would be good for some of our new subscribers to hear and for our long term listeners to have top of mind. Enjoy!
I'll have to admit, when I first heard of Don Barden and the "Perfect Plan" I was pretty skeptical. What does "perfect" mean? Who gets to judge "perfect"? My analytical mind was going crazy. However, as I became more familiar with Don and the concepts and elements he believes in, I felt it definitely made sense to bring him onto the podcast. My hope is that you will take away a few kernels of knowledge to help you rethink what retirement means along some motivation and inspiration!
Be sure to check back next week as we have a great line-up of new episodes where we will address some new topics, revisit some popular ones from new angles and have differing viewpoints on the same topic get together to share some interesting perspectives!
Guest Bio
Don Barden is a classically trained economist who earned his M.B.A. in Global Technology Management and International Business with an undergraduate B.B.A. in Economics and Finance. He is ABD in doctoral studies with a Ph.D. in Finance. He resides in Atlanta Georgia and is fluent in international business affairs.
Don’s work challenges and motivates people to think deeply about their beliefs, and reveals a plan to consistently achieve maximum communication and sales. His “unfair advantage” theories are revolutionary in today’s economy as he leads you on a journey that exposes the myth of modern sales and communication techniques. He awakens your creative energy, and identifies the path to cultural change.
Expertly mixing humor, academic capital, and time-tested systems, Don engages audiences through his highly personal and interactive speaking style. Don has the unique ability to break down toxic barriers and build an irresistible and motivated force of empowered team talent.
As an author, speaker, advisor and corporate executive, Don Barden’s counsel is highly sought after by some of the world’s most successful businesses. His experience and record-setting sales success have drawn him to corporate and political leaders who want to tap into his real-world experience in order to move their organization to higher levels of sales and cultural achievement.
Don personally averages over $1 billion in annual sales. He is highly noted for his ability to see “three sides” to every coin. He also serves as the past Board President for The Summit Counseling Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a unique multidisciplinary, multispecialty personal and family counseling center that provides over 8,000 hours of counseling each year. Additionally, he is a leading advisor to several private schools, businesses and faith based organizations.
Don is also a passionate supporter of the US Military, especially the 1st Ranger Battalion out of Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., and is a Special Advisor to the Sua Sponte Foundation. RLTW!
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Somewhere in the lifecycle of most retirement plans, employers are faced with the inevitable decision, should I bundle or unbundle the administration of my plan? There are several different perspectives on that question and some important considerations that employers should keep in mind. To help sort though this, I was excited to welcome back Doug Van Galder, he would call himself a recovering Third Party Administrator and is now a compliance analyst with the ERISA law firm Boutwell Fay. During our conversation we define the difference between recordkeeping and administration, discuss the profiles of groups who are more to unbundle administration and leave everyone with a few more thoughts to help guide you through the inevitable decision to bundle or unbundle the administration of your retirement plan.
Guest Bio
Douglas Van Galder is a Compliance Analyst who is committed to the favorable tax-qualified status and success of the private and public pension systems in America. Therefore, Doug assists Boutwell Fay LLP Clients and their service providers in properly administering retirement plans that remain compliant and deliver the intended benefits.
Boutwell Fay LLP is a highly rated, women-owned law Firm specializing in employee benefits and ERISA. We have seven Attorneys with Offices in Newport Beach, CA and New York City, NY. Boutwell Fay LLP is the only boutique law firm in Orange County, CA that focuses exclusively on employee benefits and ERISA. The Firm provides high quality legal services normally associated with large law firms, while its smaller size allows us to be more accessible to our Clients and more responsive to their needs. The Firm helps Clients with legal issues that arise in the context of: Qualified and Non-Qualified Plans, Health and Welfare Plans, Plan Corrections and Government Audits, ERISA and Fiduciary Consulting and ERISA Claims and Disputes.
In his capacities as a Compliance Analyst, Third Party Administrator (TPA), Record Keeper, Executive, Plan Sponsor/Trustee and Fiduciary Administrator, Doug has amassed 34 years of experience in the intricate business development, compliance and consulting aspects of retirement plans. Most recently, Doug was an Executive Vice President with both QBI, LLC and Fiduciary Administration, LLC serving as Defined Contribution Practice Leader and a Fiduciary Administrator, respectively. He previously founded and was the President of Strategic Pension Services, Inc. (SPS), where he led expert teams of Consultants and Administrators. SPS was acquired by QBI, LLC in January of 2015.
Doug is an Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent and earned the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries' designation of Qualified Pension Administrator. He is also the President for the Orange County Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
A quick word of warning, this episode is not for the faint of heart! Today we tackle and I think make more familiar the topic of factor investing. I will be the first one to admit that I am one of those people who is familiar with factor investing but have been confused with the role it can or does plan in workplace retirement plan investment menu design. So, I was personally excited to have Stacey Tovrov, a Vice President and Investment Strategies within Blackrock’s Defined Contribution business join me on the podcast to break this down.
With many in the investment community anticipating a low return environment in the future the “buzz” word when I speak with various investment firms has been factor investing and specifically what I learned is a subset of factor investing smart beta. For example, it seems we hear more that the XYZ strategy uses a factor based approach to accomplish this or that, or our ABC strategy uses an index based smart beta strategy and so on and so forth. During my conversation with Stacey, we address these statements, whether the average investor will understand this, how to measure performance and much more. She also shares some really unique insights on whether factor based investment labels could eventually replace the current style box or asset class based labels used to construct investment menus. In the words of Gru from Despicable Me, Lightbulb!
If you like this stuff or are curious you will be on the edge of your seat!
Guest Bio
Stacey Tovrov, Vice President, is an Investment Strategist within BlackRock's US and Canada Defined Contribution business. She is responsible for representing DC capabilities to plan sponsors, investment consultants, and advisors. The team partners with Sales, Research, and Product Development to evolve the firm’s suite of DC solutions, provide thought leadership, and develop client analytics.
Prior to moving to her current role, Ms. Tovrov was a member of the Multi-Asset Strategies group building the firm's sustainable investing platform. Previously, she was part of the Strategic Product Management group leading product development and strategy. She was also a member of BlackRock's Portfolio Management Group helping drive strategic initiatives across the firm's investment teams. Ms. Tovrov joined BlackRock in 2008 as an analyst in the institutional client business, where she was responsible for sales and servicing the firm's central bank, sovereign wealth fund, and other official institution clients globally.
Ms. Tovrov earned a BA degree in economics and international relations from Tufts University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This week we have one of my early favorites from the archives featuring my conversation with Jerry Patterson, the Senior Vice President of Retirement & Investor Services at Principal Financial Group. Jerry is also a national speaker and writer on a broad range of financial topics and is a resident blogger for the Huffington Post where he focuses on financial wellness and overcoming human nature to attain better financial security outcomes. We focus what employers should know about what it means for their employees to make the transition into retirement.
One of the biggest things they have to come to grips with is how they are going to live without a “paycheck” for the rest of their life. While this is a highly personal and individual decision, if you are their employer at the time, the decision about when and if they are ready to make the transition into retirement can have a big impact on you and your organization! Jerry generously shares his experience, research and advice on how participants get tripped up by admiring a balance, not understanding fixed and variable expenses and falling victim to retirement drift. We also spend time talking about strategies employers may explore to help their employees with decumulation, or converting the balances they have accumulated over their years into a stream of income.
Be sure to check back next week as we will have a new episode exploring The Factors to Factor in on Factor Investing!
Guest Bio
Jerry Patterson has been a presence in the financial services industry for more than 25 years where he held a number of diverse and senior roles at some of the nation’s largest financial institutions. Patterson currently serves as senior vice president, Retirement & Investor Services with the Principal Financial Group where he leads the company’s annuity, individual investor services, and broader retirement income efforts. Key areas of focus in his current role include driving better retirement outcomes through more effective retirement plan designs, behavior-based education and engagement strategies, getting more Americans to understand and embrace the power of guaranteed retirement income, and addressing the unique and different needs of emerging Millennials and retiring Baby Boomers.
Patterson is a national speaker and writer on a broad range of issues and topics, including financial and estate planning, behavioral finance, healthcare, wellness, Millennials, Boomers, and retirement. He is a resident blogger for the Huffington Post where he focuses on financial wellness and overcoming human nature to attain better financial security outcomes. He can be followed @JerryWPatterson.
Patterson is an active participant in a number of industry and community organizations focused on retirement security and the arts. He is currently an active board member for the Insured Retirement Institute, Ballet Des Moines, and Des Moines Social Club. Patterson’s education and early career focus was on accounting and law and he is a member of the Kansas and Missouri bars.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Maybe this shows my age, but whenever I get thinking about surveys my mind immediately goes to The Family Feud and their often repeated catch phrase of “our survey said…”. Today, we dont’ have the family feud, but I do have Joshua Dietch, group manager of Retirement & Financial Education at T. Rowe Price to share input from their results of their 3rd Annual Retirement Savings & Spending Survey. Their work caught my attention as it had some great insights on retirement trends and behaviors that are good for employers to be aware of, but also because their focus this year was on Gen Xers. Millennials and Baby Boomers seem to get all the attention these days! So for selfish reasons, it was nice to see the focus and some good data on what’s going on with generation! Since I already gave this away in the title, we do cover a broad range of trends and topics that hit all generations, but it is clear that Gen Xers are at a critical juncture for retirement planning and Josh shares how you can better focus on serving this group, again thinking selfishly for my generation, based on their recent findings.
Guest Bio
Joshua Dietch is vice president and group manager of Retirement and Financial Education at T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Joshua joined T. Rowe Price in 2017 and is responsible for leading a team of researchers and writers who create retirement and personal financial planning thought leadership in support of T. Rowe Price’s individual investor, retirement plans, intermediary, and institutional businesses. He has over 20 years of experience in financial services, having held a number of senior industry roles including: Head of Retirement and Institutional - Strategic Insight; Managing Director - Chatham Partners; Director, Product Marketing and Management - ADP Retirement Services; and Associate Director, Institutional Markets - Cerulli Associates. In addition to his responsibilities at T. Rowe Price, Joshua is a member of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association’s (DCIIA) Executive Committee and is Chair of its Retirement Research Board. He earned a B.A. in history from Bates College and is a series 7 registered representative.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Honestly, I’m not sure I even gave our guest the chance to unpack his suitcase from his trip to Washington D.C.! I am happy to welcome Sam Henson, Director of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs at Lockton Retirement Services back to the podcast! Our conversation is timely in that he provides great input on President Trump’s first year in office, what impact it has had on workplace retirement plans and a few ideas on things to come and where we go from here. We also touch on a few issues that are being actively debated in Washington such as Open Multiple Employer Plans, State Retirement Plans and what seems like the never-ending soap opera of the Fiduciary Rule. As usual, Sam not only provides great perspective but keeps the conversation moving and interesting!
Guest Bio
As a Senior Vice President and Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for Lockton Retirement Services, Sam Henson oversees national IRS/DOL/ERISA compliance services for all clients and more than 100 associates nationwide. Sam serves as a subject matter expert on ERISA compliance, DOL/IRS activities, and the legislative landscape. Prior to joining Lockton, Sam spent almost 10 years with the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, where as a Senior Investigator, he conducted more than 100 complex civil and criminal investigations of employee benefits plans, service providers, and fiduciaries. Sam also supervised enforcement efforts for benefit plans funded by prevailing wage laws under the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act. Sam currently serves on the Policy Board of Directors for the American Benefits Council, Board of Directors for DCIIA, and the Governing Council of ISCEBS, as well as being a member of ASPPA. Sam has been a nationally featured speaker and writer on numerous fiduciary topics.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
One of my favorite things these days is to explore new topics on the podcast! Today in my conversation with Dena Ayala, the President & CEO of Spencer Reed Consulting we dive into the role workplace retirement plans play in an employers ability to recruiting talent. This is a pretty timely episode based on the current historically low unemployment rate and the war for talent that has been going on in many industries and geographies around the country. Dena provides great input on what questions she gets from candidates about an employers 401(k) plan during the recruiting process, her observations on some things she sees employers doing well and where they can improve in their recruiting efforts and I also gave her the opportunity to share some insights from her 20 years of experience working with employers of all shapes and sizes that takes us out of the realm of retirement plans.
Guest Bio
Dena Ayala is the President & CEO of Spencer Reed Consulting, So Cal's finest recruiting firm. Dena’s passion is people. She prides herself in living a purpose-driven life and positively impacting those around her. She has worked in the recruiting and human resources field for 18 years, supporting thousands of people advancement within their careers. She just completed her term as the President of San Diego HR Forum, the largest HR network in San Diego. Through SDHRF she is actively contributing to community awareness, strategizing to raise the viewpoint of HR professionals, providing networking & peer support. She is also on the board and a supporter of Women In Technology International, a worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement of women in business and technology.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
I’m noticing a trend with the themes from a few recent episodes, leadership, stewardship, foresight and now I’m throwing courage into the mix! While all of these characteristics are important to run a successful and valuable workplace retirement plan, courage is sometimes underrated! To share some of her insights on the topic of courageous retirement plan design I was excited to have Shannon Nutter Weirbinsky who heads Participant Strategy and Development for Vanguard's institutional business join me on the podcast. During our conversation we hit on why she thinks its important for employers to embrace courageous plan design and how it will help both the company and your employees! We also chat about overcoming inertia with retirement savers, there was talking of how to eat and elephant, quick disclosure no animals were harmed in the recording of this podcast and why it is important to put yourself in your participant’s shoes from time to time. Really good stuff!
Shannon has also done some great writing on topics that are helpful for employers and I posted a few of her articles on the website at www.401kfridays.com/snw. Check it out! While you are there, be sure to join our email list and subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already.
Guest Bio
Shannon Nutter-Wiersbitzky heads Participant Strategy and Development for Vanguard's institutional business. In prior roles, she served as head of Institutional Marketing and as head of Market Research and Voice of Client for all U.S. and international businesses. She joined Vanguard in 2007 and has more than 15 years of experience in both consumer and B2B markets, focused on strategic planning, marketing, product development, business consulting, and market research. Additionally, she originated and led the development of My Classroom Economy® (myclassroomeconomy.org), a free program built by Vanguard volunteers for grades K through 12 that teaches children key life skills through experiential learning. Ms. Nutter-Wiersbitzky earned a B.A. from Macalester College and an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
No matter how you slice it target date funds continue to play a larger role each year in the conversation around workplace retirement plan outcomes. However, some of the decisions that plan sponsors and fiduciaries make on their target date funds are not evolving as quickly as maybe they should. When I discuss with employers how they selected their target date strategy often times I hear answers like, they had the best performance, they were inexpensive or they were the one our provider offered. While these details and others are important in selecting a target date strategy that will match your employee demographics and needs, there is much more that can and should be explored. To help inform that conversation and illustrate how two very successful target date strategies can take very different approaches I happy to welcome back Rich Weiss, the CIO for Multi-Asset Strategies at American Century and Jerome Clark, a Portfolio Manager in the Asset Allocation Group at T. Rowe Price. As portfolio managers of their respective firms target date strategies, there are certain things that both Rich and Jerome agree on but much more that they take very different approaches to or have very different opinions on. Not only was this a ton of fun to have both guys on the podcast, but it illustrates just how important it is to get beyond the numbers when evaluating target date investments and to ensure you understand their process, beliefs and strategies.
Guest Bios
Jerome Clark is a portfolio manager in the T. Rowe Price Asset Allocation Group and co-manages the firm's Asset Allocation Target Date Strategies and oversees the College Savings Plan portfolios. He is a member of the firm's Asset Allocation Committee and a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.
Mr. Clark has 25 years of investment experience, all of which have been at T. Rowe Price. He joined the firm in 1992 as a quantitative analyst in the Fixed Income Division. He was the portfolio manager of the U.S. Treasury Long-Term Bond Strategy from 1998 through 2003 and began managing asset allocation portfolios in 2001. Prior to joining T. Rowe Price, Mr. Clark was a captain in the United States Marine Corps and spent three years as a mathematics instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Mr. Clark earned a B.S. in mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy, an M.S. in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School, and an M.B.A. in finance from Johns Hopkins University. He has also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Richard Weiss is a Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Multi-Asset Strategies for American Century Investments. He is the co-portfolio manager for the firm’s asset allocation strategies, including Strategic Allocation, Global Allocation and One Choice Portfolios®. He also serves as a member of the firm’s Investment Oversight and Asset Allocation Committees, which is responsible for establishing investment policy and reviewing investment decisions for all of our asset allocation products.
Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Rich was executive vice president and chief investment officer of City National Bank, where he was responsible for their $12 billion investment management group and directed investment policy and strategy. Previously, he was executive vice president and chief investment officer at Sanwa Bank California, where he managed all aspects of their investment department. Earlier in his career, Rich held senior investment positions at Vantage Global Advisors, TSA Capital Management, PaineWebber and Mellon Bank. He has worked in the investment industry since 1984.
Rich holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has authored several academic papers and is well known for his advanced work in the field of global investing.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This is part two of my conversation with Jerry Schichter, to be clear that means there was a part one which was last week. I would strongly suggest you listen to that one first to gain some perspective on Jerry and the retirement plan litigation he has been responsible for.
That said, in this episode we pick up right where we left off last time and finish off the conversation around whether Jerry feels some of the strategies employers and plan fiduciaries use to determine the reasonableness of plan fees are effective. Then we wade into some waters were Jerry uses some pretty clear and strong language to describe a few practices he sees in the market. Right or wrong, his comments will keep you on the edge of your seat. I also give Jerry a chance to address some of his critics, tell us whether he plans to ride off into the sunset in the near future and share a key concept in closing that should provide some comfort to employers. I hope you enjoyed part one, I think this one is even better.
Guest Bio
Jerry Schlichter, Founding and Managing Partner of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton, pioneered Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) excessive fee litigation and has represented employees and retirees in 20 401(k) excessive fee cases.
In recent rankings of the most influential people in the 401(k) industry by 401kwire.com, Schlichter has repeatedly ranked in the top 5. This is in recognition of his accomplishments with numerous nationwide class actions brought on behalf of employees and retirees in large, corporate 401(k) plans, alleging excessive fees and conflicts of interest that reduce employees’ and retirees’ retirement assets.
In 2006, after a year and nine months of investigation into the industry, he and his firm filed his first in a series of cases on behalf of employees and retirees. At that time, no case had ever been brought alleging excessive fees in a 401(k) plan, despite the 401(k) having become America’s de facto retirement system, and there being over 500,000 plans in America. In addition, the Department of Labor had never brought a case for excessive fees in a 401(k) plan.
Since that time his firm has reached precedent setting settlements in over a dozen cases, on behalf of 401(k) plan employees and retirees representing over 1.5 million workers and retirees. These settlements have not only included monetary recoveries for the workers and retirees, but each has also included provisions going forward to reform the plans and to ensure that fees will be reasonable in the future.
Schlichter and his firm have been referred to by federal judges as “preeminent “in the field of 401(k) fee litigation; as demonstrating “extraordinary skill and determination”; as making “a significant, national contribution,” having “educated plan administrators, the Department of Labor, the courts” about fees and fiduciary obligations; and he has been referred to by federal judges as a “private attorney general,” causing fees to come down in the entire 401(k) industry.
He has also been referred to as the “Lone Ranger” of 401(k) plans in the NY Times, and the term “Schlichterized” has been used to describe being sued by his firm.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This episode marks a few milestones on the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, it’s the 100th episode, the first episode of 2018 and features part 1 of 2 of my conversation with Jerry Schlichter. For some of our listeners Jerry requires no introduction. If you are not familiar, Jerry and his firm Schlichter Bogard & Denton have been the driving force behind many of the headline grabbing 401(k) lawsuits over the past decade.
As you will hear, his firm has successfully garnered multi-million dollar settlements, argued a 401(k) case in front of the US Supreme Court and has recently filed several more lawsuits against some very prominent universities. In part 1 of our conversation we discuss the origins of 401(k) litigation against employers, the “bet the farm” decision he made with his firm, why they turn down certain cases, why some cases succeed and others don’t, an important beacon for plan fiduciaries to follow and much more.
What clearly comes through is that Jerry has a tremendous passion for retirement plan participants, he is very knowledgable about how retirement plans work and has strong opinions on what employers should and should not do if they don’t want to run into him or his firm in the future!
Guest Bio
Jerry Schlichter, Founding and Managing Partner of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton, pioneered Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) excessive fee litigation and has represented employees and retirees in 20 401(k) excessive fee cases.
In recent rankings of the most influential people in the 401(k) industry by 401kwire.com, Schlichter has repeatedly ranked in the top 5. This is in recognition of his accomplishments with numerous nationwide class actions brought on behalf of employees and retirees in large, corporate 401(k) plans, alleging excessive fees and conflicts of interest that reduce employees’ and retirees’ retirement assets.
In 2006, after a year and nine months of investigation into the industry, he and his firm filed his first in a series of cases on behalf of employees and retirees. At that time, no case had ever been brought alleging excessive fees in a 401(k) plan, despite the 401(k) having become America’s de facto retirement system, and there being over 500,000 plans in America. In addition, the Department of Labor had never brought a case for excessive fees in a 401(k) plan.
Since that time his firm has reached precedent setting settlements in over a dozen cases, on behalf of 401(k) plan employees and retirees representing over 1.5 million workers and retirees. These settlements have not only included monetary recoveries for the workers and retirees, but each has also included provisions going forward to reform the plans and to ensure that fees will be reasonable in the future.
Schlichter and his firm have been referred to by federal judges as “preeminent “in the field of 401(k) fee litigation; as demonstrating “extraordinary skill and determination”; as making “a significant, national contribution,” having “educated plan administrators, the Department of Labor, the courts” about fees and fiduciary obligations; and he has been referred to by federal judges as a “private attorney general,” causing fees to come down in the entire 401(k) industry.
He has also been referred to as the “Lone Ranger” of 401(k) plans in the NY Times, and the term “Schlichterized” has been used to describe being sued by his firm.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
No interview with a retirement industry expert today. This episode shares my top ten highlights and themes from nearly 100 conversations on the podcast!
Be sure to check out our first two episodes of 2018 which are my two part conversation with Jerry Schlichter, the plaintiffs attorney driving much of the 401(k) and other retirement plan litigation against employers! Part 1 will be posted on Friday, January 5th and Part 2 on Friday, January 12th.
Don't forget that if you have been enjoying the podcast please mention it to a friend, share on social media or leave a review on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. All of that goes a long way to helping grow our audience, attract high quality guests and keep sharing high quality timely content.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over ninety prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Every now and then its a little fun to go off the beaten path of 401(k) plan topics and explore something related, but different. In the past, we have done that with international retirement benefits, the importance of company culture and on this episode we delve into health benefits programs. For this episode, our last full episode of 2017, my guest Ed Fensholt, an ERISA Attorney and Senior Vice President and Director of Compliance Services with Lockton Benefits Group keeps things interesting and entertaining as we explore his list of the five important heath plan trends for 2018.
What really jumped out to me was that so much of what we talked about had direct parallels or overlapped many of the retirement plan topics we have explored on the podcast. I’m not going to steal any of Ed’s thunder and give away his list, but what I will tell you is don't miss the last point.
Guest Bio
Ed Fensholt is a Senior Vice President and Director of the Compliance Services national practice at Lockon. Our team of attorneys supplies our clients and the Lockton associates who serve them with a broad range of compliance-related support for employee benefits issues arising under ERISA, HIPAA, COBRA, the Internal Revenue Code and other select federal and state statutes and regulations, including the Affordable Care Act.
Employers face significant challenges under the health reform legislation and its regulatory coattails. Our practice helps clients understand the impact to their benefits programs and get ahead of significant changes and requirements. Our work in this regard includes detailed analysis, alerts, blog postings, webcasts, seminars and a wide variety of ACA-related tools, checklists, grids, etc.
Ed is a frequent lecturer inside and outside the organization and a published author on employee benefits matters.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over ninety prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
If you are curious, concerned or confused about what’s going on with interest rates and how it might impact the bond/fixed income market or some of the investments in you 401(k) investment menu, I have great news for you! My conversation with Brett Wander, the Chief Investment Officer for Fixed Income at Charles Schwab and Jake Gilliam, a senior Mutli-Asset Class Strategist also with Charles Schwab clears a lot of things up! Brett shares some great economic insights and Jake does an excellent job tying those concepts to how they might impact various investment strategies.
If you’re thinking, this is going to be really confusing or it might be over your head, stop right there because as usual, we take what can be a complex or maybe what some would call a boring topic and break it down into easy to understand pieces with some great ideas and questions you can bring back to your next investment committee meeting.
