401(k) Specialist Podcast

Dr. Wade Pfau ran neck-and-neck with Morningstar’s Christine Benz as our most popular podcast guest of 2021 and we're excited to have him back to kick off season two. Inflation is a major topic at the moment and Pfau, author, speaker, and professor at the American College of Financial Services , describes its effect on retirement income. He also explains tax-efficient retirement distributions...

Anyone who knows Pete Swisher knows that he’s the go-to resource for anything fiduciary and pool plan-related. His pension expertise and industry tenure make the self-proclaimed ‘pension geek’ highly sought after, especially with all that’s happening on the regulatory front.  He recently announced a partnership with top ERISA attorney Jason Roberts of Pension Resource Institute (PRI). The new vent...

Brian Graff recently celebrated 25 years at the helm of the American Retirement Association , and he posted side-by-side budgets on LinkedIn from 1996 and 2021. Let’s just say it’s grown considerably over two-plus decades. Graff joined us to discuss his anniversary and his achievements but true to form he preferred to keep the focus on the ARA and retirement plans. We spoke about how the organizat...

Guaranteed income in retirement plans is a big issue—big because it’s important, complex, and getting a lot of attention, especially in the wake of the SECURE Act. It’s increasingly an industry focus, and now several players have come together to form a Lifetime Income consortium . Broadridge Fi360 Head John Faustino said it’s a targeted initiative to catalyze lifetime income adoption for the indu...

It’s hardly news to note the red-hot M&A market in the 401(k)-advisory space, but Dick Darian tells us why it’s happening, how long it will continue, and how advisors can capitalize. We’re not talking about walking away with a pile of money, necessarily, but how an acquiring partner can provide scale and resources to grow the business further. Darian, founder of M&A consulting firm Wise Rh...

Creative Planning’s Peter Mallouk, one of the largest RIAs in the country, caused a minor controversy last week with his criticism of target-date funds , calling them a “terrible choice for most people.” An intense yet respectful debate then erupted on Twitter, which is almost unheard of for the platform, with Morningstar’s Christine Benz, among others, weighing in. Benz joined us to discuss the s...

We’re joined by Gerard Baker, Editor-at-Large of The Wall Street Journal and author of the weekly “Free Expression” column. Baker previously served as Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones from 2013 to 2018 and has been a journalist for over 30 years. Our discussion touched on inflation, ESG, Bitcoin, and, of course, retirement-related issues. Sponsored By: T. Rowe Price

Chad Johansen is a Partner and Director of Consulting with California-based Plan Design Consultants , and he’s also its resident 401k nerd. And thank God for that, because without him, the firm’s weekly Retireholi(k)s webcast would devolve into even more of a drunken mess than it already is. If you’re completely lost, check out the latest issue of our magazine. In the meantime, Johansen had great...

We had a controversial question about bitcoin in 401(k)s, so of course, we went to Anthony Scaramucci , the investment manager and political heavyweight who the New York Post called one of the city’s top powerbrokers. He launched his bitcoin fund in January, and the timing could not have been better, as the price skyrocketed in the following months. His high-profile SALT conference, with its extre...

Teresa Ghilarducci once called the 401k an immature, underdeveloped child that needs help over a mudpuddle to the curve when crossing a street. While we disagree, we love the imagery. A labor economist and nationally recognized expert in retirement security with The New School for Social Research , Ghilarducci is a consistent and prolific advocate for a better system, however defined. She often pa...

Few, if any, know ERISA better than Marcia Wagner . The high-profile attorney is the go-to person to explain complex regulatory guidance to the layperson, one reason the law firm she founded is so successful. We asked her what’s keeping her up at night and her answer was not what we expected, but insightful as always. Wagner clues us in on rollover regulation, ESG , and an important milestone in h...

We just have to ask if anyone knows if Ross Marino has time to sleep. Advisor2X, the firm he founded in 2010, has held over a thousand events in 50 cities, all focused on advisory practice growth. Then there’s his own wealth management and retirement plan book of business, his OUTCOMES podcast, and oh yeah, his new book, Shaping Change: How To Respond When Life Disrupts Your Retirement Plan , writ...

