The mere thought of a 401(k) lawsuit can send shivers down the spine of even the most experienced retirement plan fiduciary. However, when you have a grasp on why workplace retirement plans are being sued, how the economics of a lawsuit work and what you can do to make the job of a plaintiff’s attorney harder, the risk can be a little easier to manage. For answers to these and more questions, I thought it was time to invite Jerry Schlichter, the plaintiff’s attorney who has sued numerous 401(k) ...
Jan 11, 2019•1 hr 7 min
Happy New Year and here is looking forward to another successful year on the 401(k) Fridays Podcast! We kick things off with my conversation with Jason Roberts, ERISA Attorney and the Founder & CEO of the Pension Resource Institute. As a prior and early podcast guest, the two prior episodes we did are still very relevant. While you don’t need to listen to them prior to this conversation, they are good to check out when you have a minute. Prior Episodes: Are You Running Your 401(k) Committee ...
Jan 04, 2019•1 hr 3 min
With market volatility picking up and unique things happening on almost a daily basis, my conversation today with Jeff Shulze, CFA and Investment Strategist withClear Bridge investments is both timely and full of perspective. In classic 401(k) Fridays Podcast fashion be define a few important terms and concepts that keep popping up in the headlines and offer some perspective on how they are moving markets, the economy or both. Jeff also offers a few points of optimism and his input on what could...
Dec 21, 2018•59 min
Stable value funds, what are they, how do they work and what should you consider if you have one, thinking about moving to a new one or making the switch from a money market account. My guest, Bob Madore, a Vice President and Stable Value Portfolio Manager with T. Rowe Price answers these questions and much more. I start out with a pretty pointed question right out of the gate that sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. We also cover in great detail the impact of interest rates on stabl...
Dec 14, 2018•1 hr 1 min
When we get the question of “What is the best strategy for me to save for retirement” and it comes for an entrepreneur, the answer is seldom as simple as it might seem. So, where and how do you start? We thought it would be helpful to cover a few key concepts and then follow the progression of an entrepreneur along their journey from a “solopreneur” with an idea or inspiration for a business to experiencing some success, hiring employees, scaling and eventually selling the business and weave in ...
Nov 16, 2018•1 hr 2 min
This is a pretty straightforward episode, Collective Investment Trusts, or CITs are more widely available as options for plan fiduciaries and their service providers to utilize in their investment line-ups, they are still misunderstood by many. To help inform the conversation I have Rob Barnett, Vice President of Wilmington Trust and Head of their Institutional Retirement Sales & Service. I am not going to spoil what the one question is that all retirement plans need to ask, but what you wil...
Nov 09, 2018•52 min
Today is a real treat, not only is this a timely episode based on current market conditions but we welcome back Rob Arnott, the Founder & Chairman of Research Affiliates who manages billions of dollars and who for the third time, shares his insights with us on the podcast. If you have missed any of our prior conversations go check them out after you finish this one, in 2016 we talked about whether Third Pillar Investment Belong In Your 401(k) Plan, then in 2017 we talked about Avoiding the B...
Nov 02, 2018•1 hr 3 min
Maybe you’re are like me, you have heard the term blockchain before, but if someone asked you to define it, you would have a tough time. Hopefully after you listen to my conversation with Micheal Barry, an author and President of O3 Plan Advisory Services, you will have a better idea of what blockchain is, and how it could impact 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans in the future. During our conversation we hit on distributed ledger technology and how it relates to blockchain, how provide...
Oct 26, 2018•47 min
From time to time we will take a side trip off the 401(k) path and explore other related topics. Today is a great example of this where we take a minute to explore the 401(k) cousins if you will, in 403(b) and 457 plans. My guest, Sandy Blair is a Director and CALSTRS or the California Teachers Retirement System and a board member at the NAGDCA, or the National Association of Governmental Defined Contribution Administrators. As you will hear, while there are some similarities among governmental ...
Oct 19, 2018•41 min
Do the largest 0.1% of workplace retirement plans in the country or the “Mega Plans” do things the same as the other 99.9% of plans? As you will hear from my guest, Charlie Nelson, CEO of Retirement & Employee Benefits of VOYA Financial, sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. I had a few technical issues and distractions on my end to deal with right before we got started but once we got going this is a fast paced conversation where we hit on some topics things you might expect us to talk a...