Be sure to listen for some key observations about the overall direction of interest rates, how that may or may not impact your fixed income options, some key questions to ask about the bond exposures in your target date fund and what a yield trap is and how plan fiduciaries could unknowingly already be in one! I will have to say, despite this being a little bit of a longer episode there isn’t anything i would remove and i have already listened to this several times and have come away with new insights each time.
Guest Bios
Brett Wander is Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Fixed Income for Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM). He is responsible for all aspects of the firm's fixed income and money market portfolios, leading a team of more than 20 investment professionals.
With more than 25 years of investment management experience, Mr. Wander has been intimately involved in the design, development and oversight of a wide range of active, indexed and alternative fixed income strategies. His expertise spans a wide range of global and domestic markets and sectors. Prior to joining CSIM in June 2011, Mr. Wander was senior managing director at State Street Global Advisors, where he managed and directed the firm’s $30 billion active fixed-income enterprise. He also held senior fixed-income leadership positions at Loomis Sayles, State Street Research and Payden & Rygel. In those roles, he designed investment processes, developed risk management methodologies, managed investment teams, and consistently generated strong investment performance track records.
Jake Gilliam is a Senior Multi-Asset Class Portfolio Strategist for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. supporting Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s (CSIM) Asset Allocation and Sub-Advisor Oversight Committees. He contributes to strategic decisions for all multi-asset class portfolios as well as several single asset-class portfolios within CSIM and for the Schwab Bank Collective Trust Funds. He works closely with the Chief Investment Officers, Portfolio Managers, Research, and Sub-Advisor Oversight teams on a frequent basis. Mr. Gilliam also represents CSIM’s multi-asset class strategies to the institutional marketplace, clients, and the media.
Previously, he was the day-to-day Senior Portfolio Manager for Schwab Bank’s Collective Trust Funds and Head of Sub-Advisor oversight for CSIM. Additionally, Mr. Gilliam served as interim Head of Asset Allocation and Portfolio Manager for CSIM’s Multi-Asset Class funds. Mr. Gilliam also developed the Schwab Corporate and Retirement Services Institutional Investment Analyst team and oversaw the due diligence process for maintaining the Schwab Focus List™. Earlier in his career, he also worked as a sell-side Equity Research Associate covering the food retail and restaurant industries.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over ninety prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
When you take a new job or start with a new company, generally there is a job description, clear roles & responsibilities, a training program or on boarding process to help you get your feet underneath you in your new role. However, when employers create a retirement plan committee many of the people they tap to be members, and thus plan fiduciaries, have never been a fiduciary to a workplace retirement plan and aren’t really sure what that means and receive no training. If this sounds at all familiar, my guest today, Don Trone, is the Co-founder & CEO of 3Ethos should be a breath of fresh air!
Over his career he has trained over 10,000 fiduciaries, has been called the “Father of Fiduciaries” and has testified before the U.S. Senate on fiduciary issues, and much more. During our conversation, Don shares his experience, good and bad, on what he has learned over the years to help retirement plan fiduciaries embrace their roles & responsibilities in a way that empowers them to make better decisions, protect themselves form liability and have a positive impact of their retirement plan and participants. As an aside, its not every day that you hear fiduciary and goat rodeo used in the same sentence, that was a new one on me, but it made sense!
Guest Bio
Don Trone is the CEO and co-founder of 3ethos. Don was the founding CEO of fi360 and the AIF and AIFA designation; founder and President of the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies; and the first person to direct the Institute for Leadership at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Over the past three decades, Don has trained more than 10,000 financial advisors and trustees on the subject of procedural prudence. In 2015 he was named by Investment Advisor magazine as the “Father of Fiduciary” and one of the 35 most influential people in the financial services industry.
In 2003, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Labor to represent the investment counseling industry on the ERISA Advisory Council, and in 2007 he testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on the fiduciary issues associated with the management of retirement plans.
He is the author or co-author of twelve books on the subject of fiduciary responsibility, portfolio management, and leadership.
Don is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and is the president of his class. He served for ten years on active duty, most notably as a long-range search and rescue helicopter pilot. He has a Master’s from The American College and has completed post-graduate studies in theology from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Trinity Episcopal Seminary.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over ninety prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Financial Wellness, while a very hot topic, is not yet mainstream. One reason could be there has not been a clear value proposition for the employer to invest the time and/or the money to roll it out. Today, my conversation with Lynn Pettus, the National Leader for Ernst & Young’s Employee Financial Services Practice sheds some light on that topic. Our conversation begins with exploring what financial wellness is or isn’t, how employers are measuring the impact of financial stress in the workplace and what can be done to help employees. Also, Lynn talks about her biggest competition (its not who you think it is), discusses the value of speaking to peers who have embraced financial wellness and ways you can either dip your toe in the water and just offer gold stars to engaged employees or go "all in" with a fully integrated health, financial and emotional wellness strategy.
Lynn references and shared some of the work Ernst & Young has done on financial wellness which we have posted on the website at www.401kfridays.com/pettus if you want to check it out. While you’re there, don't forget to subscribe to our email list so you don’t miss any valuable updates on new episodes and other valuable information!
Guest Bio
Lynn Pettus is a tax partner located in Charlotte, North Carolina. She serves as the National Director for the Employee Financial Services practice and relationship partner for the Southeast and Southwest areas. Her time is concentrated on serving large private and public sector employers in the strategic development of financial education and counseling programs focused on employee benefit plans. Ms. Pettus also helps coordinate Human Capital resources, firm-wide, to assist in serving area clients in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
Ms. Pettus has spoken at The Conference Board’s Pensions & Retirement Conferences and has presented at The Wharton School, Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Research. She is co-author of articles for Benefits Quarterly, the Society for Human Resource Management and the Pension Research Council. Ms. Pettus has spoken in numerous other forums and has been quoted in the general media (e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal), and trade publications (e.g., Employee Benefit News, Employee Benefit Advisor, National Health & Underwriter), as well as other media.
As a graduate of Converse College in South Carolina, Ms. Pettus holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant, Personal Financial Specialist (AICPA Designation), Certified Investment Management Analyst, and Registered Investment Advisor. Additionally, she is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants, the Investment Management Consultants Association, and the National Association of Securities Dealers (Series 65 Examination).
Ms. Pettus actively supports women’s initiatives through her involvement with Ernst & Young’s Inclusiveness Advisory Council, National Tax Inclusiveness Steering Committee, Professional Women’s Network and through her community work with the Junior League of Charlotte. She has served on the boards of local charitable organizations including Carolina Voices and the Carolina Raptor Center. Ms. Pettus has also acted as Ernst & Young’s coordinator for the Arts & Science Council Fund Drive and supports the United Way.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over ninety prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Nine years into a bull market, that generally gets people talking about bubbles. Today, I am excited to have Rob Arnott, Chairman of Research Affiliates join me for a second round on the podcast! Why have him back you might ask, well Rob and his firm manage nearly $200 Billion dollars and over the years have made some bold statements, pioneered several unconventional strategies and challenged conventional wisdom to search for solutions that add value for investors.
As you will hear, Rob is not shy to share his thoughts on the current state of the financial markets, address a bubble he sees developing in the market and provide some different perspectives, sometimes very different on some popular investment trends. If you are listening and think this one might not be for you, I would encourage you to give Rob a chance before moving on. In addition to his unconventional thinking, I love that he can take some complex topics in the market and make them easy to understand, regardless of your level of investment or financial acumen.
Guest Bio
Mr. Arnott is the founder and chairman of Research Affiliates, a subadvisor to PIMCO. In 2002, he established Research Affiliates as a research-intensive asset management firm that focuses on innovative asset allocation and alternative indexation products. He previously served as chairman of First Quadrant, as president of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic Investors), and as vice president at The Boston Company. He also was global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers. He has published more than 100 articles in journals such as the Journal of Portfolio Management, the Harvard Business Review and the Financial Analysts Journal, where he also served as editor in chief from 2002 through 2006. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1977 in economics, applied mathematics and computer science.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The idea of changing workplace retirement plan recordkeepers, or going through a "conversion" in retirement plan lingo, can be a daunting and stressful proposition if you are not familiar with the process. If it has been a little while since you changed recordkeepers or if you just never had the pleasure, my conversation today with Tom Dennis, Director and Head of Defined Contribution Implementation Services for John Hancock should be helpful.
We tackle head on some of the most common concerns and misperceptions such as the need to make a change on January 1st, how long blackout periods last, what happens to your employees’ money during a conversion and much more! We will also leave you with several strategies to help you take the mystery and stress out of the process so that your upcoming or next record keeping change can dare I say, be as close to seamless as possible!
Guest Bio
Tom Dennis is Director, Defined Contribution Implementation for John Hancock Retirement Plan Services (JHRPS), a position he held with New York Life Retirement Plan Services, which merged with JHRPS in April 2015. In this role, he is responsible for the oversight, guidance, and support of a team of Project Managers implementing plans onto JHRPS’s mid and large market recordkeeping platform.
With 28 years in the retirement industry, Tom provides overall accountability for the successful implementation of new defined contribution qualified and non-qualified plans, and corporate action activity. Prior to joining the JHRPS, he most recently worked as Associate Managing Director of Retirement Research for LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. Prior to LIMRA, Tom spent 11 years at Fidelity Investments leading large market Implementation and Client Service teams.
Tom received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Connecticut, and an M.B.A. from the University of Hartford.
Outside of work, he enjoys golf, and is the former President of the Tolland (CT) Soccer Club.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
While I’ve been in the retirement plan business for over twenty years now, one thing I had never found was an easy to read book that an employer or someone new to the business could pick up and finish in one or two sittings and get their arms around where our retirement plan system has been, where it is today and some ideas on where it is headed in the future. My guest today Bob Reynolds, the President and CEO of both Putnam Investment and Great-West Financial must have shared my frustration and taken it upon himself to fill the void! During our conversation, we explore mostly his thoughts on how our retirement system is doing today and some recommendations for employers he highlights in his new book, From Here to Security: How Workplace Retirement Plans Can Keep America’s Promise. As you will hear, while our system is not perfect it is a strong and healthy but needs the ongoing leadership of employers to improve retirement plan coverage within the workforce and to help employees who already have access to retirement plans advance farther down the path towards a successfully replacing their income in retirement. I won't steal Bob's thunder, but don’t you worry, we leave you with plenty of great ideas and strategies you can bring to your next retirement plan committee meeting.
Guest Bio
Robert L. Reynolds is President and Chief Executive Officer of both Putnam Investments and Great-West Financial, which is one of the nation’s top providers of retirement savings products and services through its Empower Retirement division.
Long respected as an industry statesman, Mr. Reynolds has been a driving force of innovation and progress in institutional and retail financial services. Prior to joining Putnam in 2008, Mr. Reynolds was Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Fidelity Investments.
Mr. Reynolds’ accomplishments have earned multiple industry honors over time. He was named Fund Leader of the Year at the Mutual Fund Industry Awards in 2010 for the strategic improvements he initiated at Putnam. The following year, Putnam, under the leadership of Mr. Reynolds, was honored as Retirement Leader of the Year for initiatives and innovative solutions in the workplace savings arena. Mr. Reynolds has also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from PLANSPONSOR magazine for popularizing employer sponsored 401(k) plans.
Mr. Reynolds currently serves on several not-for-profit boards, including those of West Virginia University Foundation, Concord Museum, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association Foundation. He is Chairman of the Boston Advisory Board of the American Ireland Fund, a member of the Massachusetts General Hospital President’s Council, and a member of the Chief Executives Club of Boston and the Council on Competitiveness.
Mr. Reynolds earned a B.S. in Business Administration, Finance, from West Virginia University, where he also received an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration and a Distinguished Alumni Award. In addition, Mr. Reynolds is a recipient of the Boston College President’s Medal of Excellence and the Manhattan College De La Salle Medal. He lives in Concord, Massachusetts.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Are workplace retirement plans vulnerable to cyber threats? When it comes to cyber threats & workplace retirement plans, what questions should employers be asking their retirement service providers to better understand their security policies? I address these questions and much more with Lee Harms, Business Information Security Officer for the Principal Financial Group.
Guest Bio
Lee Harms is the Business Information Security Officer for the five businesses that make up Retirement and Income Solutions (RIS). As a BISO he is responsible for the integration of the enterprise information security program within his business unit(s). Key responsibilities include 3rd party oversight, secure software development, data protection, customer and regulatory requests and incident response.
Lee’s career with Principal began in 1983 and has included roles leading Enterprise Architecture, application development, Actuarial liaison and Client Administration. Those roles include Business exposure to individual insurance and retirement business units as well as corporate Information Services.
Lee is a member of the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and The Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Recordkeepers (SPARK) Data Security Advisory Board.
Lee graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Management.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Sometimes employers will comment, we don’t hear to much about the 401(k) from our employees, well that’s not because your employees don’t have questions, it’s likely because they are going elsewhere to get their answers! To help uncover what 401(k) participants are doing outside the watchful eyes of their employers, is my guest Catherine Golladay, the Senior Vice President of Participant Services and Administration at Charles Schwab. During our conversation, we explore how 401(k) participants are engaging with call centers, onsite education teams and advice offerings. Catherine does a great job pulling from her experience to share specific stories and examples for employers to help leverage what she has learned with her participant services teams. Finally, be sure to listen for her perspectives on the importance of merging plan design, technology and people as the key ingredients to improve plan health and participant retirement outcomes.
Guest Bio
Catherine Golladay is senior vice president of participant services and administration and has been with Charles Schwab since 1996. Ms. Golladay is responsible for plan administration, participant service centers and support teams, third party advice services, and education presenters within Schwab Retirement Plan Services.
Previously, Ms. Golladay was vice president of participant programs in Charles Schwab’s Corporate & Retirement Services business, where she was responsible for overseeing third party advice and education teams.
Ms. Golladay has been serving retirement plan clients since 1990 and has held management positions in compliance, client services, communication consulting, and participant service centers. Prior to joining Charles Schwab, Ms. Golladay was vice president of ERISA compliance at Key Bank. Before that she served as a Certified Public Accountant at S.R. Snodgrass and Co., LPA.
She is a Certified Public Accountant and a qualified 401(k) administrator (QKA). She also holds FINRA Series 7, 9/10, 24, 63, and 66 registrations.
Ms. Golladay earned a bachelor of science in accounting from the University of Akron. She also has a master of business administration from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
To Roth or not to Roth, that is the question. With the option to make Roth contributions now offered in well over 50% of workplace retirement plans by most surveys, it is great to see more acceptance of Roth but there are still a lot employers who are either not making it available, or who might offer it but don’t recognize the full scope of benefits it offers their employees.
To help inform the conversation I was excited to have Katherine Roy, Managing Director and Chief Retirement Strategist and Head of Individual Retirement for J.P. Morgan Funds join me! We kick things off clarifying a few misperceptions about Roth, then we delve into few features of Roth that don’t get a lot of attention for both lower and higher paid employees and then we close the proverbial door with some thoughts on the "Backdoor Roth 401(k)". And under the banner of I would rather be lucky than good, with the current push for tax reform and the talk of the “Rothification” of 401(k) plans, our timing could be better and we get some great insight from Katherine there as well.
Guest Bio
Katherine Roy, managing director, is Chief Retirement Strategist and Head of Individual Retirement for J.P. Morgan Funds. In this role, Katherine is responsible for delivering timely personal retirement-related insights to financial advisors. Focused on the retirement income-related landscape for more than 10 years, Katherine specializes in identifying themes, strategies and solutions that can help advisors successfully partner with individuals in the transition and distribution life stages.
Katherine is consistently ranked as a top speaker at major industry and firm-specific conferences and events. She also has been interviewed and quoted in the financial press on a variety of key retirement planning topics.
Prior to joining the firm, Katherine was Head of Personal Retirement Planning & Advice at Merrill Lynch where she led strategy and innovation in retirement income solutions for individuals, and the retirement planning, advice and guidance programs available to integrated benefits plan participants. She also held several roles in financial planning product development, participant communications and consulting, and interactive client experience initiatives. Katherine received a B.A. from Yale University and is a Certified Financial Planner®.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
An offer to outsource or delegate your fiduciary responsibility for your workplace retirement plan can be pretty tempting! When you think about all the rules, tasks, processes, approvals and for that matter the time that you could save if you didn’t have to do all that work, it might sound really good! However, before you sign on the dotted line, my conversation with J.D. Carlson and Chad Johansen, TPAs with Plan Design Consultants and half of the infamous Retireholi(ks) could be really helpful to gauge what you are signing up for. We start with some best practices and things to know before outsourcing various administrative functions to an ERISA 3(16) fiduciary. As you will hear, if someone flashes their fancy 3(16) fiduciary badge, it can mean a lot of different things. We also share few thoughts on how some of these concepts either do or don’t relate to hiring an ERISA 3(38) investment fiduciary, another way to delegate. And, we had a first on the podcast, I assigned homework. With both of my parents now retired teachers, I guess it was just a matter of time. It involved magic, a staircase and somehow someway it should be really helpful to employers considering delegating various fiduciary responsibilities to a 3(16) fiduciary. You definitely will have to listen to get any perspective on what I just said. To get your very own copy, be sure to go to 401kfridays.com and subscribe to our email list. We will shoot it out once Chad is done with it.
Guest Bio
We're Plan Design Consultants, Inc. a retirement company that since 1975 has been providing businesses with affordable, quality plans customized to meet the specific needs of our clients.
Over four decades in the business has given PDC the experiences we need to evolve our service model to what it is today. A smart, easy process centered on the needs of our clients. A service model designed to be AWESOME!
It is our deep understanding of all areas of retirement plans combined with a constant commitment to customer service that sets us apart. We share our expertise with our clients to make sure they are comfortable and confident in making decisions around maintaining a successful Employer sponsored plan.
As an independent company, client advocacy is a major strength of our firm. We partner with Financial Advisors to offer our clients a very healthy choice in vendors. A strong understanding of fees and services allows PDC to help clients find the perfect fit.
Thousands of retirement plan clients from all over the country have relied on PDC to assist them in offering the right plan to help their employees reach retirement goals.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
As the most recent bull market continues to mature, some retirement plan sponsors are either exploring or being encouraged to explore ways add diversification to their workplace retirement plan investment menus. Incorporating exposure to Real Estate or REITS, has been one of the more popular strategies to add some variety to traditional stock and bond offerings. While the REITs are offered in 31% of plans up from 27% five years ago according to Vanguard’s How America Saves reports, personally I would not consider them widely available in workplace retirement plans. Whether you already have a REIT offering or are considering adding one, my conversation today with Jake Aronson, a CFA and Portfolio Manager with Principal Portfolio Strategies should shed some light on this anything but straightforward topic. Like we always do, we start with defining terms, address some common misperceptions and offer input for retirement plan fiduciaries to help frame decisions. Hopefully, our conversation will help you get familiar with REITs to help you determine if it is an appropriate way to add diversity to your investment menu at your next retirement committee meeting.
Guest Bio
Jake is a Portfolio Manager for Principal Portfolio Strategies, a specialized boutique that engages in the creation of asset allocation solutions. In this role, he is responsible for conducting research, assessing risk, and making relative value recommendations relating to specific aspects of the Dynamic Outcome strategies. Jake is a member of the Investment Oversight and Risk Committee and has over 22 years of industry experience. Before joining Principal®, he was a Managing Director with Miles Capital, a boutique institutional asset manager. Prior to joining Miles Capital, Jake served in various capacities with Principal Global Investors and Principal Real Estate Investors. While at Principal®, he has worked with both retail and institutional strategies and clients. Prior to joining Principal®, Jake worked as a Credit/Business Analyst with various firms as well as a Bank Examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Jake has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and has passed the CPA exam. He has also earned the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Excited to welcome back Peter Dunn, a.k.a. Pete the Planner to the podcast! Our conversation was definitely one of the more entertaining ones that I have had on the podcast in recent memory. This episode was inspired by a few recent discussions I had with workplace retirement plan sponsors who were wondering why their employees couldn't just go talk to their broker/advisor/wealth manager to get help planning for their retirement. Why did they as the employer have to get in the middle of it. Without stealing too much of Pete's thunder, the real issue comes down the issue of access to the financial services market, much of which is determined by how much money someone has. Great stuff with some concrete takeaways to bring with you to your next retirement plan committee meeting!
Guest Bio
Peter Dunn a.k.a. Pete the Planner® is an award-winning comedian and an award-winning financial mind. He’s a USA TODAY columnist and the author of ten books, six of which were featured in a nationwide launch at Barnes & Nobles stores in January of 2015. He is the host of the popular radio show The Pete the Planner Show on 93 WIBC FM and is a columnist for the Indy Star. Pete has appeared regularly on CNN Headline News, Fox News, Fox Business as well as numerous nationally syndicated radio programs. In 2012, Cision named Pete the fourth most influential financial broadcaster in the nation. Pete lives in Carmel, Indiana with his wife and two young children.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
2017 started off with the winds of change blowing through Washington DC and to date has been nothing short of interesting and unexpected with the Trump administration at the helm for over seven months. Back in January, I discussed with Bob Holcomb, the head of legal and regulatory affairs at Empower Retirement some of the anticipated changes to workplace retirement plans that seemed imminent. In this episode, I revisit some of these topics with Sam Henson, Director of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs at Lockton Retirement Services to see well, what has or hasn’t actually happened! We cover a lot of ground with topics such as tax reform and how it could affect the 401(k) industry, recent developments with state plans, why the DOL fiduciary rule is a “unique animal”. With 2018 quickly approaching we hope this episode provides helpful insight on what to keep an eye on for the remainder of 2017 and going forward.
Guest Bio
As a Senior Vice President and Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for Lockton Retirement Services, Sam oversees national IRS/DOL/ERISA compliance services for all clients and more than 100 associates nationwide. Sam serves as a subject matter expert on ERISA compliance, DOL/IRS activities, and the legislative landscape. Prior to joining Lockton, Sam spent almost 10 years with the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, where as a Senior Investigator, he conducted more than 100 complex civil and criminal investigations of employee benefits plans, service providers, and fiduciaries. Sam also supervised enforcement efforts for benefit plans funded by prevailing wage laws under the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act. Sam currently serves on the Policy Board of Directors for the American Benefits Council, Board of Directors for DCIIA, and the Governing Council of ISCEBS, as well as being a member of ASPPA. Sam has been a nationally featured speaker and writer on numerous fiduciary topics.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The main focus of our conversation is determining if some common employer beliefs about retirement plan audits are truth or myth. John also pulls from his experience auditing well over 100 retirements plan each year to offer some tips to employers who are preparing for their first audit and best practices for some grizzled veterans to help their audit run smoothly.
Guest Bio
My guest today is John Russon, a retirement plan auditor and founder of Pension Assurance, a single purpose audit firm that specializes in auditing qualified retirement plans. In 2005, after spending several years working at both “Big Four” and local CPA firms, John launched a small, independent practice dedicated to the audit of retirement plans. This fledgling practice was merged with a local CPA firm in 2006. Over the next seven years, the practice grew substantially. In 2007, the practice performed he formed Pension Assurance. As of early 2016, John and his firm audit over 170 retirement plans. According to the recent Department of Labor study, this puts them in the top 2% of firms that audit retirement plans. This also gives them great perspective on what is happening in the marketplace.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
On previous episodes of the podcast we've heard from ERISA attorneys, consultants and various other specialists sharing their thoughts on how employers can mitigate their fiduciary risk. Now, I am proud to share that the experiences of a 401(k) expert witness is no longer unchartered territory for us! My guest, Jim Scheinberg, the Managing Partner and Founder of North Pier Fiduciary Management joins me for this action packed episode. We kick things off addressing what role a 401(k) expert witness actually plays during a lawsuit. Then we quickly begin to stress test some fiduciary messages you might have heard such as “Your process is your protection”, then we delve into whether having the right fiduciary mindset is relevant and while retirement plan fiduciaries are not expected to predict the future, could having some foresight be important to your fiduciary process. Hopefully you will find our conversation offers some unique and timely perspectives on these and a few other important trends in 401(k) or ERISA litigation that you can bring with you to your next retirement plan committee meeting!
Guest Bio
Jim Scheinberg began his career in venture capital in 1990 moving to general securities with Smith Barney Harris Upham in 1992. He joined Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. in 1994 as an Associate in the Oppenheimer Consulting Group, the firm’s institutional investment management consulting department, where he worked trusts, endowments, foundations and trustee-directed ERISA plans. In 2001, Jim founded what would become the Corporate Services Group of Oppenheimer Co., Inc. (CSG), where he eventually held the position of Director and Senior Vice President. CSG was an industry pioneer in providing conflict free, fee-only investment consulting and fiduciary advocacy for institutional, ERISA plan sponsors. In 2008, Jim completed a lift-out of CSG and founded North Pier Fiduciary Management LLC., with offices in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. His tenure in the industry has also included experience in hedging and monetization, corporate executive services, and corporate cash management.
