401(k) Fridays Podcast

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, ques

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

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 tra

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 subscr

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 impor

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

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 di

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 alte

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

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

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 h

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

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

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 v

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

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 ha

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 co

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 f

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 Advance

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