Oct 05, 2018•1 hr 1 min
If you have been searching for a candid overview on the state of workplace retirement plan education in the world of automatic enrollment and changing technology, then look no further than this episode with Catherine Golladay, Senior Vice President for Participant Services & Administration at Charles Schwab. During this fast paced conversation we hit on what is working and not working with 401(k) education, why if you are still offering pizza lunch and learns you aren’t getting the results y...
Sep 28, 2018•58 min
Based on the recent IRS private letter ruling I though this would be a good episode from the archives to repost. While this episode is almost two years old, my guest, Tony Aguilar, who at the time was the co-founder and CEO of Student Loan Genius could not be more current and relevant about the realities and challenges that come with 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...
Sep 21, 2018•58 min
This episode is a perfect example of one where I get to use the podcast as my own research lab and learn right along side of you. Environmental, Social & Governance investments, or ESG or is it ES&G strategies, is a new topic here on the podcast and one that i have been looking forward to exploring. Their popularity seems to have ebbed and flowed in the 401(k) investment world, but as a strategy it is defiantly here to stay. My guest, Sean Kenney, A CFA and Managing Director for MFS Inve...
Sep 14, 2018•51 min
Guest Bio Kevin Murphy is a senior vice president and Head of the Defined Contribution Strategic Accounts team for Franklin Templeton's US Investment-Only division. He is responsible for directing and expanding sales of mutual funds and sub-advised portfolio products in employer-sponsored retirement plans. In addition to leading the team of Strategic Account Managers, his primary focus is on mid-market advisory firms with a national footprint, and serves as the primary liaison with these firms a...
Sep 07, 2018•1 hr
We have talked about financial wellness on the podcast before, but not like this. My conversation today with Bill Harmon, President of Retirement Corporate Markets for Voya Financial illustrates how a thoughtful approach to financial wellness can help you become the employer of choice in your market and make a meaningful difference in the battle to attract and retain key talent. As you will hear, Bill shares a very personal and emotional story about how he found comfort in leaving his prior empl...
Aug 24, 2018•53 min
This episode was a real treat for me and hopefully will be for you. I am excited share my conversation with The Honorable Phyllis Borzi, the former Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration under President Obama. We covered a range of topics that regardless of your involvement with workplace retirement plans should keep your interest. I am also proud that while we talked about her time at the DOL, the majority of our focus was looking forward and exploring ho...
Aug 17, 2018•1 hr 33 min
Maybe I'm a little early with the football analogy, but it seemed to fit. Today, we welcome back Tom Clark, an ERISA Attorney and Partner at The Wagner Law Group as we discuss five 401(k) fiduciary fumbles we see plan sponsors make. As a return guest who I have gotten to know pretty well, we have a little fun and share some insight along the way. Whether it is clarifying the importance of fiduciary analysis vs. process, mistakes to avoid when "outsourcing" fiduciary responsibility, or the inevit...
Aug 10, 2018•1 hr 2 min
Welcome back to new episodes of the 401(k) Fridays Podcast! After taking a little hiatus in July I am really excited about what we have in store for the remained of the year. Also, during our little break I updated the podcast intro, if you skipped it go back and give it a quick listen. We also updated the website, thank you Jonah and Annie at Puddlecreative. Go to 401kfridays.com and check that out, and while you are there don’t forget to subscribe to our email list. All done with housekeeping,...
Aug 03, 2018•1 hr 9 min
We are taking a brief summer hiatus. Enjoy this episode from the archives. New episodes will resume again in August. Enjoy! This episode is fresh out of the 401(k) Fridays Podcast experiment lab. Today my guest JD Carlson, the President & CEO of the legendary Third Party Administration firm Plan Design Consultants and Host of the Retireholi(k)s show we poke a little bit of fun with 401(k) speak. Each of us took the time to prepare a few statements that are full of retirement plan terms, or m...
Jun 29, 2018•1 hr 5 min
Employers consistently want to know what other employers are doing in their 401(k) plan. In this episode we drill into the decisions employers are making about plan design, investment options, fiduciary process and employee retirement outcomes. The heavy lifting is done by Derek Wallen, a SVP at Fidelity and architect of their annual Plan Sponsor Attitudes Survey. Derek does a nice job highlighting the key finds of this years survey which is hot off the presses and comparing result to prior year...