Born and raised in the North Suburbs of Chicago, Jim came to Southern California in 1987 to pursue his B.A. in Political Science at University of California, Los Angeles. He achieved the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) designation in 2001 from The Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA®) in conjunction with the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. He has also earned the Accredited Investment FiduciaryTM (AIF®) and Accredited Investment Fiduciary AnalystTM (AIFA®) designations, awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business of the University of Pittsburgh. Jim is currently a member of the Board of Visitors of the UCLA Political Science Department and sits on the William Sharpe Fellows Selection Committee of the UCLA Department of Economics. He is a regularly quoted resource to journalists and speaker at industry conferences. Jim is often engaged as a consulting expert for the U.S. Department of Labor and as an expert witness for ERISA litigation. He is an avid supporter or children’s charities and serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children in the Los Angeles County Children’s Court system.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
More and more frequently when I see a news piece or industry article about 401(k) or workplace retirement plans, a key element is invariably fees. Going one step further they also tend to highlight the advantages of low cost index or passively managed investments. Based on my conversations with investment committees and retirement plan fiduciaries, there seems to be a few common reasons for the recent increased popularity in index funds: the industry focus on fees, investment performance of passively managed strategies and 401(k) litigation. To comment on my observations and provide a few of her own on the whole active and passive conversation I am excited to have Sue Walton, a Senior Defined Contribution Strategist with American Funds join me on the podcast. We also address a few other important elements in the active passive conversation that don’t tend to get a lot of press, but are vitally important to consider. Hopefully there are a few nuggets you can take back to your next 401(k) committee meeting!
Guest Bio
Sue Walton is a senior defined contribution strategist at American Funds, part of Capital Group. She has 19 years of industry experience and has been with Capital Group for one year. Prior to joining Capital, Sue was a director at Towers Watson Investment Services. Before that, she was an investment consultant at Mercer Investment Consulting and Ellwood Associates. She holds an MBA from DePaul University with a concentration in finance and a bachelor’s degree in business administration, economics and international business from Marquette University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy-five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Its episodes like these that were one of my primary motivations for starting the podcast, examining current beliefs or messaging in the marketplace and applying contemporary critical thinking to examine if they are still valid and reliable for both employers and employees in workplace retirement plans. If you sponsor a 401(k) or other workplace retirement plans you have likely been given some off the cuff guidance on how much your employees should be saving for retirement, what is an adequate amount of income someone should be able to replace in retirement, what returns should people expect from their retirement savings and likely many others. To help stress test these and other topics, I have David Blanchett, Head of Retirement Research at Morningstar to explore things! He did such a great job so I’m not gong to steal his thunder; but I will say some things you have likely heard hold up, and others simply don’t. While we tackle some meaty topics, I was incredibly impressed with David’s ability to break all this down in an easy to digest manner, but also tie back why this is important for both employers and employees to get their arms around to improve retirement outcomes.
Guest Bio
David Blanchett, PhD, CFA, CFP® is head of retirement research for Morningstar Investment Management LLC. In this role, he works to enhance the group’s consulting and investment services and conducts research primarily in the areas of financial planning, tax planning, annuities, and retirement. His research has been published in a variety of industry and academic journals and received a number of awards, most recently the Journal of Financial Planning’s 2014 and 2015 Montgomery-Warschauer Award and the Financial Analysts Journal’s 2015 Graham and Dodd Scroll Award. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and is regularly quoted in the national media. He holds a master‘s degree in financial services from the American College, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a doctorate in personal financial planning program from Texas Tech University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy-five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Think for a minute about how much effort you and your retirement service partners have put into encouraging more employees to save and invest properly in your workplace retirement plan. Now, turn the conversation around. How much time and energy have you spent thinking about ways to help employees understand how to use their retirement savings to replace their income when they leave the workforce? To help shed some light on the whole retirement income conversation I’m excited to have Jody Strakosch of Strakosch Retirement Strategies where she brings investment and retirement solutions to the defined contribution market for asset management firms. Prior to starting her own firm, Jody worked for MetLife where she became a recognized defined contribution and institutional retirement income subject matter expert. She was the key architect of several significant market-first products, supported public policy initiatives, and represented MetLife with the media, at conferences and in industry groups.
During our conversation we discuss what options employers have available to them, tackle some of the concerns around introducing a retirement income option in your retirement plan and whether or not retirement income strategies will become the next big plan design trend or a lightning rod for fiduciary liability. Oh, and Jody introduces me to a new word, “automaticity” be sure to listen for that. Finally, if you like a little enthusiasm and passion, Jody definitely brought to our conversation!
Guest Bio
Jody Strakosch founded Strakosch Retirement Strategies, LLC to bring investment and retirement solutions to the defined contribution market for asset management firms. Jody offers in-depth retirement market expertise, product development and strategic positioning to align with today’s challenges for investment management and service providers seeking to enhance their profiles in the defined contribution / defined benefit marketplace.
Consulting assignments have ranged from helping investment managers design innovative retirement income solution programs for defined contribution plans, writing public policy and market landscape papers, serving as program manager for an industry- led coalition to increase American’s savings, speaking engagements at client conferences, researching specific target-date fund market opportunities, and strategic initiative development.
Jody is an active member of DCIIA (Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association), on the Advisory Council of WISER (Women’s Institute for Secure Retirement), and a member of the Advisory Board for Institutional Investor’s Journal of Retirement.
Jody worked for MetLife where she became a recognized defined contribution and institutional retirement income subject matter expert. She was the key architect of several significant market-first products, supported public policy initiatives, and represented MetLife with the media, at conferences and in industry groups.
Jody holds the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Wellesley College and the Master of Arts in Gerontology from the Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy-five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
When we get the question of “What is the best strategy for me to save for retirement” and it comes for an entrepreneur, the answer is seldom as simple as it might seem. So, where and how do you start? We thought it would be helpful to cover a few key concepts and then follow the progression of an entrepreneur along their journey from a “solopreneur” with an idea or inspiration for a business to experiencing some success, hiring employees, scaling and eventually selling the business and weave in along the way how different retirement plan strategies could potentially support their personal and business goals along the way.
While I know some in our audience are not necessarily entrepreneurs, however I bet you know someone who is or maybe you might be one down the road! Be sure to share with your friends, colleagues or social networks that might have entrepreneurs, sole proprietors or business owners who could benefit! They can easily find the podcast on iTunes, their favorite podcast app by searching 401(k) Fridays or on the web at 401kfridays.com/Shelton.
Finally, This episode came about because of several questions from our listeners and some recent industry conversations I was a part of. If you have questions or a topic that you think could make for a great future episode, please shoot us an email to feedback@401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Patrick is the Managing Member of Benefit Plans Plus and has more than 25 years of retirement plan industry experience in banking/trust, insurance, and third party administrative environments. He is responsible for innovating and executing the firm’s business plan. Additionally, he specializes in financial advisor relations, including 401k sales prospecting presentations, vendor searches, and fiduciary consulting.
Patrick’s reputation as a nationally recognized industry thought leader has allowed him to give back through various platforms in the media, speaking at industry events, and participating on various panelist presentations.
Additionally, Patrick serves on the American Funds, Transamerica, and Lincoln TPA leadership roundtables. He is also a board member and past President of the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA).
Patrick was the first recipient of Brown Smith Wallace’s prestigious Founder’s Award, which recognizes top employees for excellence in leadership and contribu on to firm growth since 2003.
A graduate of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Patrick holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Committee Plan.
He has also earned the Group Benefits Associate (GBA) designation from the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) program. Patrick also holds a Life and Health Insurance License in the state of Missouri and is a member of the Financial Planning Association.
As a youth, Patrick had two separate basketball coaches that were former NBA players, and he also played college basketball. Patrick is also a fan of fantasy/ SIFI.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy-five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Target Date Funds (TDFs) have grown exponentially within the last few years. As a retirement plan fiduciary, it’s important to understand not only what a TDF is but how to evaluate them and ensure the strategy you have chosen or might be considering is a good fit for your plan. During my conversation with Jeff we provide some core concepts such as glide path construction, too vs. through retirement and open vs. closed architecture design to see if they are still relevant. We also hit hot topics such as if the active vs. index investing conversation impacts TDFs, the ever popular topic of investment fees and the perils of looking the performance of TDFs in a vacuum. Finally, we provide retirement plan committee members and plan fiduciaries several important questions to consider at your next retirement committee or plan review meeting.
Guest Bio
Jeff Holt, CFA, is an associate director on Morningstar’s manager research team. He focuses primarily on multiasset strategies from asset managers including Fidelity, BlackRock, and Principal.
Before joining Morningstar in 2014, Holt spent nearly nine years at Jeffrey Slocum & Associates, where he was responsible for investment research to support the firm’s defined contribution practice. He covered target-date funds, stable value funds, and other asset classes specific to defined contribution clients.
Holt holds a bachelor’s degree in management, with a concentration in corporate finance, from Brigham Young University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
We turned the tables for the 75th episode of the 401(k) Friday’s Podcast. Whether you are a regular listener or new to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, this should give you some good context as you listen to additional episodes. We discuss the inspiration behind the podcast, the process for creating weekly content, how we identify topics and guests, a few philosophies and what we have planned for future episodes. We hope you enjoy the 75th episode of the 401(k) Fridays Podcast!
Guest Bio
Rick is a partner and executive committee member of Lockton’s Retirement Consulting practice. In his role, he works with the retirement committees of middle market companies who offer workplace retirement plans to enhance their fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations and improve employee retirement outcomes. Rick also created and hosts a weekly podcast “401(k) Fridays” which features audio interviews with retirement industry professionals covering relevant industry trends, topics and current events.
Rick grew up an Air Force brat, moved thirteen times as a kid and has lived in Maine, Monterrey, Moscow and several other places that don’t start with the letter “M”. After Rick graduated from the University of Virginia he spent a few years in New York City then found his way to California where he met his wife Courtney. They have been married for over 15 years and live in Hermosa Beach with three amazing children Kaylee (14), McKenzie (12) and Sean (7). When Rick is not working, podcasting or coaching one of his kids in soccer, basketball or baseball he plays on an adult men’s soccer team, tries to improve his golf handicap or drives his kids to and from their various activities!
Rick is also an active Board Member at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and currently serves as the Chair of the Finance Committee, member of the Executive Committee and Treasurer.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This is a replay of my conversation with Nicholas Dobelbower, Vice President and Practice Leader of Lockton's Global Benefits Practice. Just a preview of things to come, your 401(k), it doesn’t work outside the U.S.! So, let’s go for a trip around the globe to discuss the topics, trends and concepts employers who have employees outside the US should be aware of. Whether you have newly acquired international employees or you have been deeply involved with global retirement benefits, or you are just curious what goes on in other countries, this is an incredibility valuable episode. We touch on considerations for employers who are looking to harmonize retirement benefits levels on a global basis, things to know before making any changes to non-US retirement benefits programs and plenty of examples to help you along the way!
Guest Bio
Nick is the Practice Leader for Intellectual Capital in Lockton’s Global Benefits Practice. He is responsible for developing and maintaining comprehensive global benefits resources, including compliance, statutory requirements, market practice, and benchmarking. He ensures that Lockton’s global consultants effectively leverage the firm’s data and information resources to address the needs of their multinational clients.
He manages a team of research consultants who work with Lockton global offices to develop statutory and market practice information on employee benefits provisions around the world. Nick also works directly with multinational clients to develop, implement, and support international employee benefits strategies, including local employee benefits, business travel and expatriate programs, regional plan consolidation, and multinational pooling and captives.
Nick brings to Lockton a well-rounded professional and academic background. His professional experience includes extensive international consulting and research work with multinational clients and establishing and managing affiliate relationships. He has presented at numerous professional conferences and contributed to leading industry publications on international benefits topics. His academic experience includes faculty positions and French and Francophone studies at Macalester College, Bucknell University, and Duke University.
Nick is fluent in French and proficient in Spanish and Italian. He also has experience in web and graphic design. In his down time, he participates in charity bicycle races and marathons.
Professional Designations and Affiliations
- Diploma in International Employee Benefits (DipIEB)
- Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS)
- Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR)
- Certificate in Global Benefits Management (IFEBP)
- Certificate in International Benefits (IBIS Academy)
- Life, Accident, and Health Insurance License
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
In our fast-paced world and ever evolving global financial markets, keeping your 401(k) investment menu consistent with the times can be challenging. As the conversation swings to investments with a focus outside the US, the conversation can get complex and downright confusing! With that in mind, Mike Quinn, Senior Client Portfolio Manager at OppenheimerFunds joins me this week to discuss the current state of the global markets, some pros and cons of international investing and his thoughts on whether workplace retirement plans here in the US have developed a home country bias over the years. Additionally, we tackle what a global vs. international fund is, some basics on on currency hedging and its potential impact on mutual fund returns and whether the reputation international investing has been tagged with as “high risk” is deserved!
Guest Bio
Mike Quinn serves as Senior Client Portfolio Manager for the Global Equity Team for OppenheimerFunds. In this capacity, Mike is responsible for articulating the investment philosophy, process, strategy and performance of the team.
Mike has worked with the Global Equity team since 2004 in a variety of public facing roles, including as investment strategist and product director. He began his career at Van Kampen Investments in Chicago (now Invesco) in 1992. There, he worked in a variety of roles in investment-focused marketing and sales.
Mike earned his B.S. from the University of Dayton.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Employers and Retirement Plan Fiduciaries have the difficult task of selecting retirement plan advisors. The names and titles alone can be incredibly confusing! Of the 100,000 practicing advisors, 3,000 are active in the retirement market and may be considered "DC Specialists" as my guest Robin Green, SVP & Head of Data & Analytics at Ann Schleck & Company | Fi360 would call them. She breaks down DC specialists into three sub-categories: The Broker, the Cowboy, and the Consultant.
Additionally, we discuss:
- Three types of fiduciaries and what it means when an advisor claims 3(21), 3(38), and participant level fiduciary status.
- Three important questions to ask your current advisor in light of the new DOL rule.
- Weighing the difference between cost and value, and
- How model portfolios, retirement solutions, fees and expertise should be considered while benchmarking and selecting advisory services.
Episode Guest
Robin Green is Senior Vice President and head of Data & Analytics at Ann Schleck & Co., an Fi360 company. She is responsible for the proprietary databases that track on DC Specialist advisor practice management, fee, service and overall business trends. She is responsible for the Fee Almanac®, Fee Benchmarker®, IRA Fee Evaluator and the FI360 Fiduciary Score. Robin specializes in developing useful patterns, ideas and insights based on data and more than 20 years of retirement industry experience. She is a research board member at DCIIA and a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Robin has a BA from Concordia University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
When I ask employers if they have the information they need on the soon to launch state run retirement plans, I get reactions that range from "What state plans?" to "Great, sounds like another scheme to fix the mess with their pension plans!" These and other responses I have gotten haven’t given me a lot of confidence that information, much less accurate information, is filtering down to employers about these programs. With Oregon launching OregonSaves on July 1st, 2017 and many others likely to follow, I thought it might be a good time to revisit the topic!
I was excited to have Katie Selenski, the first Executive Director of California Secure Choice, the new state sponsored retirement plan for private sector workers in California join me on the 401(k) Fridays Podcast! During our conversation, we start with the basics of why California and other states are launching retirement plans, then move onto some recent developments on the federal level and how states plan to digest them and give Katie an opportunity to address some of the questions, misperceptions and concerns surrounding the California plan.
If you have employees in California, you should definitely check this out. If you don’t, well, there are over thirty other states that are in the process of launching retirement plans so much of what we talk about will likely apply!
Guest Bio
In April 2017, Katie Selenski was appointed by California State Treasurer John Chiang to serve as the first Executive Director of the pioneering California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board, which governs the Secure Choice Program. The program will provide a path to retirement security for the seven million Californians who currently lack access to a retirement savings account via their employer, by allowing workers a simple, low cost way to save their own money and participate in professionally managed investments.
Prior to taking the helm at Secure Choice, Ms. Selenski was the State Policy Director for public pension policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., where she managed Pew’s efforts to help fiscally distressed states and cities undertake data-driven pension system improvements. Previously, she was a senior manager with the nonpartisan public sector consulting firm Harvey M. Rose Associates, based in San Francisco, where she advised policymakers on a wide array of budget, management, and policy matters, including pensions. Previously, she worked as a municipal bond rating analyst, a legislative fellow in the California Assembly, and the director of an historic statewide nonpartisan youth voter turnout initiative. Ms. Selenski has previously served on the boards of multiple nonprofit organizations.
She is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
I'll have to admit, when I first heard of Don Barden and the "Perfect Plan" I was pretty skeptical. What does "perfect" mean? Who gets to judge "perfect"? My analytical mind was going crazy. However, as I became more familiar with Don and the concepts and elements he believes in, I felt it definitely made sense to bring him onto the podcast. My hope is that you will take away a few kernels of knowledge to help you rethink what retirement means along some motivation and inspiration!
Guest Bio
Don Barden is a classically trained economist who earned his M.B.A. in Global Technology Management and International Business with an undergraduate B.B.A. in Economics and Finance. He is ABD in doctoral studies with a Ph.D. in Finance. He resides in Atlanta Georgia and is fluent in international business affairs.
Don’s work challenges and motivates people to think deeply about their beliefs, and reveals a plan to consistently achieve maximum communication and sales. His “unfair advantage” theories are revolutionary in today’s economy as he leads you on a journey that exposes the myth of modern sales and communication techniques. He awakens your creative energy, and identifies the path to cultural change.
Expertly mixing humor, academic capital, and time-tested systems, Don engages audiences through his highly personal and interactive speaking style. Don has the unique ability to break down toxic barriers and build an irresistible and motivated force of empowered team talent.
As an author, speaker, advisor and corporate executive, Don Barden’s counsel is highly sought after by some of the world’s most successful businesses. His experience and record-setting sales success have drawn him to corporate and political leaders who want to tap into his real-world experience in order to move their organization to higher levels of sales and cultural achievement.
Don personally averages over $1 billion in annual sales. He is highly noted for his ability to see “three sides” to every coin. He also serves as the past Board President for The Summit Counseling Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a unique multidisciplinary, multispecialty personal and family counseling center that provides over 8,000 hours of counseling each year. Additionally, he is a leading advisor to several private schools, businesses and faith based organizations.
Don is also a passionate supporter of the US Military, especially the 1st Ranger Battalion out of Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., and is a Special Advisor to the Sua Sponte Foundation. RLTW!
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Debt impacts your employees ability to save for retirement, pursue other financial goals, their productivity and physical health! You might be surprised to hear that based on Fidelity research, there are multiple generations and income levels that struggle with debt which might reframe some of your prior perceptions. Probably most important though, Meghan shares a few ideas for employers who want to explore helping their employees manage, pay down and avoid future challenges with debt.
Guest Bio
Meghan Murphy is a Director on Fidelity’s Workplace Investing Thought Leadership team and is responsible for the development and delivery of data driven points of view on retirement savings and financial wellness trends. This work is leveraged by employers and their employees, advisors, policy makers and the media. Additionally, she is a media representative in the retirement space, helping to bring data based stories to life for the general public. Meghan has been with Fidelity since 2000 and has served in various leadership positions across the organization.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over sixty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
You ever go into a meeting thinking you are going to talk about one thing, but you pretty quickly realize that the person you are meeting with is going above and beyond your expectations? Well, that was my experience with this episode! My guest, George Castineiras brings a unique perspective to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast as he combines his background running the retirement practice for a large record keeper with his recent experience as an investor in multiple FinTech companies!
As I was sketching out this episode in my head, I figured we would talk about Robo Advice and how that is impacts both employers and employees in workplace retirement plans. That likely would have been interesting, timely and impactful, but as you will hear, George had bigger ideas! He took my robo advice premise and added in machine learning, artificial intelligence and other current and emerging technology trends employers should be aware of that will influence the workplace retirement plan market!
Guest Bio
Widely recognized as an industry leader and innovator, Mr. Castineiras was Named “Top 100 Most Influential People in the Retirement Industry” and one of the “Top 25 Hispanic Executives” by respected industry publications, was Founder and CEO of 4 innovative companies and Chairman of the Board of Directors of 3 businesses affiliated with Prudential Financial, and holds 3 patents and 16 trademarks.
George is currently on a research sabbatical focused on the operating velocity and consequences of established, young, and nascent companies in banking, insurance, and retirement. Prior to his sabbatical he was the Managing Director of Gibraltar Ventures, the innovation lab and venture capital group of Prudential Financial, which is focused on exploring emerging business models, investing in ideas, and developing unique solutions for meeting unaddressed client needs. Under his guidance, Gibraltar made strategic investments in nine organizations and continually sourced deals and performed due diligence on new opportunities that meet the needs of Prudential’s customers.
Prior to his recent position, George, as Senior Vice President, was selected to architect and lead the turnaround of Prudential’s underperforming Total Retirement Solutions business unit with $180 billion of assets under administration and more than 6000 institutional clients nationwide. Providing strategy, tactical execution, and cross-functional leadership, he was successful in driving sales growth from $2.7 billion to $7.18 billion (2011 – 2014), reduced operating expenses by $45 million annually, raised profit margins above industry averages, improved client retention, and positioned the unit to achieve $10 billion in sales in 2015. Earlier successes with Prudential included the origination and building of the Stable Value Investment Only business from zero to $50 billion in 4 years post the 2008 market correction and leading an innovation team that launched the first defined contribution in-plan income solution, the most successful solution of its kind in the U.S., which positioned Prudential as a thought leader and innovator in the industry.
Prior to his outstanding 14-year career with Prudential Financial, he was Vice President and National Sales Director for Metropolitan Insurance, where he established leadership positions in three market segments and directed a national sales organization that consistently surpassed organizational revenue goals.
Mr. Castineiras is currently serving on the Board of Advisors of Pallantius, a start-up data-driven management consulting firm with talent from Harvard, MIT, and Stanford, and previously served as Chairman of the Boards of Directors of MullinTBG Insurance Agency Services LLC, MullinTBG Advisor Services LLC, and Global Portfolio Strategies, Inc. from 2011 through 2014.
He earned his MBA at the MIT Sloan School of Business and BA in Finance and Economics at Loyola Marymount University. Today, George resides in Farmington, Connecticut, with his wife of 21 years, Meg, and their three children.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over sixty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Over the years, and certainly recently there has been a lot of focus on the Department of Labor and their role in overseeing workplace retirement plans. What some might not realize or fully appreciate is the role if the Internal Revenue Service, better known as the IRS in overseeing retirement plans. To help employers get their arms around things I was excited to have Susan Mehlman, a Director in the National Tax Group and the Compensation and Benefits Practice Leader at Moss Adams join me on the podcast! During our conversation we highlight the different focusses of the IRS and the DOL in policing workplace retirement plans, how employers end up in the crosshairs of the IRS and some tips and strategies to help minimize the risk of an IRS audit or investigation.
This week also marks a first on the podcast as we also re-released one of our very first podcast episodes which focussed on the role of the DOL. I thought this might make a natural follow-up from my conversation with Susan. While that episode was recorded early in 2016, the content is just as relevant today as it was last year. As an added bonus, don’t miss the last twelve minutes of the podcast where we do have a fresh update on what to expect from the DOL now that we have a new Secretary of Labor, the status of the Fiduciary Rule and other helpful information for employers who sponsor workplace retirement plans! Once you finish this episode on the IRS, be sure to check out the one on the DOL!
Guest Bio
Susan leads the Compensation and Benefits Practice for Moss Adams and has provided qualified and nonqualified plan design and consulting services since 1987. She delivers a wide range of tax solutions, including health and welfare plan tax consulting, to both public and privately held businesses.
Susan has managed services to plans of all sizes from newly formed, small, single-employer plans to large employer plans with over 70,000 participants and assets in excess of $2 billion. She works directly with clients on tax compliance issues including responding to IRS and DOL audit inquiries and coordinates closely with various industry groups and employee benefit plan auditors within the firm. Her responsibilities include managing the client relationship through all aspects of plan design and implementation, assisting plan sponsors in setting objectives, and monitoring the success of these strategies.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over sixty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This is the second episode of today's double header. If you haven't listened to my conversation with Susan Mehlman at Moss Adams about the IRS and your 401(k) Plan, be sure to check that out as well. This episode is an updated version of one of the very first episodes on the podcast. This features my conversation with Sam Henson, an ERISA Attorney and the VP & Director of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs at Lockton Retirement Services. The first portion is our original conversation from back in early 2016 and the last 12 minutes or so features our more recent conversation providing a few updates based on the DOL during the Trump Administration and the new Secretary of Labor. Our conversation is full of great information about how the DOL operates, how DOL investigations are triggered and important steps you should take if you receive a letter notifying you of a DOL investigation.
