401(k) Fridays Podcast

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 con

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 Richar

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 constr

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 fa

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 mana

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 Asso

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 healt

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 e

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 befor

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 Treasur

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 activiti

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 ana

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 publicati

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

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

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

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 associat

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 Stra

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 pl