401(k) Specialist Podcast

Pete Swisher Deciphers SECURE 2.0’s Complex Startup Tax Credit The new SECURE 2.0 legislation has brought with it plenty of questions and confusion about its 92 different provisions, and few might be more confusing—or impactful—than the startup tax credit provision for small employers. Independent fiduciary expert Pete Swisher of Group Plan Systems is here to help us sort through the confusion—and...

Tackling Student Loan Debt Relief Issues with Candidly’s Laurel Taylor  Student loan debt has gotten plenty of attention lately, thanks not only to the great news about the student loan debt repayment provision in SECURE 2.0, but also because of the ongoing pause on federal student loan payments, President Biden’s controversial student debt forgiveness program, and the lawsuits from a number of re...

Josh Itzoe’s Been Busy, and 401(k) Advisors are Reaping the Benefits Former TAPO honoree Josh Itzoe is now spending his days helping other 401(k) advisors. As the Founder & CEO of FiduciaryWor(k)s and its FiduciaryRx platform, he focuses on developing insights, research, technology, fiduciary consulting, and practice management coaching in the areas of fiduciary responsibility and workplace re...

Bonnie Treichel Talks Retirement Income Solutions, the New ESG Rule and SECURE 2.0 There’s a select few people in the retirement business who seem like they’re just about everywhere, and are involved in just about everything. Bonnie Treichel from Endeavor Retirement is one of those people. As the Chief Solutions Officer of Endeavor Retirement, she uses her unique experience as an ERISA attorney an...

The Groom Law Group’s Jake Eigner Talks Final SECURE 2.0 Hurdles and New ESG Rule Impacts Groom Law Group Attorney Jake Eigner—a rising young star in the ERISA community—highlights some of the sticking points that need to be worked out in finalizing the SECURE 2.0 retirement reform package on Capitol Hill, including differences in the three bills making up the package, RMD age timelines, and an is...

The Carson Group’s Jamie P. Hopkins is a busy guy. A nationally recognized writer and researcher who frequently speaks at events around the country, Jamie is the Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions at the Carson Group, and he’s also a Finance Professor at Creighton University’s Business School. On top of that, he’s got a new book this month, “Find Your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Pu...

Surprising Findings About Participant Retirement Income Perceptions: Invesco’s Greg Jenkins   Our friends at Invesco recently released a voluminous new study exploring 401k plan participant and plan sponsor preferences for generating long-term retirement income. The research unearthed some rather surprising findings, including that only a very small percentage of 401k participants are confident in...

What Excites, Intrigues Ascensus CEO David Musto about the Industry? What’s happening with sequence-of-return risk, inflation, and the possibility of more delayed retirements? There are few better to answer than Dave Musto, CEO of independent recordkeeping giant Ascensus. Musto joins us to talk about these topics and more, and as Halloween approaches, what scares him about the industry? 

Here's the Skinny on President Biden's Student Loan Debt Relief Long expected, it's finally happened. President Biden declared student loan debt relief for certain borrowers through what the administration calls targeted cancellation. We wanted to know what it meant for borrowers and retirement savers and what impact it might have on employee benefits, so we asked Jeffrey Hull, foun...

SRP’s Shannon Maloney Likes to Make Tough Guys Cry—Here’s Why Shannon Maloney is a Desert Storm veteran, Managing Director with Strategic Retirement Partners (SRP) , and a monthly finalist for the 2022 Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes. Shannon joined us to talk about ESOPs and defined benefit plans, which are two areas of her expertise. She also discussed what her military background taught her...

Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm on Who Owns the Participant and What’s Next for Recordkeeping We pitched Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm a softball question to start the interview and hit him with a hard follow-up. True to form, he deftly fielded both. The digital 401(k) recordkeeper is on a tear of late, raising money from major players, and is now named to INC. magazine’s list of the fastest growing U.S. co...

Schroders’ Deb Boyden on Alternative Assets, ESG, and Other Investment Menu Hot Button Issues Developing an effective investment menu for 401(k) plan sponsors is always a tricky yet interesting proposition. Include too few options and it lacks proper diversification, but add too many, and plan participants are quickly overwhelmed. Schroders’ Deb Boyden, Head of US Defined Contribution, is here to...

intellicent’s Grant Arends Adds Another ‘F-Word’ to Fees, Funds, and Fiduciary It’s always fun speaking with the Arends brothers about their very successful financial firm intellicents. Grant Arends, the company’s Co-Founder and President of Retirement Services, also happens to be our Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes (TAPO) for the month of July, an honor long overdue.  He joins us to discuss h...