Guest Bio
Sam Henson is the Vice President and Director of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs for Lockton Retirement Services. Sam also brings a unique perspective to our discussion today as prior to joining Lockton, he spent almost 10 years with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), where he conducted more than 150 civil and criminal investigations of employee retirement and benefits plans, service providers, and fiduciaries. He capped off his career at the DOL as the 2011 recipient of the Secretary of Labor’s Exceptional Achievement Award. Needless to say, we are glad we have Sam on our side now and he is not out there banging down the doors of employers any more!
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over sixty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This episode outlines how the relationship between behavioral finance and retirement plan design has evolved in recent years. Stuart Ritter is fantastic and was definitely one of my favorite guests on the podcast last year. Our conversation is fast paced and full of great stories and examples for employers who are looking to get their arms around behavioral finance and how embracing the concepts can improve your participant retirement outcomes.
Guest Bio
Stuart Ritter has appeared on television and radio programs for networks like ABC News, Fox Business, and National Public Radio; and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, Money magazine, and national news organizations. Stuart received his B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland College Park, his M.A. in political science from the American University, and holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation. He taught personal finance at Johns Hopkins University for several years, and has also been an instructor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He is a member of the Maryland State Department of Education’s Financial Literacy Education Advisory Council. 401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over sixty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
With almost 70 podcast episodes to date, we’ve had some amazing guests who have shared their experiences and perspectives to help employers better understand their retirement plans. Out of all our prior episodes, some of our more popular ones have been where we have had business leaders in the retirement industry talk about the current and future trends they see and how they are positioning their organizations to address them. In this episode, Jason Crane, the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Transamerica Retirement Solutions stopped by to share some of his thoughts on the growing trend in the retirement industry of providing a more comprehensive suite of products and services to help employees on their journey to retirement. During our conversation we hit on the impact of rapid changes in workforce demographics, the evolving definition of both retirement plan success and retirement readiness and whether employers are ready for some of the recent industry offerings. Finally, don’t miss Jason’s thoughts on how the retirement services industry is preparing for the likely that the first person to live to 150 years old is alive today.
Guest Bio
Jason Crane’s leadership role has helped establish Transamerica as a top provider of customized solutions, helping more than 20 million customers to save and invest wisely to live the lives they want.
Jason provides oversight of Transamerica’s business development organization, spanning responsibilities for distribution of all intermediary driven products, retirement-centric practice leaders, investment-only alliances, and sales operations.
Prior to joining Transamerica in 2001, Jason served as a salesperson for New England Financial, where he was routinely ranked as one of the top five sales professionals nationally. Over the past 15 years, he has successfully executed on efforts to establish focused distribution partnerships, drive core messaging themes, and enhance the quality and visibility of Transamerica.
Jason has a genuine passion for the retirement plan industry and a commitment to promote best practices for qualified retirement plans. He is active in many industry organizations, including the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA®), where he has served on the Summit Conference steering committee, and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), where he serves as a member of its board.
Jason is a graduate of Miami University, where he received dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and philosophy. He holds FINRA registrations 6, 26, 63, and life insurance licenses.
Jason lives in Chicago with his wife, Lauren, daughter, Maya, and twin sons, Nathan and Owen. In addition to his passion for travel, he is an avid Cubs fan and has passed along that unfortunate character defect to his children.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Automatic enrollment, automatic increases and investment default strategies, you’ve likely heard about these fundamental plan design features either from our prior guests on the podcast, current service partners or conversations with your peers. If you aren’t familiar, we do spend the first couple of minutes of this episode providing a foundation and background. However, my guest Jeff Bograd, a Senior Retirement Plan Consultant with John Hancock then quickly proceeds to blow my mind for the remainder of the episode with some new and cutting edge plan design strategies that in my opinion truly represent the next frontier. While some of the ideas and concepts we discuss may not be right for your plan, many of them should give you some food for thought during future conversations about your retirement plan design.
Guest Bio
Jeff Bograd is the Director, Senior Retirement Plan Consultant for John Hancock Retirement Plan Services and has been with the company for more than 27 years. In this role, Jeff serves as a technical resource to John Hancock’s client service and sales teams, plan sponsors and financial advisors on complex compliance matters and optimal plan design. He provides ERISA and fiduciary training classes to John Hancock employees, plan sponsors and financial advisors and speaks at industry conferences on legislative and regulatory matters and achieving financial independence through plan design. Prior to his current role, Jeff managed the ERISA Consulting Group, served as an ERISA Consultant and managed the ERISA Compliance Department, responsible for all compliance testing, Forms 5500, and IRS and DOL plan audits. Jeff received a B.A. in Economics, cum laude, from Middlebury College. In addition, he is a Registered Representative and maintains his FINRA Series 6 and 63 registrations. Outside of work, Jeff enjoys reading about behavioral economics and personal finance, and playing and coaching lacrosse.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Have index funds dropped the proverbial mic, walked off the stage and declared victory in the decades long debate of active vs. passive investment management? My guest, Sean Lewis, a CFA and Institutional Investment Strategist with BlackRock has a few things to say about the topic! He does a great job explaining the current market forces driving the continued growth in index investing, questions employers should be asking of themselves to help strike an appropriate balance between index and active management and what asset classes tend to favor index or active management. Sean also reveals that not all index funds are created the same, a few tips to evaluate them, whether its harder to index equity or fixed income securities and how to tell if you have a plain boring index or one that is trying to do something more than just track their benchmark.
As you listen to our conversation, if it causes you to think a little more about how your retirement plan investment menu is constructed, as a reminder last year we released a three part podcast series on the fundamentals of 401(k) investment menu design. You can find it by either scrolling through your favorite podcast app or on the web at 401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Guest Bio
Sean Lewis, CFA, Vice President, is an Investment Strategist within BlackRock's US and Canada Defined Contribution group. He is responsible for representing BlackRock's Defined Contribution ("DC") capabilities to institutional investors, investment consultants and advisors. The team also partners with Research and Product Development to evolve DC solutions, and works closely with the distribution teams to provide thought leadership and client analytics.
Mr. Lewis' service with the firm dates back to 2013. Prior to joining BlackRock, he was a Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch responsible for managing credit relationships for a portfolio of mid and large-cap clients.
Mr. Lewis earned a BS degree in Agricultural Finance from the University of California at Davis in 2009. He is a CFA charterholder.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Ah the good old days, when life was simpler, people retired with pension plans, social security was fully funded and you spent your retirement golden years in relative financial security. Fast forward to today, there is a perception that our retirement system is broken, and we are either already in or headed for a dramatic retirement crisis. Much of the blame for our current state of retirement preparation has been placed on the rise of 401(k) plans. However, does the data support both the romanticized vision of the past and the bleak picture of our present and future? To help sort through things I have Andrew Biggs, a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute with me today. His research on retirement preparation, social security and his relentless focus on data lends for an interesting conversation and perspective on some popular narratives in the media about workplace retirement plans.
Guest Bio
Andrew G. Biggs, Ph.D., is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. Prior to joining AEI he was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA's policy research efforts and led the agency's participation in the Social Security Trustees working group. In 2005 he worked on Social Security reform at the National Economic Council and in 2001 was on the staff of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Andrew’s work at AEI focuses on Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and comparisons of public and private sector compensation.
His work has appeared in academic publications as well as outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post, and he has testified before Congress on numerous occasions. He holds a Bachelors degree from the Queen's University of Belfast, Masters degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
As a listener to the podcast, you might be "in the know" about the current retirement plan trends and motivated to tackle new ideas or strategies to put your employees on track for better retirement outcomes. But what can you do when not everyone in the company or on your retirement plan committee is on board with you. How do you either get the ball rolling, get the right people to the table or otherwise remove roadblocks that might stand in your way to improving employee retirement readiness? Well, Laraine McKinnon, a Retirement Readiness Strategist with BlackRock has worked with numerous employers to do just that and shares her strategies and experiences on the podcast!
Guest Bio
Laraine McKinnon is a retirement readiness expert who works with major employers and advisors to help improve participant outcomes and drive employee engagement.
Laraine advocates for retirement readiness through her thought leadership including breakthrough research on retirement engagement and innovative new tools to help quantify the implications of participants' savings and investment decisions on future outcomes. She also frequently speaks on retirement at conferences for industry groups, financial advisor firms and plan sponsor forums.
Laraine's tenure at BlackRock dates back to 1994. A retirement readiness strategist at BlackRock, she also served as a fiduciary on the BlackRock Retirement Savings Plan. Her experience also includes roles at BlackRock's legacy firms: Barclays Global Investors (BGI) where she managed multi-billion dollar relationships and Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisors (WFNIA) where she supported index and asset allocation products, including LifePath, the industry's first target date fund.
Laraine is also an advocate for women's leadership. She helps women in in Silicon Valley accelerate their careers and fulfill their personal potential through an incubator program and sits on the Board of The CLUB Silicon Valley.
Laraine earned a BA degree, cum laude, in political science and women's studies from Wellesley College. Her hobbies include hiking and sailboat racing. She lives in Silicon Valley with her husband and two daughters.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
We have spent a lot of time on the podcast talking about how to make your retirement plan stronger and healthier. Today, we turn the conversation on its head and discuss strategies to make your retirement plan unattractive, to plaintiff’s attorneys and the ERISA lawsuits. With me I have two previous podcast guests, we have our legal eagle Tom Clark, ERISA Attorney with Wagner Law Group and our voice of the retirement industry Josh Dietch. There is laughter, witty banter and even some great suggestions you can take away and bring to your next retirement committee meeting.
Before we get started, we will soon announce our next live webinar to our email subscribers coming up in May. Thank you again to everyone who voted! I am happy share that our next topic will be, drum roll, “Should Your Employees Consider Your HSA Plan as a Retirement Plan?”. Again, stay tuned for the email soon to come email announcement. As a reminder, if you are not an email subscriber, you are missing out on valuable podcast updates, opportunities to submit ideas for topics to explore, questions to future guests, timely white papers and invitations to our webinars and other live events. If you are not part of our growing community, go to www.401kfridays.com/subscribe today and you can get that taken care of.
Guest Bios
Tom Clark is Of Counsel with The Wagner Law Group, a law firm specializing in ERISA & Employee Benefits, Estate Planning, and Employment, Labor & Human Resources Law. His expertise encompasses all aspects of employee benefits programs, including the design, implementation and compliance of retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and executive and incentive compensation arrangements. He also has a robust practice assisting industry service providers in meeting their ERISA compliance and general business needs. Tom is also a well-seasoned ERISA litigator. Earlier in his career, he worked for the law firm of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton including on such landmark cases as Tibble v. Edison, which was heard this year by the U.S. Supreme Court. Tom is Editor-in-Chief of the Fiduciary Matters Blog, a blog visited over 150,000 times since its first publication in March 2013. He also teaches ERISA Fiduciary Law as an Adjunct Professor at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, his alma mater.
Josh Dietch joined Chatham Partners in 2005 and is a Managing Director. In this capacity, Joshua manages research and consulting engagements that focus on client retention and new business development processes. Prior to joining Chatham, Joshua was Director, Product Marketing and Management with ADP Retirement Services managing product development and marketing for ADP's defined contribution and executive deferred compensation products. Earlier in his career, Joshua was a consultant with Cerulli Associates, helping financial service firms with both business strategy and new product development, and previously worked for a subsidiary of the Principal Financial Group. He has been quoted on financial issues for leading publications such as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Pensions and Investments, Investment News and several trade publications, and has also appeared on CNBC. Joshua received his B.A. in History from Bates College.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Get beyond the eyeball grabbing headlines, the ever present three bullet summaries and hear some well thought out perspectives to help guide conversations and decisions in your workplace retirement plans. Our guest today, Brian Reid, the Chief Economist at the Investment Company Institute or ICI, shares that goal and provides some great food for thought for you. He addresses some recent stories you might have come across such as “Are 401(k) Plans A Failed Experiment”, and were “Employees Better off Under Pension Plans”. He also provides some context on the other side of the conversation we had a few episodes ago about State Run Retirement Plans. As I said in that episode, not everyone is convinced that they are ready for prime time. Now, you may or may not agree with all of his points, but what I really appreciated is that Brian is armed with research, facts and he does a great job keeping the conversation engaging and thought provoking!
Guest Bio
Brian K. Reid is chief economist at the Investment Company Institute (ICI). Reid oversees the Institute’s statistical collections and its research on the US and global funds, financial markets, US retirement market, and investor demographics. His research and analysis focuses on financial institutions and markets, investor trends, and the impact of regulation on funds, their investors, and the markets. Before joining the Institute, Reid worked as a staff economist in the Monetary Affairs Division at the Federal Reserve Board. Reid graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with honors and holds a PhD in economics from the University of Michigan.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
With all of the 401(k) and ERISA lawsuits floating around these days, we have gotten a fair number of questions from employers about fiduciary liability insurance. We have also made reference on several prior episodes that it is critical to ensure you have a well crafted fiduciary liability insurance. As they say, never bring a knife to a gun fight, so I reached out to the biggest gun I know, Dana Kopper, a Managing Director and an Professional Liability Insurance specialist with Lockton Insurance Brokers. After nearly forty years in the business, handling thousands of claims, being integrally involved in countless settlements, Dana shares some of his insights on how fiduciary risk management, insurance and indemnification all work hand in hand to protect both employers and their retirement plan fiduciaries. He also dispels a few myths, shares some stories and offers a few thoughts on what not do when it comes to fiduciary liability insurance.
Don’t forget, for each podcast episode we have a dedicated website page with guest bios, photos, episode descriptions, helpful links and even a built in podcast player! For this episode, we even have a recent white paper with more information on fiduciary liability insurance. Check it out at 401kfridays.com/kopper
Guest Bio
Dana Kopper is a Managing Director with Lockton Companies, LLC, Directors & Officers and Governance Risk Management Group. Lockton is the world’s largest privately-held risk and insurance management services firm with 4,450 employees operating out of offices in 39 countries.
Dana has provided a broad range of governance and risk management consulting and transactional services to public, private, for-profit, and not-for-profit organizations for the past 38 years.
He is one of the country’s leading D&O and professional liability brokers – a noted expert (court qualified expert witness) in the areas of international directors’ and officers’ legal liability, investment management professional liability, governance infrastructure design, board effectiveness, director accountability, organizational compliance efficacy, and associated risk mitigation strategies. Dana was recently selected as the AIG 2012 Broker of the Year.
Dana has lived and worked throughout the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He is actively involved with international directors’ and officers’ liability and corporate governance including recent emphasis on U.S. exchange listed Chinese firms in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and other cities.
Prior to his career in risk and insurance management, Dana was a federal agent with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) – criminal investigations, counterintelligence and counterterrorism.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
This is our second episode where we tackle the ins and outs of retirement plan discrimination and compliance testing. The first episode we released a few weeks ago hit on some of the core concepts around discrimination testing and laid five strategies to improve your results. Today, we pick up where we left off with the last episode and address some more complex concepts around discrimination testing. Thankfully, I have Chad Johnson, a fellow admitted 401(k) nerd, and Third Party Administrator with Plan Design Consultants to help us out. Over the years I have had numerous conversations with retirement service providers of all shapes and sizes on M&A, Control Groups, Grace Periods and Discrimination testing. In my humble opinion, I think Chad provided one of the better explanations of all this that I have heard!
Let me know if you agree, disagree or if we missed something you have questions about, shoot us an email at info@401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Chad Johansen is a self-proclaimed retirement-plan-aholoic. As a frequent speaker at the 401(k) Academy, Retireholi(k)s and other national venues, Chad is passionate about helping advisors and plan sponsors understand the intricacies of the 401(k) market place. Chad takes great pride in translating complicated retirement into 401(k) EasySpeak with the goal of creating educated and confident decisions.
Chad joined Plan Design Consultants, Inc. in March 2010. As an Internal Retirement Plan Consultant, Chad was assigned to advisor support throughout Northern California. Chad was also responsible for producing the PDC comprehensive retirement plan comparative analysis and aided in vendor research, product knowledge and PDC marketing efforts. In January 2011, Chad made the transition as our External Retirement Plan Consultant covering the California territory. In 2014 Chad joined in ownership of the firm and was promoted to Sales Director now acting as a player/coach to the PDC Sales Team.
Chad also sits on the Board of Directors for The Kyle MacFarlane Foundation. In partnership with legendary bike builder Arlen Ness, Stanford Medical and Victory Motorcycles the foundation is teaming up to build a “Hands on Nutrition” motorcycle to raise awareness to the many stomach conditions plaguing Americans.
Chad earned his Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration from William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri. While attending WWU on a baseball scholarship Chad excelled in both business and finance. He was honored as Business Student of the Year and graduated summa cum laude.
Chad and his wife Brooke live in San Jose, California and recently welcomed their second child. They enjoy being outdoors, golfing and skiing/snowboarding.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
In prior episodes we have talked about how to "Transition from Financial Education to Financial Wellness", how "Financial Wellness is a Trend too Big to be Ignored" and we have even talked with Cisco Systems to learn how they designed and rolled out their financial wellness strategy. What we haven’t spent any time on is making sure that as you introduce or expand your financial or general wellness programs, you don’t run into compliance problems along the way! So, I was excited to have Monica Novak, an ERISA Attorney with Drinker Biddle & Reath join me on the podcast. Monica does a terrific job sharing her experience working with employers on questions and concerns on both financial wellness and more traditional physical wellness programs. As much of our conversation does focus on what can go wrong with wellness programs, I did want to share that Monica is a big fan of wellness and didn’t want some of the doom and gloom we chat about to scare anyone away from pursuing workplace wellness!
Guest Bio
Monica A. Novak assists clients with a range of employee benefits matters, including health and welfare benefits, tax-qualified retirement plans and nonqualified plans. She routinely counsels clients on implementing employee wellness programs that comply with the various nondiscrimination regulations applicable to wellness programs – HIPAA, ADA, and GINA. In addition she helps counsels clients regarding the design, implementation and administration of benefit plans to ensure consistency with plan terms and compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA requirements, as well as the requirements under Health Care Reform.
Monica has spent the last eight years with Drinker, Biddle & Reath and prior to that graduated from Harvard Law School.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Whether you are aware of it or not, several individual states are getting ready to launch state sponsored retirement plans. Their intent is to help workers who are not eligible for or not offered a retirement plan through their employer. What you also might not know is that in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon, the Beaver State, is likely going to be the first state with a live program with a scheduled launch on July 1st, 2017. For most employers, the reactions and questions have been pretty consistent, why are the states going down this path, how will the programs work, if we already offer a retirement plan what does this mean to us? Well, it wouldn’t be like me to leave you guessing on what all this means so I was excited to have Joel Metlen, the Public Engagement Manager from the Oregon State Treasury Department and the OregonSaves retirement plan join me to address these questions and much more. Even if you don’t have an office or employees in Oregon, much of what we talk about is broadly applicable to what’s going on in other states around the country. As you might imagine, not everyone thinks these programs are a great idea, so I do take time to address some of the bigger concerns and objections we have heard from other employers, the retirement industry and now the federal government. There are a lot of opinions, information and misperceptions circulating right now about state run plans. My hope is that after you listen to our conversation you will be more informed, understand how this may or may not impact your company and will have the framework to process future developments rationally.
Guest Bio
Joel Metlen, Public Engagement Manager, manages outreach and stakeholder engagement for Oregon State Treasury’s OregonSaves program. He has 13 years of public service experience. He worked in New York City as the Deputy Director of the Revenue Division of the NYC Parks Department, and he was the Business Operations Manager for foodservice at DC Public Schools. Prior to joining Treasury, Joel was the Communications and Legislative Manager for the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace. He has a B.F.A. from New York University and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Whether you are passing or failing your discrimination testing, well, this is maybe a bit more timely if you are failing testing, this is a great episode to help get your arms around some of the key concepts and fundamentals behind coverage and discrimination testing. My guest is Doug Van Galder, a Compliance Analyst with the ERISA Law Firm Boutwell Fay, who has worked with countless employers over his 35 year career to help them navigate the sometimes challenging testing waters. We start with the basics, discuss strategies to improve testing results and believe it or not, we don’t even mention the concept of safe harbor until the very end! As you’ll hear, its all about getting the math to work in your favor!
Just a quick reminder to provide your input on the one question you have always wanted to ask your employees but have been afraid to. We have received some great questions already, but definitely want to hear from some more employers. Go to 401kfridays.com/question to learn more and for the link to the survey.
We did have a couple gremlins who disrupted the clarity of our connection in a few spots early on, while everything is a understandable, we will do our best to keep them contained in the future.
Guest Bio
Douglas Van Galder is a Compliance Analyst who is committed to the favorable tax-qualified status and success of the private and public pension systems in America. Therefore, Doug assists Boutwell Fay LLP Clients and their service providers in properly administering retirement plans that remain compliant and deliver the intended benefits.
Boutwell Fay LLP is a highly rated, women-owned law Firm specializing in employee benefits and ERISA. We have seven Attorneys with Offices in Newport Beach, CA and New York City, NY. Boutwell Fay LLP is the only boutique law firm in Orange County, CA that focuses exclusively on employee benefits and ERISA. The Firm provides high quality legal services normally associated with large law firms, while its smaller size allows us to be more accessible to our Clients and more responsive to their needs. The Firm helps Clients with legal issues that arise in the context of: Qualified and Non-Qualified Plans, Health and Welfare Plans, Plan Corrections and Government Audits, ERISA and Fiduciary Consulting and ERISA Claims and Disputes.
In his capacities as a Compliance Analyst, Third Party Administrator (TPA), Record Keeper, Executive, Plan Sponsor/Trustee and Fiduciary Administrator, Doug has amassed 34 years of experience in the intricate business development, compliance and consulting aspects of retirement plans. Most recently, Doug was an Executive Vice President with both QBI, LLC and Fiduciary Administration, LLC serving as Defined Contribution Practice Leader and a Fiduciary Administrator, respectively. He previously founded and was the President of Strategic Pension Services, Inc. (SPS), where he led expert teams of Consultants and Administrators. SPS was acquired by QBI, LLC in January of 2015.
Doug is an Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent and earned the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries' designation of Qualified Pension Administrator. He is also the President for the Orange County Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Scott Knowles, the internal architect of the Financial Wellness program at Cisco Systems stopped by the podcast to share his experience to help other employers who are considering going down a similar path. He provides candid perspectives on the why behind their program, how they rolled it out and what they plan to do in the future to keep improving upon their early successes!
Before we get started, just a quick reminder to provide your input on the one question you have always wanted to ask your employees but have been afraid to. Go to 401kfridays.com/question to learn more and for the link to the survey.
Also, we plan is to conduct at least another three or four employer interviews on the podcast this year. If you have done something interesting in your retirement plan that you feel other employers or for that matter the retirement industry could benefit from knowing about, shoot me an email at info@401kfridays.com, we would love to hear more about it and potentially have your or someone from your team join me on the podcast!
Guest Bio
Scott is the Senior Manager of Global Benefits, Financial Wellness and Long-Term Savings at Cisco Systems. Over the last 11 years he has worked to:
- Design and execute Cisco's Financial Wellness strategy providing our employee's with a productive, personalized experience that enables them to create their own journey to optimal financial health that's most relevant to them and their family.
- Execute program strategy and design, administration, compliance, communications, participant experience, vendor management and benchmarking of the Cisco 401k, non-qualified deferred compensation and acquired defined benefit programs. Identify marketplace trends and best practices to maintain a best in class program that meets Cisco’s benefits philosophy.
- Facilitate quarterly fiduciary Cisco 401k Administration Committee meetings consisting of senior level executives from across the business functions.
- Serve in a consultative role supporting country HR managers related to compliance, administration, and communications of the Canadian and Puerto Rico retirement savings programs.
- Participate in the development and rollout of a global retirement governance structure across Tier 1 countries in several theatres including AsiaPac, LatAm and EMEA. Utilized an external global consultant to assist with gathering marketplace intelligence and best practices.
- Strategically align and influence program needs and requirements with various business partners including Treasury, Payroll, Finance, Accounting, Strategic Spend Management and Human Resources IT departments.
- Manage complex implementation timelines involving multiple work streams resulting from the selection of new vendors for key benefit programs. Led the vendor search project which included cross-functional team participation.
- Responsible for the post integration of target organization retirement program resulting from an acquisition. Requires ability to manage multiple projects, technical and compliance knowledge of plan terminations or mergers, ability to manage external vendors, and employee communications.