It’s difficult to find a better ambassador for the retirement plan space than Jania Stout , founder of Fiduciary Plan Advisors , a OneDigital company. Her enthusiasm and engagement are infectious and while retirement saving is her focus, she’s helping her client with so much more. She was on the road for a summer vacation but nonetheless made time for us, and we started with student loan debt, one...

Barbara Roper is an outspoken advocate for effective regulation to protect the public from predatory practices, and she’s often critical of watered-down rules friendly to the industry. As director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America , she makes frequent targets of Reg BI and the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule. She has a lot to say about where we are with the new adm...

Samantha Russell is chief evangelist with Twenty Over Ten, a digital marketing platform for financial professionals. Russell’s practical yet insightful digital marketing tips and techniques have helped thousands of financial professionals experience significant growth. And lord knows, when it comes to digital marketing, they certainly need the help. Russell joins us to discuss what advisors can do...

As pandemic restrictions evaporate and the U.S. economy looks to fully reopen, many 401k-focused advisors are predicting big things for the rest of 2021 as plan sponsors and participants refocus on retirement-related issues. And they’re not the only ones focused on retirement issues this year, as lawmakers in Washington D.C. continue to build momentum toward passing more significant retirement ref...

With a total of roughly $1.7 trillion, student loan debt is a major issue for many Americans. Whether or not it’s an actual impediment to retirement saving, participants often believe it is, acting as a phycological hurdle that often prevents them from saving. We turn to the one and only Alex Assaley for insight. Alex is managing principal with AFS 401(k) Retirement Services, our overall Top Advis...

Dr. Wade Pfau is a Professor of Retirement Income with The American College of Financial Services. Pfau’s low-key, academic style belies his groundbreaking research in the area of retirement income, making him a leading voice in what can be complicated, yet critically important, issues for most Americans. We asked him about common retirement income mistakes that can kill a portfolio, the pitfalls...

Jake Rushton, a tech-savvy advisor with TrueNorth Wealth in Salt Lake City, is doing some amazing things with social media engagement. He’s part of a younger generation of plan professionals who are overturning and improving on a traditional, staid (some would say boring) defined contribution system and actually making 401(k)s fun, attracting attention, and clients, by doing so. We asked him about...

Private equity and retirement plans – do they belong together? It’s a complicated issue, with needed yield and diversification on the one hand and complexity and the potential for abuse on the other. Ric Edelman , author, talk show host, and founder of investing powerhouse Edelman Financial Engines has clear and direct views on the subject. He breaks it down for us. He also reveals the additional...

Pooled employer plans are getting a lot of attention, but do they live up to the hype? JD Carlson has strong feelings on the subject. The CEO of California-based TPA Plan Design Consultants is also the host of Retireholi(k)s, a fun and informative weekly webcast that combines alcohol, adolescent hijinks, and serious discussions of the issues surrounding retirement plans. It’s attracted some of the...

Is financial wellness actually working and is the general public even familiar with the term? Jean Chatzky is CEO and co-founder of HerMoney.com and the financial editor of NBC’s “Today” show. She’s also a prolific writer of 11 bestselling books. Jean’s well-versed in financial wellness and how it’s measured, as well as its connection to health and wellness, and she reveals the five things needed...

Fred gets frank about fiduciary . It’s a new year, a new Congress, and a new direction with so many of the issues that affect the 401(k) and retirement plan space. This week, we turn to the one and only Fred Reish , one of the country’s top ERISA experts with legal powerhouse Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath , for a discussion of fiduciary, ESG investing, Reg BI, and committee meetings in a time...

We try to get Dr. David Blanchett, Morningstar’s Head of Retirement Research, to commit to settling an important debate once and for all about target-date funds—do investors need to be “ all in ” in their allocations in order for TDFs to work properly, or can some assets be held away. We also take a close look at target-date strategies amid the volatility of 2020 and look to what lies ahead in 202...

You can always count on Ed Murphy for straight talk and honest opinions, and he doesn’t disappoint in our wide-ranging interview. Murphy, President, and CEO of Empower Retirement, is here to discuss M&A and consolidation in the recordkeeping space, the work environment during the pandemic, and NFL football. Empower announced two major acquisitions in 2020, Personal Capital and MassMutual’s ret...