Recordkeeper Revolutionary Faith Teope on Combating Financial Abuse Faith Teope is a multimedia journalist, advocate, and retirement industry expert with a passion for helping others. Her fascinating story includes going from executive assistant to CEO of Texas-based TPA and recordkeeper Leverage Retirement . She’s dedicated to combating financial abuse, which she notes is often silent and shows n...

This week, we’re joined by high-profile advisor Tyrone Ross Jr. , whose outspokenness on controversial topics has gotten him noticed of late.  After a surprising, and as of yet, unexplained exit from the crypto platform he co-founded, he’s back with two new endeavors, which he explains in the latest issue of our magazine . He also talks about bitcoin in retirement plans, financial education, and w...

Nicole Corning is a published author, podcaster, blogger, former political strategist, and managing partner with Buckman & Corning Financial Strategies Group. If that isn't enough, she also happens to be our Top Advisor By Participant Outcomes (TAPO) for the month of April. Among other topics, she joins us to discuss a particular retirement plan case that, while successful, was extremely...

We all know the dangers of using too many industry buzzwords, but Mike Webb of CAPTRUST found some surprises when doing his own research. We have to say Webb or Webby to friends and colleagues is one of our more enjoyable conversations recently due to his infectious energy. He joined us to discuss a niche market of particular success, one of the worst things about being acquired by an aggregator,...

Recent market volatility has people thinking about guaranteed income sources in retirement, and there’s not a bigger one for most Americans than Social Security. But when to claim and how to best pair it with other retirement income sources are critically important questions, which thankfully Sri Reddy, Senior Vice President with Retirement and Income Solutions at Principal Financial Group , is he...

Here’s a little Monday morning and Monday afternoon inspiration, Chris Roper has a lofty goal of helping one million people over the course of his career, and so far, he’s on track to do so. It’s one of the reasons Roper, with Kansas-based Qualified Plan Advisors , is one of our Top Advisors by Participant Outcomes . He tells us about how, specifically, he’ll reach his goal, a retirement plan case...

Anyone who knows Sheri Fitts knows her hard-charging, yet fun, approach to marketing and branding. The speaker, consultant, and creator with Sheri Fitts & Co. is a staple on the conference circuit , preaching the need for the digital adoption of social media marketing tactics for 401(k) advisors, and the real business-building and revenue-generating opportunities that result. Her energy and en...

Student loan debt is a big problem that’s getting bigger, affecting multiple aspects of an employee’s financial life, retirement savings being just one. Laurel Taylor is doing something about it. The MIT grad and CEO of innovative fintech firm FutureFuel.io are out to CRUSH student debt in the workplace and beyond. Taylor joins us to discuss the scope of the problem, if it’s getting better or wors...

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better ambassador for the 401k advisory space than Brad Arends . The Co-Founder and CEO of intellicents sit on conference panels, organizing committees, and anywhere else to get the word out about helping underserved American workers save for retirement. His focus goes far beyond simply investing in the 401k, and he’s banging the drum about what it will really take...

SageView Advisory Group’s Rodney Balbuena is a bilingual 401(k) advisor in Southern California who also happens to be our Top Advisor By Participant Outcomes for February . Through a combination of technology and one-on-one meetings, he’s tripled employee deferral rates over the course of five years. But the emotional impact of market corrections threatens his hard work. He joins us to discuss it,...

How does the U.S. retirement system compare with other countries in retiree satisfaction? For all its faults, you’d be surprised. Andrew Biggs, one of the busiest people we know, is a Forbes columnist, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and is a member of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico. He recently took a look at the issue and came away with a numbe...

Will Hackler is a big personality with a big book of 401k business, and he’s also our Top Advisor By Participant Outcomes recipient for January . One of the most competitive advisors we’ve come across, the president of Integrated Pension Services joins us to describe the particular case of which he’s most proud, why he chose to narrow his business focus, and his surprising take on auto portability...