Prior to Cisco he was provided HR consulting at Deloitte, was a consultant with PwC and a 401(k) Plan Administrator with Watson Wyatt.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Regardless of how you feel about visiting the doctor, after you listen to my conversation with Dr. Greg Kasten, the Founder and CEO of Unified Trust Company and if you follow a few of his prescriptions or strategies they could help you make a lasting impact on the future of your retirement plan and workforce! There are a lot of memorable takeaways for anyone looking to explore some new concepts to get different results. Personally I liked when Dr. Kasten:
- Compared how selecting a retirement plan service provider because of their great technology is like picking a hospital because it has a really nice parking lot!
- Observed how unfortunately most employers think a retirement plan must be a good investment plan and why that thinking needs to be changed
- Described key employee savings behaviors and tendencies and how you can use that knowledge to help them get better results without making them lift a finger!
- Suggested it might help plan sponsors better fulfill their fiduciary responsibility by analyzing value by calculating outcomes divided by cost
Before we get started, a quick update that our research project is officially underway! The first step is where I am personally asking our listeners to get involved. It’s pretty simple, what’s the one question you have always wanted to ask your employees about your retirement plan but you have been afraid to. Don’t send us easy questions, we want to hear about a fork in the road you have come upon, a plan design change you are struggling with or a big project you are considering and you don’t know how it might be received by your workforce and what the potential human capital impact of your business could be. As we are expecting some juicy questions, we will keep your name and company private. After we compile the responses, sort to the most popular and interesting questions we will ask them to real participants and record their raw reactions. In April we will share the results with you in a podcast episode and a white paper. To participate, go to www.401kfridays.com/question where you can explore more information and privately submit your question!
Guest Bio
Dr. Gregory W. Kasten serves as founder and CEO of Unified Trust Company. Following graduation from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in 1980, he completed an internal medicine internship and anesthesiology residency at the university of Kentucky Medical Center and is a board certified anesthesiologist. He received a master of business administration degree with an emphasis on finance and investment management from the University of Kentucky College of Business Graduate School. Dr. Kasten was awarded the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst designation by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, the Certified Financial Planner designation by the Denver College of Financial Planning, and the Certified Pension Consultant designation by the American Society of Pension Actuaries.
He has published more than 100 papers on financial planning and investment-related topics in various financial and business journals; written two editions of the book Retirement Success; and in 2005 he co- authored the first place winning paper entitled: “Post Modern Portfolio Theory” and presented the paper at the Financial Planning Association National Meeting. Dr. Kasten has given dozens of lectures on fiduciary best practices to pension professionals and Federal banking regulators.
In 2007-2009, Medical economics listed Dr. Kasten as one of “the 150 Best financial advisers for doctors” in the country. Dr. Kasten was inducted into the advisor Hall of fame by research Magazine in 2011 and in 2013 was named Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year by Employee Benefit Adviser Magazine. He has more than thirty years of investment experience and has been with the company since he founded it in 1985.
Dr. Kasten developed the Unified Fiduciary Monitoring Index® as a method of measuring mutual fund and predictive performance factors when observed from a fiduciary standpoint. In 2007-2010, Dr. Kasten oversaw development of the revolutionary UnifiedPlan®. The UnifiedPlan creates a “pension-like” experience for each 401(k) plan participant, and greatly improves their retirement success. Beginning in 2006, CEFEX, the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence, LLC, has annually certified Unified Trust to the Fiduciary Practices for Investment Advisors. Unified Trust was among the first Investment advisors globally to successfully complete the independent certification process, and was the first trustee certified in the United States. Unified Trust was certified for its discretionary investment services provided in a trust environment for trustee-directed and participant-directed DC plans and individual investors. Created as a discretionary trustee fiduciary service, Unified Trust Company’s goal is to always provide loyalty and expert standard of care to all clients.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
As a retirement plan sponsor, you are constantly bombarded with sales calls, articles, new products, updates on litigation and much more. This information overload can make it challenging to filter through the noise and bright shiny objects to focus on what’s really important to your retirement plan and your participants. With that in mind, I was excited to have Tom Kmak, CEO and co-founder of Fiduciary Benchmarks rejoin me on the podcast to offer some perspective. By way of background, Tom is consistently recognized as one of the most influential people in the retirement industry, prior to founding the incredibly successful firm Fiduciary Benchmarks he was the CEO of JP Morgan Retirement Plan Service. During our conversation, he pulls from his over three decades of experience to comment on how current “trending topics” such as financial wellness, the focus on fees, ERISA litigation, commoditization and few others can draw attention away from helping retirement plan participants retire successfully. Also, If you missed our first conversation on the podcast be sure to check out, “401(k) Plan Fees: Benchmarking Value & Reasonableness” it was our most popular episode for 2016.
Before we get started, I have mentioned on the last few episodes that we are launching an exciting research project on February 1st. Here’s a quick preview to get you thinking, we will be posing the following question to employers, “What have you always wanted to ask your employees about your retirement plan but have been afraid to?” That’s it! To be clear, we are looking for questions that you would be uncomfortable asking your own employees, but knowing the answers would help you make more informed decisions about your retirement plan and the potential human capital impact on your business. More to come, and the only way to participate is if you’re an email subscriber, connected with me on LinkedIn or following me on twitter. So don’t delay, go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe and you can take care of all of those in one stop.
Without further ado, i hope you enjoy my conversation with Tom!
Guest Bio
CEO and co-founder of Fiduciary Benchmarks, 2007 to current. Fiduciary Benchmarks (FBi) is a premier and patented benchmarking service (U.S. Patent 8,510,198) for defined contribution plans that uses various mathematical models to help fiduciaries determine whether the fees they are paying to their service providers are reasonable in light of the value being received. Through their construction and presentation, FBi reports give plan decision makers the context necessary to improve decisions and positively affect the measures of long-term plan success. FBi reports are available primarily through advisor/consultants, recordkeepers, TPAs and other plan service providers.
Prior to founding FBi, Tom Started the JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services business in 1990 with American Century. Upon leaving in October 2007, that business employed 1,100 people serving 200 large plan sponsors with over 1.5 million participants and more than $115 billion in assets.
During his 18 years with Retirement Plan Services, the company initiated numerous industry firsts including no blackout conversions and the innovative employee education program, Audience of One. Tom also served on the Executive Committee for JPMorgan’s asset management business.
Named by Ingram’s magazine as one of Kansas City’s inaugural class of “Forty most influential people under Forty,” Tom is a recognized expert in the retirement services industry who has been a featured speaker at various conferences and has published articles in some of the most well-known periodicals in the industry.
Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University with B.A. degrees in Economics and Computational Mathematics. He is also the first graduate of the Management Fellows Program and 3 year letterman in inter-collegiate basketball.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
A weekly podcast where Employers, Retirement Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries come to hear candid insights from retirement industry leaders on important trends, topics and current events. Each episode is designed to explore a specific topic and leave our listeners with concrete ideas and strategies to enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
With over 50 episodes we’ve had the good fortune chat with attorneys, authors, investment managers, professors, business leaders and fellow employers to explore a wide range of topics including fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! Be sure to check previous episodes at www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Today is inauguration day and depending on your political leanings, it represents the beginning, the end, the beginning of the end or some other variation on that theme! However, what I am excited about is sharing my recent conversation with Bob Holcomb, ERISA Attorney and Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at Empower Retirement where we discuss what employers should expect from retirement plan policy during the Trump Administration. Now, despite what I just said a minute ago, Bob does a really nice job of providing a thoughtful and rationale view of the landscape to help you digest information and plan accordingly. Our conversation starts with what impact the President has on retirement policy, moves to initiatives in Congress, potential changes in tax policy that could impact both retirement plan sponsors and your participants, then on to the Department of Labor and closes with some predictions of what the future holds.
Before we get started, as a reminder we are getting ready to launch a podcast and social media research project where I am will be asking employers to to share your input on one question, thats it. However, your answers to one simple question will produce a really interesting body of work which we will share verbally on the podcast and in a white paper with our email subscribers. We’re kicking things off in February and fair warning, the only way to participate is if you’re an email subscriber, connected with me on LinkedIn or following me on twitter. So don’t delay, go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe and you can take care of all of those in one stop.
Guest Bio
Robert Holcomb is Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for Empower Retirement. In this role, Mr. Holcomb oversees retirement policy efforts on behalf of Empower Retirement and meets with members of congress, regulatory agencies and other policy makers on pension related matters. In addition, he interprets pension-related legislation and regulations, consults with clients and internal partners on legislative and regulatory issues. He currently is Chairman of the American Benefits Council (ABC) and works with other industry advocacy groups. Prior to joining Empower, Mr. Holcomb was employee benefit counsel for a national bank. A frequent speaker at industry conferences, Mr. Holcomb has been in the retirement business for more than 25 years serving in client management, operations, technical consulting and sales support roles. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
A weekly podcast where Employers, Retirement Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries come to hear candid insights from retirement industry leaders on important trends, topics and current events. Each episode is designed to explore a specific topic and leave our listeners with concrete ideas and strategies to enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
With over 50 episodes we’ve had the good fortune chat with attorneys, authors, investment managers, professors, business leaders and fellow employers to explore a wide range of topics including fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! Be sure to check previous episodes at www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
If you are interested to learn how thinking differently about your company culture and employee benefits could help you win the battle for talent today and in the future, then you don't want to miss this episode! And if that wasn't enough, we also reveal that we are in the midst of a complete revolution in the nature and composition of the workforce which occurs every four generations while sharing some great strategies for employers who might be struggling to adapt! Full disclosure, there’s not a lot of talk about retirement plans in this episode. My guest is Jamie Notter, the Founding Partner of WorkXO, a startup that helps organizations map their Workplace Genome and turn workplace culture into a tangible business tool that drives growth. Jamie also co-authored When Millennials Take Over, Preparing for the Ridiculously Optimistic Future of Business and shares some great tidbits from his research as well.
We are also getting ready to launch a podcast and social media research project where I am going to need some quick and easy input from employers. We’re kicking things off in February and fair warning, the only way to participate is if you’re an email subscriber, connected with me on LinkedIn or following me on twitter. Don’t delay, go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe and you can take care of all of those in one stop. I’ve talked with a few of my clients about what we are working on and they loved it so I look forward to unveiling it soon!
As this episode is a bit outside of our typical retirement themed topics, after you are done listening I would love feedback on whether you would like more of these from time to time, or should we stick with retirement centric topics, send me an email with your thoughts to info@401kfridays.com.
Guest Bio
Jamie Notter is a founding partner at WorkXO where he helps leaders drive growth through cultural alignment. He brings 25 years of experience in conflict resolution, generational differences, leadership, and culture change to his work at WorkXO, a startup that helps organizations map their Workplace Genome and turn workplace culture into a tangible business tool that drives growth. Author of two books (When Millennials Take Over, and Humanize), Jamie has a Master’s in conflict resolution from George Mason and a certificate in OD from Georgetown, where he serves as adjunct faculty.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
A weekly podcast where Employers, Retirement Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries come to hear candid insights from retirement industry leaders on important trends, topics and current events. Each episode is designed to explore a specific topic and leave our listeners with concrete ideas and strategies to enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
With over 50 episodes we’ve had the good fortune chat with attorneys, authors, investment managers, professors, business leaders and fellow employers to explore a wide range of topics including fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! Be sure to check previous episodes at www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Well here we go, kicking off another year and I couldn’t be happier that the first episode of 2017 features my conversation with Meghan Murphy, Director of Thought Leadership at Fidelity Workplace Investing. While I won’t steal Meghan’s thunder, I will tell you that she shares a lot of valuable information for employers that should be very helpful to your retirement plan and participants this year and well into the future.
Before we get started, not only is this the first episode of 2017 but it is also our 50th episode, that’s 5-0! To everyone who shared feedback, questions and challenges you’re facing in your retirement plan with us, thank you. Your input shapes the content, selection of guests and questions I ask! With 50 episodes completed, this also means we have a robust library of prior episodes you can explore on demand featuring interviews with attorneys, investment managers, professors, industry leaders, fellow employers and others who share a wealth of information for employers, plan fiduciaries, investment committee members. The topics range from fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! So, please keep sharing your input on topics, ideas to add value or questions in 2017!
Guest Bio
Meghan is a Director on Fidelity’s Workplace Investing Thought Leadership team and is responsible for the development and delivery of data driven points of view on retirement savings and financial wellness trends. This work is leveraged by employers and their employees, advisors, policy makers and the media. Additionally, she is a media representative in the retirement space, helping to bring data based stories to life for the general public. Meghan has been with Fidelity since 2000 and has served in various leadership positions across the organization.
401(k) Fridays Overview
Where Employers, Retirement Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries come to learn and retirement industry leaders stop by to share their candid insights on current trends, topics and happenings.
Now with 50 episodes, be sure to check out our robust library of on demand interviews with attorneys, investment managers, professors, industry leaders, fellow employers and others who share a wealth of information for employers, plan fiduciaries, investment committee members, etc. The topics range from fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! Please keep sharing your input on topics, ideas to add value or questions in 2017!
Happy New Years and I hope that 2017 gets off to a great start for you both perennially and professionally! After a wild 2016, I am happy to say that this is the last episode of the year which is rebroadcast of a prior episode before we release the first of many exciting new episodes in 2017! This episode with Dr. Joe Coughlin, the founder and director of the MIT AgeLab is one of my personal all time favorites. Not only was he a great guest, but he shared a lot of interesting insights on generations, the evolving workforce and the future of retirement. As I re-listened to this episode earlier today and compared my recent notes from with the ones from the first time I released it I was pretty surprised that I had some very different take aways from our conversation this time around! So, if you have already heard my conversation with Dr. Joe, I would suggest you take another listen, you’ll probably pick up a few new tidbits of knowledge that could help you position or refine your benefits, retirement or workforce strategy for the future! If you haven’t listened to it, you’re in for a treat!
On a side note, we publish a post about each weekly podcast episode on LinkedIn which includes an episode summary, links and timestamps of interesting points we discuss. If we’re not connected on LInkedIn, next time you log on search Rick Unser and either follow me or send me a connection request. To my knowledge, for better or worse, I am the one and only!
Finally, our new episodes resume on January 6th 2017 with our 50th episode featuring Meghan Murphy, the director of thought leadership at Fidelity workplace investing where we discuss four 401(k) trends too big to be ignored in 2017.
Guest Bio
Joseph F. Coughlin, Ph.D. is founder and Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. He teaches policy and systems innovation in MIT’s Sloan School of Management Advanced Management Program and the Department of Urban Studies & Planning. Author of over 150 academic publications, his research explores how demographic change, technology and social trends converge to drive future innovations in business and government. Coughlin publishes the online publication Disruptive Demographics and is a regular contributor to Wall Street Journal MarketWatch. Coughlin is one of Fast Company Magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” and one of the Wall Street Journal’s “12 pioneers inventing the future of retirement and how we will all live, work, and play tomorrow.” The Financial Times profiled him as a ‘guru in global aging’ and Money Magazine dubbed him a ‘retirement game-changer’. He is a Behavioral Sciences Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and a Fellow of Switzerland’s World Demographics & Ageing Forum, advising and speaking to businesses, governments, and non-profits worldwide. Coughlin spoke at Falling Walls in Berlin on the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and was a keynote speaker at the 2014 Nobel Prizes in Stockholm. Dr. Coughlin speaks and consults to industry providing strategic insights and strategy to the financial services and insurance, real estate and healthcare industries in North America and Europe.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business.
We are quickly approaching our 50th podcast episode! To explore our growing library of content, if you are subscribed to the podcast, scroll through your podcast app and pick a few episodes that catch your interest, or go to 401kfridays.com/podcasts to find prior episode descriptions, guest bios bonus information and more!
Happy Holidays everyone! As a little treat here are two of our more popular episodes bundled into one for your listening pleasure. Both episodes feature Jason Roberts, ERISA Attorney and the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute which provides strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors. In the first part of the podcast we discuss how current 401(k) and ERISA litigation is shedding new light on fiduciary responsibilities and best practices as well as why Jason feels that spending too much time reviewing plan investments might not provide the fiduciary protection you have been lead to believe it does!
In part two we build on many of the concepts in part one, with a specific focus on conflicts, compensation and reasonableness. Why those three terms, well according to Jason, they are at the heart of roughly 90% of the recent 401(k) litigation. Also, Jason shares strategies to determine fee reasonableness in light of value, six open ended questions to evaluate service providers and explains the concept that low cost at all cost might not be the best fiduciary protection strategy!
Also, this episode along with several others has been approved for HR Recertification Credits! Go to 401kfridays.com/ce for more information. Finally, our new episodes resume on January 6th 2017 with our 50th episode featuring Meghan Murphy, the director of thought leadership at Fidelity workplace investing.
Guest Bio
Jason Roberts is the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI) providing strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors.
Prior to founding PRI, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading, national ERISA law firm where his practice focused on employee benefits and securities regulation. Jason continues to provide counsel on ERISA and investment-related matters at Retirement Law Group, PC and is frequently retained as an expert on fiduciary responsibilities, Department of Labor (DOL) investigations and retirement plan product development, design and implementation.
Jason was named as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. He is an active member of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) and American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). In 2014, Jason was appointed, for a two-year term, as an advisor for the Beach Cities Health District's finance committee.
Jason is a nationally-recognized speaker and has published numerous articles on fiduciary best practices, ERISA compliance and securities regulation. He is frequently quoted and interviewed by both professional and public publications.
Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law. He is a graduate of FINRA’s Compliance Boot Camp and has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business.
We are quickly approaching our 50th podcast episode! To explore our growing library of content, if you are subscribed to the podcast, scroll through your podcast app and pick a few episodes that catch your interest, or go to 401kfridays.com/podcasts to find prior episode descriptions, guest bios bonus information and more!
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is evaluating your retirement consulting or 401(k) broker relationship, this is a must listen episode. My guest Trisha Brambley, is the CEO of Retirement Playbook. Her firm’s sole focus is working with retirement plan sponsors and fiduciaries who are interested in benchmarking their advisor or in conducting a plan advisor search. Over the past several years, Trisha and her firm have helped hundreds of employers of all shapes and sizes. And as you’ll hear, she isn’t shy about sharing her experience and perspectives to help employers realize better outcomes from their plan advisor searches in the future. She also shares several reasons why she thinks more employers will be conducting advisor searches or hiring advisors for the first time in 2017 and beyond.
Before we get started, I am excited to tell you that the next new episode we will release in early January will be our fiftieth episode, thats 5-0! Thank you to all of our listeners who have shared feedback, questions and challenges you’re facing in your retirement plan with us, it has truly helped shape the content, selection of guests and questions I ask! Be sure to check out our robust library of prior episodes where you can explore on demand interviews with attorneys, investment managers, professors, industry leaders, fellow employers and others who share a wealth of information for employers, plan fiduciaries, investment committee members, etc. The topics range from fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! Simply go to www.401kfridays.com/podcasts to check it out! Please keep sharing your input on topics, ideas to add value or questions I should be asking in 2017!
Finally, in the spirit of sharing during the holiday please tell a friend, colleague or the members of your professional network about the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, I promise we have a lot of exciting things in store for 2017!
Guest Bio
Trisha is a recognized authority in the 401(k) industry. Trisha was appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Labor to serve on the ERISA Advisory Council for a three-year term (2006). During her tenure, she prepared recommendations on target date fund analysis, stable value issues and participant financial education. Additionally, she served as Chair for the study of stable value funds (2009) and Vice Chair of the Council (2008). She has been included on 401kWire's annual “Most Influential” list multiple times. She is a “Member-at-Large” of the Retirement Advisor Council, a national organization that advocates for successful qualified plan and participant retirement outcomes through the collaborative efforts of experienced, qualified retirement plan advisors, investment managers and defined contribution plan service providers.
Prior to creating Retirement Playbook, Inc. (2011), Trisha founded Resources for Retirement, Inc. (1995). Among the country's first plan advisory firms, Resources for Retirement, Inc. was included annually, during its lifetime, in PLANSPONSOR’s “Top Advisory Firms and Best Consultants.”
Earlier, Trisha was a member of the team that developed the country’s first 401(k) plans. During her tenure, she was involved in all aspects of bringing the new plans to life, including the creation of the first 401(k) education programs and assembling plans matched to clients’ employee populations.
Trisha’s comments have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Bloomberg Businessweek. She speaks frequently on retirement plan issues at national forums, including the Plan Sponsor Council of America and the Center for Due Diligence.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business.
We are quickly approaching our 50th podcast episode! To explore our growing library of content, if you are subscribed to the podcast, scroll through your podcast app and pick a few episodes that catch your interest, or go to 401kfridays.com/podcasts to find prior episode descriptions, guest bios bonus information and more!
If you were curious or brave enough to check out this episode, I promise you it does not disappoint! For background, the most common theme we heard from our guests on our recent three part podcast mini series on 401(k) investment menu design was that investment committees should consider investment strategies outside of traditional stock & bond offerings other wise know as alternative asset classes, or the third pillar. To help everyone get their arms around things I could not have asked for a better guest than Rob Arnott, he manages nearly $30 Billion of third pillar assets for PIMCO and he is also the Founder & Chairman of Research Affiliates. As I hope you have come to expect from our guests on the podcast, Rob does an excellent job of explaining concepts which quite frankly others can make boring or confusing, in a way that is fast paced and easy to follow. He also gives some concrete ideas and examples you can bring to your next 401(k) investment committee meeting to start the discussion!
As a reminder, this isn’t the first time we have explored various investment strategies for your 401(k) plan on the podcast, if you want to check out others, go to www.401kfridays.com/investments. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the many truisms of Rob Arnott!
Guest Bio
Rob Arnott is the founder and chairman of Research Affiliates. He is also portfolio manager on the PIMCO All Asset and All Asset All Authority family of funds and a suite of PIMCO products based on the RAFI™ Fundamental Index™ approach.
Over his career, Rob has endeavored to bridge the worlds of academic theorists and financial markets, challenging conventional wisdom and searching for solutions that add value for investors. He has pioneered several unconventional portfolio strategies that are now widely applied, including tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index approach to investing. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world’s most provocative practitioners and respected financial analysts.
Rob managed two asset management firms before founding Research Affiliates. As chairman of First Quadrant, LP, he built up the former internal money manager for Crum & Forster into a highly regarded quantitative asset management firm. He also was global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup), the founding president and CEO of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic Investors, LLC), and a vice president at The Boston Company.
Rob Arnott received a BS summa cum laude in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business.
We are quickly approaching our 50th podcast episode! To explore our growing library of content, if you are subscribed to the podcast, scroll through your podcast app and pick a few episodes that catch your interest, or go to 401kfridays.com/podcasts to find prior episode descriptions, guest bios bonus information and more!
Ok, so you offer a 401(k) plan for your employees, you review participation and contribution rates, analyze your investments and negotiate plan fees. You should feel good that you have taken many of the steps to be a diligent retirement plan fiduciary. But, if you truly want to provide your employees with a 401(k) that is more than a just a savings plan, if you want to develop a benefit that both your employees and company will value, there is more work to be done to make that leap to provide a true retirement plan. As you will hear, my guest Glenn Dial, Managing Director and Head of Retirement Strategy at Allianz Global Investors has given this transformational concept a lot of thought and has some great insights to share with our listeners. We hit a few thought provoking questions such as is it wrong to focus on promoting a 401(k) savings plan which uses high average participant account balances as the measurement of success? We also delve into strategies on how to move and measure your progress of transitioning from a 401(k) savings plan to a retirement plan. Glenn also shares thoughts on how to address and answer questions around measuring the return on investment from employer contributions. On that note, we also discuss if you want to develop more of a retirement plan, should that employer contribution be a match or profit sharing contribution, and how does an increasingly more mobile workforce factor into this conversation?
Remember, many episodes of the podcast have been submitted or pre-approved for both SHRM and HRCI recertification credits. Check it out at 401kfridays.com/ce to see how you can listen, learn and earn!
Guest Bio
Mr. Glenn Dial is a managing director with Allianz Global Investors, which he joined in 2011 as Head of Retirement Strategy. Mr. Dial has more than 20 years of retirement-industry experience. He previously held senior-management positions with JPMorgan and Ceridian. Mr. Dial holds three patents as the co-inventor of the “method and system for evaluating target-date funds” and is also credited with developing the target-date fund category system commonly referred to as “To versus Through.” He is the author of a monthly newsletter titled, “Dialed In to Retirement.”
Glenn is one of the 100 Most Influential People in the Defined Contribution industry according to the 401kWire.com survey in 2015, 2014, 2013.
He has a B.S. /B.A. in finance from the University of Central Florida and an M.B.A. from Rollins College.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business.
