401(k) Roundtable

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 class...

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 bot...

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 t...

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...

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...

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 Loa...

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 wit...

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...

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 emplo...

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...

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 anoth...

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 Dire...

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...

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...

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 investme...

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 help...

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...

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 Cou...

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 s...

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 way...

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...

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 o...

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 communic...

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...

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 th...