Jun 22, 2018•52 min
Its getting to be that time of year again, no not that time of year, its time to plan for benefits open enrollment. Over the last several years all the changes and activity in health plans has grabbed the headlines and the lions share of the focus of employee meetings. This year, and going forward where does the 401(k) plan fit? To shed some light on this I am happy to have Peg Knox who today is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of DCIIA. But not so long ago she was the global retirement plans m...
Jun 15, 2018•57 min
There has been vast improvement by retirement plan fiduciaries when it comes to reviewing fees and investments. We even see more retirement plan committee who check the box on other important fiduciary tasks. But does that mean they have a good governance process? With that said, what is fiduciary governance, what does good governance look like and can you be a top notch fiduciary but leave yourself exposed to risk with poor governance? We tackle this and more today in my conversation with Andy ...
Jun 08, 2018•57 min
Believe it or not, but it has been over six months since we have tackled about financial wellness on the podcast. Today, Chris Whitlow, the Founder & CEO of Edukate, address the red hot topic. In our conversation today we tackle an interesting thought on financial wellness, despite nearly everyone talking about it, are employers actually embracing it? We share some thoughts on that along with four steps to start an effective financial wellness program, if financial wellness is a product or p...
Jun 01, 2018•58 min
In case you hadn’t noticed, Target Date Funds (TDFs) are kind of a big deal in workplace retirement plans. My guest, Jeff Holt, a Director of Multiasset Strategies at Morningstar and one of the authors of their 10th annual Target Date Landscape report cites their use as default funds in retirement plans as one of the key reasons they hit $1 Trillion dollars in assets in 2017. During our conversation today, we discuss the significance of that accomplishment and hit a few other highlights includin...
May 25, 2018•54 min
With the continued focus on fees in workplace retirement plans I thought it might be good to pivot the conversation and tackle some of the realities around the what actually goes into running a successful and compliant plan. To add some muscle to the conversation I have Ed Murphy, President of Empower Retirement. Ed and his team are responsible for over 30,000 of thousands of retirement plans and over 8 million participants. Our conversation ranges from what it takes to keep the proverbial train...
May 18, 2018•1 hr 3 min
The DOL Fiduciary Rule died, or did it? Maybe its coming back to life in another form, through another government agency or even the states will take a crack at it. What should employers know? How will this impact employees? In this timely and action packed episode I am excited to have Fred Reish, ERISA Attorney extraordinaire with Drinker Biddle and the closest follower I know of the long and winding path of the fiduciary rule. For many, Fred requires no introduction. If you are not familiar Fr...
May 11, 2018•1 hr 1 min
With so much focus on employee engagement and financial wellness, what happens when you actually get your employees attention and they use the tools they are provided to help calculate what they need to do to have a successful retirement, and they are given bad information? My guest today, Tom Kmak, CEO of Fiduciary Benchmarks has thought a great deal about it, so much so that I think he even admitted talking to retirement calculators, but in all seriousness he has some timely input and food for...
May 04, 2018•49 min
My conversation with Lynn Avitabile, Managing Director in the the Multi-Asset Group of J.P Morgan Asset Management and Wei Hu, Vice President of Financial Research at Financial Engines really cleared some things up for me on the role of Target Date Funds and Managed Accounts in workplace retirement plans. We have talked about Target Date Funds several times on the podcast, but Managed Accounts not so much. As we are accustomed to doing we start with some definitions of terms and then quickly jum...
Apr 27, 2018•1 hr 8 min
Unfortunately, mistakes are made when running workplace retirement plans. My guest, Marcia Wagner, the founder of The Wagner Law Group brings her over thirty years of experience working on ERISA matters to the podcast today and shares her list of the top 10 mistakes she sees retirement plan sponsors make. For a little background, Marcia is perennially listed as one of the most influential people in the retirement industry, is frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal and other publications an...
Apr 20, 2018•1 hr 7 min
The inspiration for this episode came from a request for proposal I received recently from a company in my day job as a workplace retirement plan consultant After giving it a quick read through, my initial reaction was wow, this company is in a fiduciary defensive shell. Their entire focus was on managing and limiting their fiduciary liability. I guess if you consider the lawsuits and fiduciary messaging I can understand their positioning. So, that got me thinking, should workplace retirement pl...
Apr 13, 2018•1 hr 5 min