We are quickly approaching our 50th podcast episode! To explore our growing library of content, if you are subscribed to the podcast, scroll through your podcast app and pick a few episodes that catch your interest, or go to 401kfridays.com/podcasts to find prior episode descriptions, guest bios bonus information and more!
We have been getting a lot of questions about what the future holds for the global economy and financial markets in the wake of the US elections. So, I was excited to have Dr. David Kelly, a CFA charterholder and the Chief Global Strategist and Head of the Global Market Insights Strategy Team for J.P. Morgan Asset Management join me on the podcast. I have always appreciated Dr. Kelly’s ability to take complex and confusing economic and market concepts and relay them in a way that is easy to follow, understand and take action on , even for those of us who don’t have a finance or economics degree! Don’t miss his thoughts on the go forward prospects for inflation, interest rates, the impact of the US election and Brexit, the real state of unemployment and probably most important how all of this relates to your retirement plan and investment menu. He also has some pretty memorable quotes that are still rattling around in my head, be sure to share with us which ones were your favorites!
If you are not subscribed to the podcast, search 401(k) Fridays on iTunes or your favorite podcast app or go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe today, we release a valuable new episode every Friday! And now, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Kelly!
Guest Bio
Dr. David Kelly is the Chief Global Strategist and Head of the Global Market Insights Strategy Team for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. With over 20 years of experience, David provides valuable insight and perspective on the economy and markets to thousands of financial advisors and their clients.
Throughout his career, David has developed a unique ability to explain complex economic and market issues in a language that financial advisors can use to communicate to their clients. He is a keynote speaker at many national investment conferences. David is also a frequent guest on CNBC, and other financial news outlets and is widely quoted in the financial press.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Asset Management, David served as Economic Advisor to Putnam Investments. He has also served as a senior strategist/economist at SPP Investment Management, Primark Decision Economics, Lehman Brothers and DRI/McGraw-Hill.
David is a CFA® charterholder. He also has an Ph.D and M.A. in Economics from Michigan State University and a B.A. in Economics from University College Dublin in the Republic of Ireland.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business.
We are quickly approaching our 50th podcast episode! In prior episodes we have explored timely and relevant topics for employers and retirement plan sponsors ranging from fiduciary best practices, behavioral finance, plan design trends, financial wellness and much more! To explore our growing library of content, if you are subscribed to the podcast, scroll through your podcast app and pick a few episodes that catch your interest, or go to 401kfridays.com/podcasts to find prior episode descriptions, guest bios bonus information and more!
This is the final installment of our three part mini-course on investment menu construction. Each of the three episodes were designed to help employers and their retirement plan committee members understand the current thinking on investment menu design. If you missed part one where we discussed investment menu design trends or part two where we covered how to select individual asset classes and investments, you may listen to them on demand by searching 401(k) Fridays on your favorite podcast app on your mobile device or on your computer by going to www.401kfridays.com/investments. In this episode we tackle the seemingly simple but vitally important topic of selecting and evaluating target date funds as well as capital preservation strategies and something called a multi-asset alternative strategy. To help guide us through these topics I have Frank Salb a CFA Charterholder and the Vice President and Director of Investment Services with Lockton Retirement Services. During our conversation we address important topics such as the biggest mistakes employers make when evaluating target date funds, should downside and upside risk be looked at the same and how could different capital preservation strategies react during a rising interest rate environment. Oh, and he also addresses that multi-asset alternative thing. Now, here is my conversation with Frank!
Guest Bio
As the Vice President & Director of Investment Services for the Lockton Retirement Services, LLC, Frank leads national initiatives and projects to improve Lockton’s overall client experience. Frank is a CFA Charterholder. Prior to joining Lockton he worked as a Senior Investment Analyst at American Century Investments. Frank graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Finance and Economics.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
When I first started to research this episode, the idea of talking about financial wellness with what I thought of as a tax or accounting firm seemed a bit off the mark. However, after my first conversation with our guest Kent Allison, a Partner and National Leader of PwC’s Employee Financial Wellness Practice all my concerns quickly went away! As you will hear, not only does Kent and his team advise large multi-national organizations on financial wellness strategies, but he is also the author of the PwC Annual Employee Financial Wellness Survey which is now in its seventh year. Kent were able to get together while he was in Los Angeles and record this episode where he shares his expertise and perspective on topics such as the key differences between financial literacy programs and financial wellness, what obstacles can impact the success of a financial wellness program and how poor financial health can have a bigger impact on your employees than poor physical health. Also, be sure to listen for some great ideas on helping HR & Finance communicate effective about employee financial wellness.
To download a copy of the PwC Financial Wellness Survey go to www.401kfridays.com/pwc. While you are there, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and our email list so you don’t miss any future episodes!
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kent!
Guest Bio
Kent is the National Leader of PwC’s Employee Financial Wellness Practice, which specializes in providing un-biased financial wellness and counseling services to employees of domestic and multi-national organizations.
Recognized as one of the world’s leading advocates of employee financial wellbeing, and the author of PwC’s Annual Employee Financial Wellness Survey, Kent has served as a strategic advisor to leading financial institutions, worked with various government entities focused on improving financial literacy, consulted with the US Military to address the needs of its personnel and is involved with various initiatives in the not-for-profit and charitable arena.
He is a regular guest speaker at conferences across the globe, is frequently quoted in the press and has served as technical advisor and key contributor to four books on financial planning.
He is a CPA, a Personal Financial Specialist, a graduate of Rutgers College and a long, suffering fan of their sports teams.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
Thanks to my parents diligently setting aside money in savings bonds and my decision to attend an in-state school I was very fortunate to graduate from college nearly twenty years ago without the burden of student loan debt to repay. However, for many people over the years and especially today, that is not the case. My guest, Tony Aguilar, the co-founder and CEO of Student Loan Genius does a great job of laying out the realities and challenges for many of your employees who have student debt. What you might be surprised to hear is that nearly half of your workforce could be impacted and its not just a millennial thing! Tony also does a nice job framing how employers have been adding solutions to help employees with their student loan debt as part of their wellness programs and how some employers are even making contributions towards employee student loans as a recruiting and retention tool! What is the tie in to retirement you ask, well it wouldn’t be the 401(k) Fridays podcast if we didn’t address that at some point. As you will hear, paying off debt has an impact on your employees’ ability to save for retirement, however I was pretty excited to learn about some of the new tools and resources employers may offer to help to tackle both loan repayments and retirement savings!
Thank you to our email subscribers for submitting questions ahead of time, I was able to work many of the into our conversation. If you are not on our email list go to www.401kfridays.com/subscribe and join today!
I learned a lot from this episode, I hope you do as well.
Guest Bio
Tony Aguilar is co-founder and CEO of Student Loan Genius, Austin-based inventor of the first complete student loan employer benefits solution. Today he uses his years of experience as a financial advisor and founder of Amiti Advising and Campus Slice to help crush America’s $1.3 trillion student loan problem. Featured in the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and on CNN, his commitment to helping professionals get ahead and live a life free from debt is the common thread in all of his work. When he’s not leading the team at Student Loan Genius, Tony is spending time with his 3-year old daughter. He can also be found guest lecturing at the University of Texas and Concordia University on entrepreneurship and personal finance, serving as Chairman of Concordia University’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Board, or mentoring fellow social entrepreneurs and startups.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
You might be asking yourself, what else is there and why should I consider any investment vehicle other than a mutual fund? Well, if those thoughts passed through your head, this episode is a great way to get answers to those questions! To explore the topic I have Jeff Kletti, a CFA and the Senior Vice President of Investments at Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement Trust with me today. With all of the attention and focus on 401(k) plan fees and the rapid improvements in technology, alternative investment vehicles such as Collective Investment Trusts, commonly referred to as CITs, Separate Accounts and Exchange Traded Funds otherwise know as ETFs are gaining more assets each year within 401(k) plans. We start with thoughts on why retirement plan sponsors are even entertaining investment vehicles beyond traditional mutual funds. Then we unravel how they are either similar or different from mutual funds. Jeff also provides great questions for plan fiduciaries to ask when exploring alternative investment vehicles. My hope is the that you walk, or drive away for that matter, with a better understand of when alternative investment vehicles could make sense and how to evaluate and determine if they would be suitable or beneficial for your plan and participants. As a reminder, we release a valuable new episode each Friday, if you are not already subscribed to the podcast, please visit www.401kfridays.com/subscribe or search 401(k) Fridays on your favorite podcast app today! Now, I hope you enjoy our conversation!
Guest Bio
Jeff Kletti is Head of Investments for Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. In this role Jeff is responsible for leading asset consulting, discretionary asset management, investment operations, and the compliance and risk management activities for Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust’s discretionary clients. Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust provides retirement plan services to more than 5,000 employer-sponsored retirement plans and custody accounts, representing 4 million participants and more than $330 billion in retirement account assets.
Jeff has over 25 years of investment experience. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, he was the director of investment management at Allianz Investment Management SE. In this position Jeff served as president of AIM LLC, a registered investment adviser, portfolio manager AZL Fusion Funds, chairman of the AZL Funds board of trustees, and trustee of the Allianz of America pension committee.
Jeff holds a B.A. in finance from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota. He is a CFA® charter holder.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
I am proud to say that this episode, well except for the title, was greatly influenced by input I received from our email subscribers! To everyone who shared feedback on what you wanted me discuss with Tom Clark, ERISA Attorney and Of Counsel at the Wagner Law Group, thank you! As a reminder, as an email subscriber you get advance notice of many of our podcast guests and the opportunity to submit questions and topics for me to cover with them. If you have not subscribed to our email list yet, go to www.401kfridays.com/subscribe today and join the community! In my conversation with Tom, based on your feedback we first focus on the current trends in 401(k) litigation and then close with updates on what employers should know about DOL activities. Tom, does a great job breaking things down in an easy to understand, yet impactful way which will leave you with plenty to think about going into 2017. Some of my favorites were his input on how 401(k) lawsuits get started, a behind the scenes glimpse of what plaintiffs’ attorneys must do to bring a 401(k) lawsuit and some changes and decisions many plan sponsors should anticipate in the coming months due to recent DOL activity. After you listen, love to hear your perspectives on whether 2017 will bring you and your fellow plan fiduciaries, pain or help you continue down a path towards gain! Send me an email at info@401kfridays.com. This is a fast moving and information packed episode, enjoy!
Guest Bio
Tom is Of Counsel with The Wagner Law Group, a law firm specializing in ERISA & Employee Benefits, Estate Planning, and Employment, Labor & Human Resources Law. His expertise encompasses all aspects of employee benefits programs, including the design, implementation and compliance of retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and executive and incentive compensation arrangements. He also has a robust practice assisting industry service providers in meeting their ERISA compliance and general business needs.
Tom is also a well-seasoned ERISA litigator. Earlier in his career, he worked for the law firm of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton including on such landmark cases as Tibble v. Edison, which was heard this year by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Tom is Editor-in-Chief of the Fiduciary Matters Blog, a blog visited over 150,000 times since its first publication in March 2013. He also teaches ERISA Fiduciary Law as an Adjunct Professor at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, his alma mater.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
Alright, let me know if you have heard this one, a lawyer, an insurance broker and a retirement consultant walk into a bar, oh that’s right this is for the podcast. We’ll have to save that one for another time However that does resemble the motley crew we have assembled to discuss the evolving world of cyber risk or cyber threats and how they can impact 401(k) and other employer benefits plans. The lawyer in our conversation is Brian Finch, a partner at Pillsbury Law and member of their Cyber Security Task Force, and the insurance broker is Ben Beeson, SVP and Cyber Risk Practice Leader with Lockton Insurance Brokers. Our conversation starts with a great background and overview of the risks, bad actors, motivations and methods cyber criminals are using to steal money, data, hack organizations or otherwise wreak digital havoc. Next we move into how these evolving cyber threats may impact the retirement industry which obviously has trillions of dollars of assets and very sensitive and personal information on millions of individuals. As a take away, there are some great questions for you to include in your due diligence discussions with your current or potential new service providers, concepts to ensure you explore in your service agreements or contracts and other information to help you walk away with strategies to help keep your employee protected and minimize the risk associated with cyber threats at www.401kfridays.com/cyber. I took a lot away from the information that Brian and Ben shared, I hope you do as well!
Guest Bios
Ben Beeson leads the Cyber Risk Practice at Lockton Companies, the world's largest privately held insurance brokerage. Ben guides boards of directors and executive leadership on how best to mitigate emerging cyber risks to mission critical assets that aligns with the business strategy. His experience ranges from addressing data security and privacy liability to companies in the utility, financial, healthcare, retail, and hospitality industries, to risks from a cyber attack to the energy, transportation, and manufacturing sectors.
Prior to moving to Washington D.C., Ben spent most of his career in the UK working within the Lloyd’s of London insurance market, an entrepreneurial culture creating innovative solutions to address emerging risks.
Ben continues to be involved in the development of US Cybersecurity policy having testified before Congress in 2015, his support in the development and roll out of the NIST framework and through his membership of Business Executives for National Security, (BENS).
Ben is a regular author and commentator on Cybersecurity issues with recent appearances on CNN and Fox News and his chapter contribution to the NYSE's first definitive Cybersecurity guide for Directors and Officers entitled "Navigating The Digital Age."
Brian Finch is a partner in the law firm’s Public Policy practice and is based in Pillsbury’s Washington, DC office. Named by Washingtonian magazine in 2011 as one of the top 40 federal lobbyists under the age of 40 and by Law360 as one of its “Rising Stars” in Privacy Law in 2014, Brian is a recognized authority on global security matters. He specializes in counseling on regulatory and government affairs issues involving the Department of Homeland Security, Congress, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies. Brian in particular focuses his practice on assisting clients with matters involving cyber security, national defense and intelligence policies, homeland security concerns, and in general providing proactive advice to mitigate liability in the event of a significant security incident.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
This episode is part two of our three part mini course on constructing a 401(k) investment menu. In part one, we covered current thinking, trends and benchmark data on investment menu design, questions to ask your service providers before you start and much more! If you have not listened to that episode, I would encourage you to check it out on iTunes or your favorite podcast app! Now, back to part two where we discuss the next steps of investment menu design, determining the asset classes you will make available to your participants and then selecting individual investment options. To help navigate the conversation I have Jamie Axford, a Director at Putnam Investments. I realize that for some just mentioning the term “asset class” during a plan review or investment discussion can send you scurrying of your phone to check you emails, however I would encourage you to hang in there for our conversation today. Jamie does a great job of defining some words and concepts that many people have heard but might not have fully understood. He also provides some great perspective on reviewing different investments, how some investment scoring systems could lead to riskier investments and some other questions you can bring with you to your next 401(k) investment review!
As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to the podcast or our email list please go to 401kfridays/subscribe today!
Guest Bio
Mr. Axford is Director, DCIO Consultant Relations, at Putnam Investments. In this role, he is responsible for managing relationships with consultants who are focused on the retirement plan space. Mr. Axford joined Putnam in 2012 and has been in the investment industry since 1989. He holds an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation and is also a member of the Association of Investment Management Sales Executives (AIMSE). Mr. Axford holds his Series 6, 7, 24, 63, and 65 licenses with FINRA.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
You have likely had someone pitch or discuss with you the idea of introducing financial wellness to your employee population, or if you haven’t, the conversation is undoubtedly coming soon! In this episode we tackle the not so simple questions of what is financial wellness, how do we know if someone is financially healthy and is Financial Wellness here to stay or is this another passing fad in the benefits arena. To help explore the topic I have Doug Murray, EVP and Mary Hollingsworth, SVP and Director of Product Strategy at Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement. A few key points to listen for are who should be defining what financial wellness means, employers or their service providers, the motivations around introducing financial wellness to your workforce and how to set goals and measure outcomes for a financial wellness offering. An interesting point that we discuss and one to ponder, if you shift your focus to promoting more holistic financial wellness within your workforce, are you okay that the message some of your employees could get is that it doesn’t make sense for them to participate in your 401(k) plan right now? Love to hear your feedback on that, send me an email at info@401kfridays.com.
If you’re not subscribed to our email list already, go to www.401kfridays.com/subscribe, going forward we’ll be notifying our email subscribers of future podcast guests and you will have the exclusive opportunity to submit topics or questions for me to address with them on the show!
Guest Bios
Doug Murray is part of the senior leadership team for Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. In this role, he is actively involved in setting overall strategic direction for the group. As the national director of institutional sales, Doug leads distribution efforts across all products and market segments.
Doug has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with majors in finance and risk/insurance. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.
Doug is active in the retirement industry and in his community. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and on the Board of Directors at Partnership Resources, Inc., a local nonprofit organization. Doug is also a member of Wells Fargo’s Minnesota Leadership Council.
Doug lives in Minneapolis, MN with his wife Karen and teenage children Madison and Ian. His interests include traveling with his family, golf, and cooking.
Mary Hollingsworth is the director of Product Strategy and Positioning for Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. In this role, Mary leads institutional product strategy for defined contribution, defined benefit, trust and custody, investments and digital strategies. She also is responsible for the overall positioning and communication of products and services to clients and the external market place.
Prior to her current role, Mary was director of Participant Solutions. She oversaw the participant experience including the call center, participant education and communication services, and asset retention. Mary joined Wells Fargo in 1999 with responsibility for the call center, client services, training and development, and quality.
Mary came to Wells Fargo from Fidelity Investments where she served as national director of quality for Retail Operations. Prior to Fidelity Investments, Mary worked at Arthur Andersen as quality officer for the Chicago office operations. Mary received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Marquette University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Overview
Have you ever wondered why other employers and plan sponsors either stay with or make changes to their retirement service providers? Has it been a little while since you have been out to the market to evaluate your retirement service partners and want to what your peers are looking for in record keepers and consultants? If so, then my conversation with Josh Dietch, Managing Director at Chatham Partners should be helpful! Who is Chatham Partners and how can they speak credibly about what employers are thinking? In short, they are the go to firm the retirement industry uses to gather feedback on their services and analyze why they either were successful or not in a securing or retaining relationships with employers. During my conversation with Josh, we hit on so many great topics such as the valued and commoditized offerings of retirement service providers, how the drive for low fees is forcing providers to ration service, the paradox of participant education and how the new DOL fiduciary rule might impact provider searches and evaluations in the future. There is a little “inside baseball” talk in this episode, but I think you will find it enlightening and could help put some of the responses or strategies of your service providers in perspective. Last thing, I would really be interested to hear which points we covered had you nodding your head in agreement or shaking it in disagreement. Shoot me an email at info@401kfridays.com with your thoughts. Now, here we go!
Guest Bio
Joshua Dietch joined Chatham Partners in 2005 and is a Managing Director. In this capacity, Joshua manages research and consulting engagements that focus on client retention and new business development processes. Prior to joining Chatham, Joshua was Director, Product Marketing and Management with ADP Retirement Services managing product development and marketing for ADP's defined contribution and executive deferred compensation products. Earlier in his career, Joshua was a consultant with Cerulli Associates, helping financial service firms with both business strategy and new product development, and previously worked for a subsidiary of the Principal Financial Group. He has been quoted on financial issues for leading publications such as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Pensions and Investments, Investment News and several trade publications, and has also appeared on CNBC. Joshua received his B.A. in History from Bates College.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Summary
If you have ever felt like there is more you can do with or learn from your 401(k) plan data, this is the episode for you! To help explore the topic I am excited to have both John Fitzsimmons, Vice President of Reporting and Analytics and Bryan Hallock Director of Customer Analytics, both with Fidelity Workplace Investing. Despite the focus on what some might consider a dry topic, we had a fast moving and informative conversation. We tackled topics such as why its important for employers who are looking to gain insight from their plan data to get past the averages, how to turn conventional wisdom into quantifiable observations and how with proper analysis of your 401(k) data, you can gain insight that can positively impact your plan, your business and participant retirement outcomes. I also learned a new term, elevator analysis. Take a listen, and let me know if you start using it in conversations going forward! Since I didn’t do such a great job of introducing my guests, the first new voice you will hear from is John and the second is Bryan. Last thing, if you’re not subscribed to the email list already, go to www.401kfridays.com and subscribe, going forward we will be notifying our email subscribers of our future podcast guests and they will have the exclusive opportunity to submit topics or questions for me to address with them on the show! Now, I hope you enjoy my conversation with John and Brian!
Guest Bios
John Fitzsimmons is vice president of Reporting and Analytics for Fidelity Investments, a diversified financial services firm that makes retirement planning accessible to 23 million customers – from people investing their life savings, to businesses managing their employee benefits, to advisors investing their clients’ money.
As vice president of Reporting & and Analytics, John leads a team that is responsible for Fidelity’s Executive Insights platform. Leveraging Fidelity’s data base of 23 million customers, Executive Insights allows Plan Sponsors to dynamically analyze their participant’s retirement readiness and benchmark themselves against their peers.
Mr. Fitzsimmons joined Fidelity in 1995 and has held several leadership positions within Fidelity’s Workplace Investing business. Prior to his current role, he John worked in Finance roles across Fidelity.
Mr. Fitzsimmons received his bachelor of arts degree in International Relations from Tufts University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University.
Bryan Hallock is an Atlanta native, receiving his B.S. in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his M.B.A. in Finance from Georgia State University. He started with Fidelity in Boston in 2004 and now serves as a Director of Workplace Investing Finance - Customer Analytics. In this role, he explores 401(k) participant behavior with the care of a data scientist and a creativity and zeal inspired by “Moneyball”. This approach has proved fruitful in understanding the underlying drivers of participant behavior and outcomes, creating actionable metrics that have been communicated to the marketplace, clients, prospects, and policy makers in Washington. Bryan recently received his J.D. (law) degree from Georgia State University and is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
Just a preview of things to come, your 401(k), it doesn’t work outside the U.S.! So, let’s go for a trip around the globe to discuss the topics, trends and concepts employers who have employees outside the US should be aware of. With me I have Nick Dobbelbower, PhD, CEBS, DipIEB, GPHR, Vice President and Regional Practice Leader in Lockton’s Global Benefits Practice. Whether you have newly acquired international employees or you have been deeply involved with global retirement benefits, or you are just curious what goes on in other countries, this is an incredibility valuable episode. We touch on considerations for employers who are looking to harmonize retirement benefits levels on a global basis, things to know before making any changes to non-US retirement benefits programs and plenty of examples to help you along the way! As a reminder, several episodes, including this one have either been pre-approved or submitted for HR recertification credits by SHRM or HRCI. Click here to see the full list of episodes and simple steps to listen, learn and earn your recertification credits. Now, I hope you enjoy my conversation with professor Nick!
Guest Bio
Nick is the Practice Leader for Intellectual Capital in Lockton’s Global Benefits Practice. He is responsible for developing and maintaining comprehensive global benefits resources, including compliance, statutory requirements, market practice, and benchmarking. He ensures that Lockton’s global consultants effectively leverage the firm’s data and information resources to address the needs of their multinational clients.
He manages a team of research consultants who work with Lockton global offices to develop statutory and market practice information on employee benefits provisions around the world. Nick also works directly with multinational clients to develop, implement, and support international employee benefits strategies, including local employee benefits, business travel and expatriate programs, regional plan consolidation, and multinational pooling and captives.
Nick brings to Lockton a well-rounded professional and academic background. His professional experience includes extensive international consulting and research work with multinational clients and establishing and managing affiliate relationships. He has presented at numerous professional conferences and contributed to leading industry publications on international benefits topics. His academic experience includes faculty positions and French and Francophone studies at Macalester College, Bucknell University, and Duke University.
Nick is fluent in French and proficient in Spanish and Italian. He also has experience in web and graphic design. In his down time, he participates in charity bicycle races and marathons.
Professional Designations and Affiliations
- Diploma in International Employee Benefits (DipIEB)
- Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS)
- Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR)
- Certificate in Global Benefits Management (IFEBP)
- Certificate in International Benefits (IBIS Academy)
- Life, Accident, and Health Insurance License
401(k) Fridays Podcast
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
Constructing an investment menu is something all 401(k) plans need to do. And, like most things, to get a good outcome for your plan and participants, the devil is in the details! To help you as a plan fiduciary I am excited to introduce our first three part mini-course of the podcast! This episode is Part One where we discuss fundamentals and key building blocks of investment menu construction. To help provide perspective I invited Matt Sommer, Vice President and Director of Defined Contribution Services at Janus Capital. As a both a CFA and a CFP, Matt provides valuable and more importantly understandable insights on trends in investment menu design. Our conversation ranges from fundamental concepts such as how many investments are plans offering, how investment menu design correlates to plan size and thoughts offering self-directed brokerage accounts. Also, be sure to listen for some considerations for plan fiduciaries around investment risk based on where we sit in the second half of 2016 and in the midst of an equity bull market and declining interest rates.
If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcast app to be notified when the next two episodes are released.
Guest Bio
401(k) Fridays Podcast
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Description
Don’t worry, you didn't join the wrong podcast. Yes, HSA plans are typically associated with the health portion of an employee benefits package. However, there has been much discussion in the industry about what you will hear my guest Ana Sabatino, Vice President and Consumer Driven Health Plan Specialist at CIGNA, refer to as the cross functional purpose of HSA plans in helping improve both employee decisions and outcomes in health and wealth. With the growth of HSA plans at over 25% a year for the last four years, more and more employers are utilizing these plans as they introduce consumerism in their healthcare strategy, and the side benefit, that some are realizing, is this means employees are also gaining access to a powerful vehicle with several distinct tax advantages to help pay medical costs in retirement. In this foundational discussion Ana does a great job of explaining how employees at various stages in life can take advantage of HSAs, how they contribute to the evolving conversation of improving both health and wealth and ideas around creating benefits bundles to guide employee decision making. Additionally, Ana offers valuable insights for employers about the importance of setting up internal cross functional teams between health and retirement benefits, how involving company leadership is paramount to success and why you need to have a three year plan for your benefits strategy. This episode stretched me, i hope it does the same for you. Enjoy!
Guest Bio
Ana joined Cigna's leadership team in 2006 as a leading subject matter expert in consumer driven health plans (CDHP). Prior to joining Cigna she was part of the leadership team at Definity Health, the original pioneers of the CDHP model. Her clients include some of the largest fortune 500 organizations that were early adopters of this model in the early 2000’s.
She has 25 years of experience working with health and welfare plans. In the past 13 years, Ana has exclusively focused on working with both public and private sector employers on successful CDHP strategies.
As a subject matter expert for Cigna she is very hands on in helping clients develop successful multi-year strategies using Cigna Choice Fund as an effective enabler of behavior change and health improvement.
Her expertise, results and passionate leadership around designing CDHP strategies “done right” has made her a frequent speaker for Cigna as well as a major contributor in helping Cigna achieve industry leading growth in consumer driven health plans.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Summary
If you have been involved in working with retirement benefit plans over the last several years, you have probably been told more times than you can remember that your 401(k) plan comes with fiduciary responsibility. You also have likely noticed the proliferation of 401(k) lawsuits, and that the DOL has released their new Conflict of Interest rule which redefines how one can become a fiduciary. With all of this going on, and the questions that have ensued, I thought it would be a good time to have Blaine AIkin, the Executive Chairman of Fi360, help provide some clarity. Fi360 is the industry leader in providing fiduciary education and training to individuals and organizations in the financial services industry to develop prudent fiduciary practices and promote a fiduciary standard of care. Our conversation covers how employers can use fiduciary safe harbors to limit their fiduciary liability, the importance of having your fiduciary processes nailed and things to do and not to do as a plan fiduciary. Blaine also has some great quotes in the episode such as, there is nothing passive about being a retirement plan fiduciary, you have the fiduciary obligation to not waste money and with the new DOL Conflict of Interest Rule, a non-fiduciary advisor is now a contradiction in terms. Last but not least, I am excited to announce that this and other episodes of the podcast have been submitted for HR recertification credits. To see episodes that are pre-approved or have been submitted for approval please go to www.401kfridays.com/CE.
Guest Bio
Blaine Aikin's goal as Executive Chairman of fi360, is to assure that fi360 provides exceptional professional development programs, investment and business management tools, and business and industry thought leadership to improve the decision making of those who manage money on behalf of others. fi360 seeks to promote a culture of fiduciary responsibility to align the interests of investors and investment professionals.
fi360 helps its clients gather, grow, and protect assets through better investment and business decision-making. Since 1999, fi360 has been providing innovative solutions to financial services providers. We offer the AIF®, AIFA®, and PPC designation programs, the fi360 Toolkit™ software, and fi360 Fiduciary Score®. Ann Schleck and Co., a division of fi360, adds strategic growth support. Additional fi360 capabilities include fiduciary assessments and practice management and compliance.
Career financial services professional with experience in government (U.S. Treasury Department and as Budget Officer of Prince William County, Virginia), investment advisory practice (Principal and CIO of independent advisory firm), and financial product and service management (bank trust department, brokerage, and institutional offerings).
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with varying viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts
Episode Overview
As an employer, how do statements such as money is not as big of a deal as it used to be, the younger generation want to work for companies they believe are contributing to the greater good and the workforce of the future is going to require new investment to just stay competitive with where you are today? To address these questions and many more, I was excited to have Dr. Joe Coughlin, the founder and director of the MIT AgeLab as my guest on the podcast. During our conversation, Dr. Joe also highlights key issues he has discovered in his research that both finance and human resources professionals need to prepare for. Finally, be sure to listen for Dr. Joe’s thoughts on what keeps employees in the workforce beyond a normal retirement date, just a hint, it is not always money! I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Joseph F. Coughlin, Ph.D. is founder and Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. He teaches policy and systems innovation in MIT’s Sloan School of Management Advanced Management Program and the Department of Urban Studies & Planning. Author of over 150 academic publications, his research explores how demographic change, technology and social trends converge to drive future innovations in business and government. Coughlin publishes the online publication Disruptive Demographics and is a regular contributor to Wall Street Journal MarketWatch. Coughlin is one of Fast Company Magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” and one of the Wall Street Journal’s “12 pioneers inventing the future of retirement and how we will all live, work, and play tomorrow.” The Financial Times profiled him as a ‘guru in global aging’ and Money Magazine dubbed him a ‘retirement game-changer’. He is a Behavioral Sciences Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and a Fellow of Switzerland’s World Demographics & Ageing Forum, advising and speaking to businesses, governments, and non-profits worldwide. Coughlin spoke at Falling Walls in Berlin on the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and was a keynote speaker at the 2014 Nobel Prizes in Stockholm. Dr. Coughlin speaks and consults to industry providing strategic insights and strategy to the financial services and insurance, real estate and healthcare industries in North America and Europe. He can be reached at coughlin@mit.edu and on Twitter @josephcoughlin.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts
Episode Description
As we sit here just past the midpoint of 2016, the 401(k) industry continues to get a lot of attention in the media, with regulators and certainly from employers and their employees. However, what is not talked about very much is how the business of being a record keeper works and what employers should understand about the business models of their service providers. To help shed some light on this topic, I invited Bill Yoerger, President of OneAmerica Retirement Services. Bill is a 30 plus year industry veteran, who runs the corporate retirement division of OneAmerica that supports over 1 million participants, has over 800 employees and has completed three acquisitions over the last five years. Bill is also included as a perennial member of the most influential people in the retirement industry. During our conversation, you will hear him share some candid thoughts on the different business models record keepers utilize, questions all employers should be asking their service providers and key topics and trends employers should pay attention to that could impact their retirement service providers going forward.
Guest Bio
Bill is the President of the OneAmerica Retirement Services Division of the American United Life Insurance Company (AUL). He is responsible for the leadership, coordination, and guidance to all Retirement Services operations including sales, marketing, record-keeping, and administration functions.
He joined AUL in 1993 as a Regional Vice President after a successful career selling retirement plans and services for CIGNA. Prior to his sales career there, he was a Group and Pension Representative for Principal Financial Group in the Cleveland area. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President of AUL’s Retirement Services division.
Bill received his B.S. in Business Administration at The Ohio State University
Professional Designations and Associations:
Former chair, LIMRA Retirement Investment Committee
Member, SPARK Institute
Member, Retirement Services Roundtable
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
You would have to have been living under a rock for the past few years if you are an employer who sponsors a retirement plan and you haven't notice the dramatic increase in the number and pace of 401(k) lawsuits. There is even a 401(k) case that went to the Supreme Court! To help employers understand what is driving 401(k) lawsuits, common themes in current litigation and ways employers can manage risk, I invited David Levine, Principal and ERISA Attorney at Groom Law to the podcast to offer some perspective. David is an annual fixture on the lists of Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, etc. and more importantly lives and breathes ERISA matters. As you will hear, while employers continue to get better at executing their duties as fiduciaries, plaintiff's attorneys also are getting better at exploiting gaps and inconsistencies in fiduciary processes. Also, we discuss what is really motivating plaintiff's attorneys, recent initiatives of the DOL and why he hopes more companies fight plaintiff's attorneys so that more lines are drawn.
Guest Bio
David N. Levine is a principal at Groom Law Group, Chartered. He advises plan sponsors, advisors, and other service providers on a wide range of employee benefits matters, from retirement and executive compensation to health and welfare plan matters.
Mr. Levine's areas of service include: the redesign of complex retirement, executive, and health and welfare plans; ongoing, day-to-day counseling of plan sponsors; in-depth compliance reviews of corporate and governmental benefit programs; and representation of tax-exempt organizations with respect to issues involving corporate governance, executive compensation, and unrelated business income tax liability.
Mr. Levine was previously the Chair of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (2011-2013) and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and serves in a number of leadership roles in the American Bar Association Tax Section's Employee Benefits Committee. Mr. Levine regularly speaks on plan design, fiduciary governance, and legislative issues and contributes a recurring column to NAPA Net — The Magazine. He is recognized in The Legal 500 and USA Chambers guide for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation. Mr. Levine received his J.D., from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his B.A., with general and departmental honors, from Johns Hopkins University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary:
With more and more money flowing into asset allocation solutions in 401(k) plans, the options for plan sponsors to consider are growing as well. While managed accounts are not a new concept, as they continue to evolve and improve, some predict they are the next frontier in 401(k) plans to offer participants a customized solution that will adjust over time. To help explain what a managed account is, how they work, how they differ from target date funds and much more, Chris Costello, the Co-founder and CEO of Blooom joins me as our guest today. Chris in his team created Blooom as a disruptor in the space by leveraging modern technology and plain English communication to provide solutions for any investor with a workplace retirement plan for the investment of their most critical retirement savings, regardless of account size or where their retirement account is held. And people are taking notice! Blooom was recognized by Fast Company Magazine as one of the worlds top ten most innovative companies in personal finance and is now the fastest growing robo advisor in the market. Chris shares some passionate stories and perspectives about the realities of participant investment interest, challenges they face on their journey to retirement and thoughts on leveling the playing field to provide those who don't like managing their investments, an easy to use and affordable investment solution.
Guest Bio:
Chris Costello, CEO and Co-Founder of blooom, is a lifelong Kansan. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in Business in the mid-1990s he began a career in the Investment industry. Chris holds the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation.
Chris worked for several large Wall Street brokerage firms before co-founding The Retirement Planning Group in 2004, an SEC Registered Investment Advisory firm. Today that firm manages more than $500 million of individual client portfolios.
In 2013 Chris, along with his 2 business partners, started blooom –the first of its kind online 401(k) management service that uses an algorithm-based automated technology to manage clients’ employer sponsored retirement accounts. Chris builds the actual models blooom uses to generate 401(k) investment allocations which allows its clients to tap into investment advice traditionally available to only wealthy investors.
Chris has been married for almost 20 years and has 2 daughters.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview:
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description:
In this installment of our Industry Profile series we focus on topics, trends and thoughts specific to employers in higher education and their retirement plans. As you will hear from my guest, Patricia Harte, head of TIAA’s institutional relationship management team, while many of the core values embraced by institutions and reflected in their retirement plans have stayed the same, the strategies, tools and conversations are evolving! Patty pulls from her roughly 25 years of experience working with higher education clients and TIAA research to discuss the latest insights around the concepts of shared responsibility and ideas to help with your reluctant retirees. Also, we discuss the shift in the measurement of participant success from balance accumulation to retirement outcomes, psychosocial barriers to retirement and longevity in higher ed. Whether you are a state or private institution, there are stories, examples and other information you will find useful!
Guest Bio:
Patricia Harte leads TIAA’s institutional relationship management team in the West and Central Regions, serving more than 200 colleges, universities, health care institutions, local and state governments and other nonprofit organizations. With its mission to serve the not-for-profit market, TIAA is the number one provider in higher education, health care, and K-12. TIAA helps more than 3.7 million individuals build retirement readiness and manages more than $851 billion in assets.
A member of the company’s senior leadership team, Patricia oversees a team of 27 who provide consultative services and relationship management. Her team’s relationships with institutional plan sponsors help ensure that educators, researchers, government workers and other nonprofit employees have access to high-quality, low-fee investments and a comprehensive financial education and advice program, helping employees save for, and live well in retirement.
During a career spanning nearly 30 years in financial services, Patricia has gained deep experience in a variety of management roles. Before joining TIAA more than 11 years ago, she held management positions at Barclays Global Investors and Fidelity Investments, leading relationship management and retirement counseling teams.
Patricia is the national co-chair of the TIAA’s Women’s Employee Resource Group (WERG), which seeks to elevate the company’s success by providing recognition, development and networking opportunities for female employees. As a passionate advocate for helping women achieve financial security, she has spoken to audiences about the unique financial challenges and opportunities of which women need to be aware and develop a plan to address to assure their long-term financial security.
Patricia holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Utah and a certificate in Philanthropy Fundraising from New York University. She also holds FINRA securities licenses and a Utah State insurance license.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview:
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
For most employees, making the transition into retirement means they have to come to grips with how they are going to live without a paycheck for arguably the rest of their life. While this is a highly personal and individual decision, if you are their employer at the time, the decision about when and if they are ready to make the transition into retirement can have a big impact on you! To help get more familiar with the struggles and challenges in preparing as well as the participant tools and resources needed to help make life without a paycheck a reality, I sat down with Jerry Patterson the Senior Vice President of Retirement & Investor Services at Principal Financial Group. During our conversation he shares his experience, research and advice on how participants get tripped up by admiring a balance, not understanding fixed and variable expenses and falling victim to retirement drift. We also spend time talking about strategies employers may explore to help their employees with decumulation, or converting the balances they have accumulated over their years into a stream of income. Be sure to stick around after our interview ends for the 401(k) Fridays Fiduciary Fact and Folly.
Guest Bio
Jerry Patterson has been a presence in the financial services industry for more than 25 years where he held a number of diverse and senior roles at some of the nation’s largest financial institutions. Patterson currently serves as senior vice president, Retirement & Investor Services with the Principal Financial Group where he leads the company’s annuity, individual investor services, and broader retirement income efforts. Key areas of focus in his current role include driving better retirement outcomes through more effective retirement plan designs, behavior-based education and engagement strategies, getting more Americans to understand and embrace the power of guaranteed retirement income, and addressing the unique and different needs of emerging Millennials and retiring Baby Boomers.
Patterson is a national speaker and writer on a broad range of issues and topics, including financial and estate planning, behavioral finance, healthcare, wellness, Millennials, Boomers, and retirement. He is a resident blogger for the Huffington Post where he focuses on financial wellness and overcoming human nature to attain better financial security outcomes. He can be followed @JerryWPatterson.
Patterson is an active participant in a number of industry and community organizations focused on retirement security and the arts. He is currently an active board member for the Insured Retirement Institute, Ballet Des Moines, and Des Moines Social Club. Patterson’s education and early career focus was on accounting and law and he is a member of the Kansas and Missouri bars.
401(k) Fridays Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
Here is another Sponsor Spotlight episode, where we interview an employer who took a different approach or strategy to change participant behaviors and outcomes. In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Redgrave, the Vice President of Total Rewards at KinderCare Education. Sarah shares a unique approach she and her team took to integrate the 401(k) plan communication into their new total rewards strategy. While the campaign had some surprising and positive results, the real benefit of this episode is Sarah’s introspective, honest and motivational thoughts she shares with employers on finding your north star, blazing new trails and bravery in business. Finally, be sure to stick around after the interview for a new closing segment called the 401(k) Fridays Fiduciary Fact and Folly.
Guest Bio
Sarah has over 15 years of international experience in benefits, compensation, internal communication, and change management.
Currently she is accountable for the Total Rewards programs within KinderCare Education, a provider of early chilcare education with 30,000 employees across the United States.
Previously, she was accountable for Eddie Bauer’s Benefits, Compensation, Employee Communication, and Recognition Programs across the US, Canada, and Hong Kong.
Prior to Eddie Bauer, she helped to build and lead the Communication and Change Management Practice at Hymans Robertson, a UK-based HR consulting firm. She spent five years as a communication consultant for Eckler Partners in Toronto, a pension and benefit consulting firm, where she consulted to clients across a wide variety of industries; and provided solutions that helped keep employees informed and engaged through times of significant cut-backs.
401(k) Fridays Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
It should be no surprise that 401(k) plan fees have been the hot topic of discussion amongst both plan sponsors and the industry. With fee disclosure regulations, a growing number of lawsuits and the press all swirling around the issue the need for plan fiduciaries to have a process to both understand and evaluate plan fees for reasonableness has never been more important. My guest, Tom Kmak, the CEO and co-founder of the firm Fiduciary Benchmarks which provides independent, comprehensive and informative fee benchmarking services is in a unique position in this conversation, over the past 9 years they have evaluated and benchmarked the fees of over 80,000 retirement plans. During our conversation, Tom specifically shares his experience and perspective on how to create a meaningful fee benchmarking process. As a 30 year industry veteran, he also shares great stories, analogies and opinions to help employers understand and process some of the more controversial and complex topics around 401(k) plan fees. Be sure to listen for his thoughts on flat dollar participant fees, why the DOL did not use the word “lower” in their recent fee disclosure regulations and much more!
Guest Bio
CEO and co-founder of Fiduciary Benchmarks, 2007 to current. Fiduciary Benchmarks (FBi) is a premier and patented benchmarking service (U.S. Patent 8,510,198) for defined contribution plans that uses various mathematical models to help fiduciaries determine whether the fees they are paying to their service providers are reasonable in light of the value being received. Through their construction and presentation, FBi reports give plan decision makers the context necessary to improve decisions and positively affect the measures of long-term plan success. FBi reports are available primarily through advisor/consultants, recordkeepers, TPAs and other plan service providers.
Prior to founding FBi, Tom Started the JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services business in 1990 with American Century. Upon leaving in October 2007, that business employed 1,100 people serving 200 large plan sponsors with over 1.5 million participants and more than $115 billion in assets.
During his 18 years with Retirement Plan Services, the company initiated numerous industry firsts including no blackout conversions and the innovative employee education program, Audience of One. Tom also served on the Executive Committee for JPMorgan’s asset management business.
Named by Ingram’s magazine as one of Kansas City’s inaugural class of “Forty most influential people under Forty,” Tom is a recognized expert in the retirement services industry who has been a featured speaker at various conferences and has published articles in some of the most well-known periodicals in the industry.
Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University with B.A. degrees in Economics and Computational Mathematics. He is also the first graduate of the Management Fellows Program and 3 year letterman in inter-collegiate basketball.
401(k) Fridays Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
As the Greek Philosopher Heraclitus said, the only thing that is constant is change. At no time has that statement likely been more accurate about 401(k) plans than where we are today in the retirement market. My guest George Castineiras is the Managing Director of Gibraltar Ventures. He spends his time speaking to and making investments in companies that are shaping what the next several decades of the retirement industry will look like, as a preview things will likely be very different. Our conversation highlights George’s experience focusses specifically on the concepts, trends and topics that employers should start thinking about today and keep an eye on over the next several years. Throughout, as only George can, he provides great examples, insights and predictions that will definitely leave you thinking!
Guest Bio
George Castineiras is responsible for exploring, developing and investing in transformational ideas and business strategies to power the ambitions of people, institutions, and communities.
Prior to leading Gibraltar Ventures, George ran the Total Retirement Solutions business where he oversaw sales, service, operations and product development for Prudential’s defined contribution, defined benefit and nonqualified executive benefit solutions. He joined Prudential in 2002 as head of Western Region Sales and was soon thereafter named senior vice president, National Corporate Sales. Later, he became senior vice president of Client Relations and Business Development for Prudential Retirement’s distribution and key account relationship management teams. He held a similar position with Prudential’s Institutional Income Innovations group.
Early in his career, George held sales leadership positions with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and The Principal Financial Group.
He is also the Founder and CEO of Castineiras Ventures, LLC. George has three patents, 10 patents pending and 16 trademarks.
George earned an MBA at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a dual bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from Loyola Marymount University. He has completed executive programs at Harvard, University of Michigan, Wharton, NYU, and LIMRA.
401(k) Fridays Podcast
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
Sometimes employers will comment, we don’t hear to much about the 401(k) from our employees, well that’s not because your employees don’t have questions, it’s likely because they are going elsewhere to get their answers! To help uncover what 401(k) participants are doing outside the watchful eyes of their employers, is my guest Catherine Golladay, the Senior Vice President of Participant Services and Administration at Charles Schwab. During our conversation, we explore how 401(k) participants are engaging with call centers, onsite education teams and advice offerings. Catherine does a great job pulling from her experience to share specific stories and examples for employers to help leverage what she has learned with her participant services teams. Finally, be sure to listen for her perspectives on the importance of merging plan design, technology and people as the key ingredients to improve plan health and participant retirement outcomes.
Guest Bio
Catherine Golladay is senior vice president of participant services and administration and has been with Charles Schwab since 1996. Ms. Golladay is responsible for plan administration, participant service centers and support teams, third party advice services, and education presenters within Schwab Retirement Plan Services.
Previously, Ms. Golladay was vice president of participant programs in Charles Schwab’s Corporate & Retirement Services business, where she was responsible for overseeing third party advice and education teams.
Ms. Golladay has been serving retirement plan clients since 1990 and has held management positions in compliance, client services, communication consulting, and participant service centers. Prior to joining Charles Schwab, Ms. Golladay was vice president of ERISA compliance at Key Bank. Before that she served as a Certified Public Accountant at S.R. Snodgrass and Co., LPA.
She is a Certified Public Accountant and a qualified 401(k) administrator (QKA). She also holds FINRA Series 7, 9/10, 24, 63, and 66 registrations.
Ms. Golladay earned a bachelor of science in accounting from the University of Akron. She also has a master of business administration from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
By leaps and bounds, target date funds, or lifecycle funds are the fastest growing investment in 401(k) plans primarily due to their popularity with plan sponsors as the qualified default investment alternative, or QDIA in their 401(k) plan. As some fiduciaries are starting to realize, evaluating target date funds can be a bit tricky due to the numerous variances in style from one fund to another. For that reason, I invited Rich Weiss, Senior Portfolio Manager at American Century Investments to help demystify target date funds and help employers better understand what they should focus on as they evaluate options in the market. Rich does a great job of effortlessly explaining both the fundamentals of target date funds and more specific concepts of risk that employers should be aware in their monitoring and evaluation process. He also discusses the three pillars of differentiation amongst target date managers, glide path construction, investment diversification and management style. As you will hear, some of his perspectives might make you rethink some things about your go forward strategy.
Guest Bio
Rich Weiss, is a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at American Century Investments. He is the co-portfolio manager for the firm’s asset allocation strategies, including Strategic Allocation, Global Allocation and One Choice Portfolios®. He also serves as a member of the firm’s Asset Allocation Committee, which is responsible for establishing investment policy and reviewing investment decisions for all of our asset allocation products.
Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Rich was executive vice president and chief investment officer of City National Bank, where he was responsible for their $12 billion investment management group and directed investment policy and strategy. Previously, he was executive vice president and chief investment officer at Sanwa Bank California, where he managed all aspects of their investment department. Earlier in his career, Rich held senior investment positions at Vantage Global Advisors, TSA Capital Management, PaineWebber and Mellon Bank. He has worked in the investment industry since 1984.
Rich holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has authored several academic papers and is well known for his advanced work in the field of global investing.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
Over the years, participant 401(k) plan loans have gotten a bad rap both with plan sponsors and within the industry. In this episode my guest, Todd Cowman, a Senior Consultant at the Principal Financial Group explores whether that bad reputation is deserved. Todd does a great job of explaining some of the fundamentals of 401(k) plan loans, which are often times misunderstood, and brings a frank overview of the pros and cons of 401(k) plan loans for participants and plan sponsors. Finally, he leaves plan sponsors with some thoughts on plan design and loan policy features to help limit the potential abuses of 401(k) loans.
Guest Bio
Todd Cowman is a Senior Consultant for the Principal Financial Group . Todd has been with the Principal Financial Group since 1993. He works primarily with Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit clients, both qualified and nonqualified, with up to $1B in retirement plan assets, designing an overall retirement program that is both cost effective to employers and meaningful to employees, while continuing to meet strict regulatory requirements.
Todd has focused much of his efforts around mergers and acquisitions, helping plan sponsors understand the unique plan design challenges that arise and navigating available options. He has assisted in developing multiple written documents related to this topic which are frequently used by plan sponsors and other financial professionals. Todd also assists plan sponsors in resolving plan operational/qualification failures and negotiating corrections with the Internal Revenue Service.
Todd is often asked to speak on various plan design topics at client specific and industry conferences as well as supporting our sales efforts in the field by participating in SWAT visits both in and outside our Corporate Center in Des Moines, IA. Todd earned his Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) designation from ASPPA in 2008.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
You might have heard that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, you also might understand a thing or two about Millenials, Generation Xers and Baby Boomers. However, what you might not realize is that having a better grasp on how different generations and genders approach preparing for retirement could actually help you improve your retirement plan health. My guest, Margaret Rux, is a principal and head of Strategic Retirement Consulting at Vanguard. Her team of attorneys, actuaries, plan analysts, and senior benefits professionals offer consulting, analysis, and expertise on a variety of fiduciary and regulatory issues affecting plan design and compliance. Margaret shares great insights from their research on the differences between the generations and genders in retirement plans. For plan sponsors, she shares strong evidence that your go forward plan design can be the great equalizer between historical differences between the groups.
Guest Bio
Margaret Rux is a principal and head of Vanguard Strategic Retirement Consulting. Her team of attorneys, actuaries, plan analysts, and senior benefits professionals offers consulting, analysis, and expertise on a variety of fiduciary and regulatory issues affecting plan design and compliance. Ms. Rux joined Vanguard in 1987. She has spent most of her career in Institutional Client Services and has also held leadership positions in Vanguard's retail and international businesses. Ms. Rux earned a B.S. from Ithaca College and an M.B.A. from Saint Joseph’s University. She is also a certified ERISA paralegal.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
If you are at all curious about how rising interest rates here in the United States could impact your 401(k) investments, employees and the economy, my guest Chris Dillon a fixed income portfolio specialist with T. Rowe Price covers these topics and more! During our conversation Chris does a great job of explaining in an understandable way some fundamental concepts such as what a fixed income yield curve is and how interest rate changes impact bond prices. He also helps make sense of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy, how negative rates and deflation in some countries could impact the US markets and why inflation is a good thing. Finally, he provides great insights on strategies employers can use in your 401(k) to position your fixed income offerings and to provide options that could do well in a rising interest rate environment. This episode is packed, I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Chris Dillon is a portfolio specialist in the Fixed Income Division at T. Rowe Price. He supports the Municipal Bond, International Bond, and Global Unconstrained Bond Strategies, working closely with clients, prospects, and consultants. Mr. Dillon is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
Mr. Dillon has 19 years of investment experience, 10 of which have been with T. Rowe Price. Prior to joining the firm in 2006, he was an investment advisory research consultant for PNC Advisors. Before PNC Advisors, Mr. Dillon directed fixed income management research for Smith Barney Consulting Group.
Mr. Dillon earned a B.A., cum laude, in history/economics from the University of Delaware and an M.B.A. in business administration from Wilmington University. He also has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
Well, I have to admit, this episode didn’t unfold quite the way I thought it was going to, however, thanks to my guest, Peter Dunn, aka Pete the Planner, it turned out to be the most inspirational and motivational episode of the 401(k) Fridays podcast yet. Pete the Planner® has a unique set of gifts as both an award-winning comedian and financial mind. He's a USA TODAY columnist and the author of ten books, and the host of the popular radio show The Pete the Planner Show. Pete has appeared regularly on CNN Headline News, Fox News, Fox Business as well as numerous nationally syndicated radio programs. During our conversation Pete draws on his years of experience working with individuals on their financial needs to cover a range of topics all relating to challenges participants face in saving for retirement. Most importantly, don’t miss the last several minutes of the podcast where Pete shares some very passionate and inspiring messages for employers about the important role you play in creating successful retirement outcomes for your employees.
Guest Bio
Peter Dunn a.k.a. Pete the Planner® is an award-winning comedian and an award-winning financial mind. He's a USA TODAY columnist and the author of ten books, six of which were featured in a nationwide launch at Barnes & Nobles stores in January of 2015. He is the host of the popular radio show The Pete the Planner Show on 93 WIBC FM and is a columnist for the Indy Star. Pete has appeared regularly on CNN Headline News, Fox News, Fox Business as well as numerous nationally syndicated radio programs. In 2012, Cision named Pete the fourth most influential financial broadcaster in the nation.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
Today's episode is absolutely packed with information for all plan sponsors regardless of the current “cash” or capital preservation strategy in your 401(k) plan. My guest, Brett Gorman, a SVP at PIMCO Investments and head of their Stable Value business shares valuable information about Money Market Reform and its impact on both plan sponsors and participants. He also lays out a great roadmap to help plan sponsors reevaluate their capital preservation strategy to find the right mix of principal protection, liquidity and real return. Be sure to listen for more details on what real return is and why it should be an important factor in your go forward capital preservation strategy.
Guest Bio
Mr. Gorman, a CFA Charterholder, is a senior vice president, an account manager in the defined contribution (DC) practice, and head of PIMCO’s stable value business. The PIMCO DC Practice, with over $100 billion of DC-related assets under management, is dedicated to promoting effective DC plan design and innovative retirement solutions and offers investment management for fixed-income, stable value and other capital preservation solutions, inflation protection, equities and asset allocation strategies such as target-date solutions. PIMCO has been managing stable value since 1992 and, with almost $30 billion in stable value assets under administration, provides a variety of stable value-related services to the market.
Mr. Gorman currently serves on the board of directors of Stable Value Investment Association (SVIA), an industry-peer elected position. The SVIA is dedicated to providing leadership and representation on issues related to stable value before the media, educators, legislators, regulators and opinion leaders, as well as serving as a forum for the exchange of ideas and discussion of issues important to the Stable Value industry. He has spoken at a variety of industry meetings and conferences, including at numerous SVIA Forums, the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Global Wealth & Retirement Solutions Conference, DCIIA, the PIMCO DC Advisory Council, and the SPARK Institute.
Prior to joining PIMCO, Mr. Gorman was a director and senior portfolio manager with the Deutsche Asset Management stable value team and a fixed income portfolio manager for institutional and governmental clients at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. He has 23 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
The new DOL Conflict of Interest Rule, what is also being referred to as the new DOL Fiduciary Rule, has introduced changes that some are calling the most significant since the introduction of ERISA over 40 years ago. While the rule will have a phased effective date beginning in April 2017, there are multiple items employers should begin exploring now. As usual, Sam does a great job of extracting specific elements of the 1100 page rule that employers should be aware of and provides questions to ask today along with specific next steps.
Guest Bio
Sam Henson, is a Vice President and Director of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs for Lockton Retirement Services. Sam also brings a unique perspective to our discussion today as prior to joining Lockton, he spent almost 10 years with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), where he conducted more than 150 civil and criminal investigations of employee retirement and benefits plans, service providers, and fiduciaries. He capped off his career at the DOL as the 2011 recipient of the Secretary of Labor’s Exceptional Achievement Award. Needless to say, we are glad we have Sam on our side now and he is not out there banging down the doors of employers any more!
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
While you might be familiar with the term behavioral finance, you have not heard my guest Stuart Ritter, from T. Rowe Price explain the origins, research and fundamentals behind why it is so important for employers to understand and embrace as they design their retirement plans. Stuart is a vice president and senior financial planner—designing, building, and implementing guidance and advice services to assist customers in achieving their financial goals. He has appeared on television and radio programs for networks like ABC News, Fox Business, and National Public Radio; and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, Money magazine, and other national news organizations. During our conversation, he shares useful and entertaining stories and analogies to help employers better understand the concepts of behavioral finance and why plan design options such as automatic enrollment and automatic increases are really not as foreign to employees as we may think. I hope you enjoy this fast paced and information packed episode!
Guest Bio
Stuart Ritter is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. He is a senior financial planner—designing, building, and implementing guidance and advice services to assist customers in achieving their financial goals. He has appeared on television and radio programs for networks like ABC News, Fox Business, and National Public Radio; and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, Money magazine, and national news organizations. Stuart received his B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland College Park, his M.A. in political science from the American University, and holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation. He taught personal finance at Johns Hopkins University for several years, and has also been an instructor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He is a member of the Maryland State Department of Education’s Financial Literacy Education Advisory Council.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
If you feel like you are spending the “right amount of money” in your retirement plan but not getting the results you expect in either recruiting, retention or employee retirement outcomes, spending more money to get better results doesn’t have to be the answer. According to my guest, Marc Howell without increasing costs, you could improve all three of those metrics by breaking away from a traditional retirement plan design and moving towards plan design customization. Marc is a Vice President and head of Custom Retirement Solutions with Prudential Financial. In our conversation he tackles preconceived notions about 401(k) plan design, how employers can deliver retirement benefits with surgical precision to either incentivize or reward employee behavior and how some popular employer contribution strategies are actually setting your employees up for failure in preparing for retirement. If you have not already subscribed to the podcast, go to iTunes or GooglePlay and search 401(k) Fridays and click subscribe. And now, enjoy conversation!
Guest Bio
Marc Howell, FSA, EA, Vice President – Custom Retirement Solutions at Prudential Financial, has over 17 years of experience working with sponsors of defined benefit and defined contribution plans. He leads a team of actuarial consultants tasked with providing custom design solutions within the defined contribution market, aiming to deliver better benefits for employees while driving improved bottom line results for employers.
He has redesigned retirement programs for numerous plan sponsors including both union and non-union workforces. Marc has partnered with these organizations to create new pension, executive, and defined contribution plans. His retirement programs are in place with organizations across the U.S., ranging from manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, higher education, and professional services organizations. Marc’s innovative approach to plan redesign won his clients 1st place in the PSCA Signature Awards, for both 2013 and 2015, in the following categories: 2013 – Plan Administrative and Design Changes and 2015 - Fiduciary and Plan Decision Resources
Marc was a Joseph Wharton Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, where he graduated with a B.S. in economics. He is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and an enrolled actuary.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
If you are with a manufacturing company, this is a can’t miss episode. Be sure to listen for key points specific to manufacturing companies about industry trends that are impacting plan design, plan health and employee retirement readiness. Also, my guest Scott Francolini shares great advice on how manufacturers can help recruit younger workers and help older workers make a successful and timely transition into retirement. I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Scott Francolini is Senior Vice President of Mid/Large Strategic Relationship Management at John Hancock Retirement Plan Services (JHRPS). He previously held the same role at New York Life Retirement Plan Services, which merged with JHRPS in April 2015. Scott joined our organization in 2009 and has more than 20 years of experience in financial services.
He was previously Retirement Practice Lead for our Manufacturing, Materials, and Retail/Distribution industry practice, where he was responsible for establishing its strategic direction and overseeing execution through a team of Relationship Managers, ERISA Consultants, Strategic Communication Consultants, and Investment Specialists.
Prior to joining our organization, he gained valuable retirement, brokerage, and advisory services experience at CIGNA Retirement & Investment Services, Prudential Financial, and Fidelity Investments.
Scott received a B.S. in Finance from Bryant College and an M.B.A. from the University of Hartford. In addition, he maintains his FINRA Series 7, 26, and 63 registrations and is licensed with the State of Massachusetts Insurance Department.
Outside of work, Scott enjoys traveling with his family, coaching youth soccer, and skiing.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
If you are an employer and are at all curious about what’s happening in Washington D.C. that might impact your 401(k) plan, I am happy to report that my guest Joan McDonagh likely covers it in today’s episode! Our conversation includes:
- Developments with state run retirement programs
- The DOL’s proposed Fiduciary Rule
- Initiatives to help participants generate lifetime income in retirement plans
- Tax reform and how it could impact retirement plans
- Potential impact of the upcoming presidential election on retirement plans
Guest Bio
Joan is an ERISA attorney with Empower Retirement and has been working with retirement plans for over 30 years. She is on the Government Relations Committee of the Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record Keepers (SPARK) and Chairs the Public Policy Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA). She has written numerous articles and presented a variety of seminars on retirement plan issues. And, if all that wan’t enough she is also a co-author of the 401(k) Answer Book.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Summary
Conflicts, compensation and reasonableness, what do these three words have in common? Ok, I ‘ll let you off the hook, these are the key issues at the heart of roughly 90% of the recent 401(k) litigation according to my guest, Jason Roberts ERISA Attorney and Founder of the Pension Resource Institute and the Retirement Law Group. Jason has been repeatedly recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. To help employers with those three issues, this episode drills into selecting and monitoring 401(k) service providers, a key fiduciary responsibility and one that is often misunderstood by plan sponsors. Jason shares strategies to determine fee reasonableness in light of the value, six open ended questions to evaluate service providers and unique insights such as low cost at all cost might not be the best fiduciary protection strategy. Finally, be sure to stick around for when he alludes to a criminal lawyer performing an ERISA plan document review. Sorry, 401(k) humor, I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Jason C. Roberts is the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI) providing strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors.
Prior to founding PRI, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading, national ERISA law firm where his practice focused on employee benefits and securities regulation. Jason continues to provide counsel on ERISA and investment-related matters at Retirement Law Group, PC and is frequently retained as an expert on fiduciary responsibilities, Department of Labor (DOL) investigations and retirement plan product development, design and implementation.
Jason was named as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. He is an active member of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) and American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). In 2014, Jason was appointed, for a two-year term, as an advisor for the Beach Cities Health District's finance committee.
Jason is a nationally-recognized speaker and has published numerous articles on fiduciary best practices, ERISA compliance and securities regulation. He is frequently quoted and interviewed by both professional and public publications.
Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law. He is a graduate of FINRA’s Compliance Boot Camp and has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
Let’s say you were running your 401(k) fiduciary committee meetings wrong, wouldn’t you want someone to tell you? Luckily, I was able to track down Jason Roberts, ERISA attorney and founder of the Pension Resource Institute to help set the record. straight. Jason has been repeatedly recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. In this episode you will hear tremendous insights on why you should develop a well balanced and prudent fiduciary process, how current 401(k) litigation is shedding new light on employer fiduciary best practices and finally, why all the time you spend discussing plan investments might not be providing you the protection you have been lead to believe it does. If you don’t have a pen and paper handy, don’t worry, i have bios, notes, links and a full episode breakdown on the website at www.401kfridays.com. Without further ado, here we go!
Guest Bio
Jason C. Roberts is the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI) providing strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors.
Prior to founding PRI, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading, national ERISA law firm where his practice focused on employee benefits and securities regulation. Jason continues to provide counsel on ERISA and investment-related matters at Retirement Law Group, PC and is frequently retained as an expert on fiduciary responsibilities, Department of Labor (DOL) investigations and retirement plan product development, design and implementation.
Jason was named as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. He is an active member of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) and American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). In 2014, Jason was appointed, for a two-year term, as an advisor for the Beach Cities Health District's finance committee.
Jason is a nationally-recognized speaker and has published numerous articles on fiduciary best practices, ERISA compliance and securities regulation. He is frequently quoted and interviewed by both professional and public publications.
Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law. He is a graduate of FINRA’s Compliance Boot Camp and has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
I am excited to share the first episode in our Sponsor Spotlight segment of the podcast! I had the pleasure to sit down with Brad Champagne, Senior Director of Human Resources at Mission Linen Supply in Santa Barbara, CA We’ve worked together for a long time and I’ve always been impressed by his thoughtfulness and ability to focus on the bigger picture. Brad shares candid details about his company, their culture, their 401(k) plan and most importantly the circumstances surrounding some significant plan changes they made to put their employees on a better path to retirement. As you will hear, the retirement committee really struggled with the impact and disruption to both their employees and the company the potential changes could have. Hopefully this isn’t too much of a spoiler but both the short and long term results have been beyond their expectations. Finally, there are some great takeaways for employers who are contemplating changes in their retirement plans. Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Brad Champage in the Senior Director of Human Resources at Mission Linen Supply in Santa Barbara, CA.
Over the past 23 years, Mr. Champagne has held positions of increasing responsibility within Human Resources at Mission Linen after initially joining the company as a Management Trainee in Operations. He has played a key role in many important initiatives at the company, including the implementation of an Enterprise HR operating system, the development of improved performance management systems and the execution of a new compensation program for Sales and Operations.
As Director of Compensation and Benefits since 2011, Champagne has guided the company’s benefit plans through changes required by the ACA and overseen administration of the company’s 401k plan, which won an Eddy Award in 2014 for outstanding education campaign.
Mr. Champagne received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has earned both the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) designations. When he’s not working, Mr. Champagne enjoys running and watching his three children participate in their various activities.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
Should there be a balance between employee and employer goals in a 401(k) retirement plan? This was a different statement and one that I felt employers could benefit from learning more about. This episode provides data and specific strategies on how and why everyone can benefit when their goals are aligned. My guest is Hugh O’Toole, President and founder of the Viability Advisory Group. During our conversation you will hear several unique insights and examples of the interplay between healthcare, wages, risk management and employee engagement as the main drivers of both employer and employee financial wellness. I hope you take as much away for this conversation as I did!
Guest Bio
Hugh O’Toole is Senior Vice President of the Viability Advisory Group, responsible for directing and promoting the firm’s efforts to quantify the value of helping employers and employees make the most of their retirement and other employee benefits.
O’Toole has an established track record as a disruptor in the retirement plans and benefits marketplaces. After founding Viability in 2014, O’Toole then joined MassMutual in 2015 when the insurer acquired the assets of his firm.
Previously, O’Toole headed distribution and relationship management for MassMutual for seven years, when the insurer more than doubled its retirement plan assets under management. MassMutual then doubled its assets again when O’Toole helped lead the acquisition of The Hartford’s Retirement Plans unit in 2013.
Before joining MassMutual, O’Toole led Principal Financial Group’s growth in the nonprofit and worksite insurance markets. He joined Principal after the insurer purchased his firm, Professional Pensions, Inc., which disrupted the nonprofit retirement plans market by making available lower-cost investment offerings previously available only to corporate retirement plans. O’Toole graduated from the State University of New York in Oneonta with a BS in psychology. He is a Registered Principal.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Description
If you ever wondered how you can strategically and cost effectively partner with an ERISA Attorney to improve and protect your retirement plan, this episode with Sherrie Boutwell, ERISA Attorney and partner at Boutwell Fay, a boutique ERISA law firm should be very helpful to you. Our discussion covered:
- Overview of common plan errors in retirement plan documents
- Points to negotiate in service provider contracts
- Need to properly delegate fiduciary authority
- Attorney-client privilege in ERISA plans
- Value of properly structured fiduciary liability insurance
- Options to fix 401(k) plan errors
- Other helpful thoughts and ideas!
Guest Bio
Sherrie Boutwell has focused for thirty years in the areas of employee benefits law and ERISA, with an emphasis on retirement and deferred compensation plans. She advises and counsels a broad range of clients, including employers, employees, plan fiduciaries, financial institutions and government agencies and trade associations, on a wide range of employee. Sherrie has extensive experience and is a highly sought after speaker and writer on employee benefits topics.
Sherrie has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association and the United States District Court with respect to employee benefits issues. Sherrie has experience working with the unique deferred compensation issues that arise in the non-profit and governmental employer arena and also has many years of experience in the design and operation of non-qualified executive deferred compensation plans including the requirements under Section 409A of the Code.
Sherrie takes pride in bringing a practical and down to earth approach to resolving complex benefits issues involving qualified plans, non-qualified plans and health and welfare plans.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Episode Overview
If you are in the Not-for-Profit Healthcare sector and sponsor a retirement plan, I have some great information for you! This is the first in a series of industry profile episodes that I will be making over the next several months. This episodes features a broad and interesting conversation with Brodie Wood, Senior Vice President, Not-for-Profit Markets at Transamerica Retirement Solutions. He shared several great pearls of wisdom for employers who sponsor a 403(b) or 401(k) plans in this sector such as:
- Business trends in the sector that may impact retirement plans
- Impact of physicians integrating back into hospital systems
- Updates on employer contribution levels
- Strategies to encourage higher participation and contribution rates
- Emergence of Retirement Readiness as a measure of plan success
- How introducing Financial Wellness can improve participant outcomes
For more information on this episode, please go to www.401kfridays.com.
If you like what you hear, please share with a colleague, friend or peer. Also, please leave feedback on iTunes or Google Play.
Guest Bio
Brodie Wood, is a Senior Vice President, and head of Not-for-Profit Markets at Transamerica Retirement Solutions. In his role, Mr. Wood leads and is responsible for the company’s not-for-profit business and product development efforts. He was previously Vice President of Transamerica’s Participant Counseling Organization, a group dedicated to delivering employee education and retirement planning for plan participants.
He has also served on the board of the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity in Health Management since 2010. He has been involved in the retirement plan field for the past fifteen years helping participants become retirement ready.
Mr. Wood earned his B.A. with a dual major in Spanish and Business from Utah State University. He has also completed his M.B.A. from Brigham Young University in 2002. He is a Six Sigma Green Belt and holds FINRA Series 26, 7, 63, and CRPC designations.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
The 401(k) Fridays podcast offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events.
Introduction
The 401(k) Fridays podcast offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events.
Episode Summary
The main focus of our conversation is determining if some common employer beliefs about retirement plan audits are truth or myth. John also pulls from his experience to offer some tips to employers who are preparing for their first audit and best practices for some grizzled veterans to help their audit run smoothly.
Guest Bio
My guest today is John Russon, a retirement plan auditor and founder of Pension Assurance, a single purpose audit firm that specializes in auditing qualified retirement plans. In 2005, after spending several years working at both “Big Four” and local CPA firms, John launched a small, independent practice dedicated to the audit of retirement plans. This fledgling practice was merged with a local CPA firm in 2006. Over the next seven years, the practice grew substantially. In 2007, the practice performed he formed Pension Assurance. As of early 2016, John and his firm audit over 170 retirement plans. According to the recent Department of Labor study, this puts them in the top 2% of firms that audit retirement plans. This also gives them great perspective on what is happening in the marketplace.
Show Links
Retirement Plan Auditor Sample RFP Questions
DOL Study on Retirement Plan Auditors
For my information please visit www.401kfridays.com
Introduction
The 401(k) Fridays podcast offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events.
Episode Description
We have a great episode to share with you today and it is a must listen if you are concerned about a DOL investigation of your 401(k) plan. Our conversation is full of great information about how the DOL operates and how DOL investigations are triggered. Be sure to listen for important steps you should take if you receive a letter notifying you of a DOL investigation. Finally, we close out the conversation with some recommendations and best practices to help avoid DOL investigations and minimize the severity of potential findings.
Guest Bio
My guest is Sam Henson, VP – Director of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs for Lockton Retirement Services. Sam also brings a unique perspective to our discussion today as prior to joining Lockton, he spent almost 10 years with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), where he conducted more than 150 civil and criminal investigations of employee retirement and benefits plans, service providers, and fiduciaries. He capped off his career at the DOL as the 2011 recipient of the Secretary of Labor’s Exceptional Achievement Award. Needless to say, we are glad we have Sam on our side now and he is not out there banging down the doors of employers any more!
For more information, please visit www.401kfridays.com
Introduction
The 401(k) Fridays podcast offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events.
Guest Bio
Jeff Judd is an Investment Analyst for Lockton Retirement Services. He graduated from the University of Kansas, go Jayhawks!, with a major in economics. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, Jeff attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he obtained his master’s degree in economics. He is also a CFA Level II Candidate. So he is basically an investment nerd. But, even with all of his technical knowledge, Jeff provided a very easy to follow commentary!
Episode Summary
Our conversation starts with a review of the market volatility we experienced in 2015 and thus far in early 2016. Jeff also shares valuable perspective for employers on how to evaluate your 401(k) plan investments during volatile markets. As you will hear, volatility can either highlight strengths or expose weakness in your mutual fund managers. Be sure to listen for important questions to help you evaluate the risk profile of your plan investments and tie that to how it could impact the performance of both your core mutual funds and target date strategy.
More Information
Please visit www.401kfridays.com
Introduction
The 401(k) Fridays podcast offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events.
Guest Bio
Donn Hess has almost 25 years of experience in the retirement services industry, the majority of that spent working for two of the largest recordkeepers in the country. He has played a part in every aspect of the retirement plan participant experience, ranging from overseeing call centers to building on-line tools to sitting side by side with some of the nation’s largest employers, developing custom communication strategies.
Episode Summary
The big takeaway from today’s conversation are that retirement education, or participant engagement as you will hear us refer to it, isn’t about education, or really even retirement, anymore. Plan design enhancements, technological advances and changing demographics have altered the way employers think about engaging employees with their retirement benefits. The menu of items to speak to participants about has broadened and is trending toward financial wellness. Communication is much more targeted and tailored to the individual. And the goals of these programs may be more aligned with corporate strategies that go beyond just the traditional savings programs.
More Information
Please visit www.401kfridays.com