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 subscribed to the podcast, search 401(k) Fridays on iTunes or your favorite podcast app or go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe today, we release a valuable new episode every Friday! And now, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Kelly!
Guest Bio
Dr. David Kelly is the Chief Global Strategist and Head of the Global Market Insights Strategy Team for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. With over 20 years of experience, David provides valuable insight and perspective on the economy and markets to thousands of financial advisors and their clients.
Throughout his career, David has developed a unique ability to explain complex economic and market issues in a language that financial advisors can use to communicate to their clients. He is a keynote speaker at many national investment conferences. David is also a frequent guest on CNBC, and other financial news outlets and is widely quoted in the financial press.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Asset Management, David served as Economic Advisor to Putnam Investments. He has also served as a senior strategist/economist at SPP Investment Management, Primark Decision Economics, Lehman Brothers and DRI/McGraw-Hill.
David is a CFA® charterholder. He also has an Ph.D and M.A. in Economics from Michigan State University and a B.A. in Economics from University College Dublin in the Republic of Ireland.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business.
We are quickly approaching our 50th podcast episode! In prior episodes we have explored timely and relevant topics for employers and retirement plan sponsors ranging from fiduciary best practices, behavioral finance, plan design trends, financial wellness and much more! To explore our growing library of content, if you are subscribed to the podcast, scroll through your podcast app and pick a few episodes that catch your interest, or go to 401kfridays.com/podcasts to find prior episode descriptions, guest bios bonus information and more!
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 important topics such as the biggest mistakes employers make when evaluating target date funds, should downside and upside risk be looked at the same and how could different capital preservation strategies react during a rising interest rate environment. Oh, and he also addresses that multi-asset alternative thing. Now, here is my conversation with Frank!
Guest Bio
As the Vice President & Director of Investment Services for the Lockton Retirement Services, LLC, Frank leads national initiatives and projects to improve Lockton’s overall client experience. Frank is a CFA Charterholder. Prior to joining Lockton he worked as a Senior Investment Analyst at American Century Investments. Frank graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Finance and Economics.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
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 listen for some great ideas on helping HR & Finance communicate effective about employee financial wellness.
To download a copy of the PwC Financial Wellness Survey go to www.401kfridays.com/pwc. While you are there, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and our email list so you don’t miss any future episodes!
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kent!
Guest Bio
Kent is the National Leader of PwC’s Employee Financial Wellness Practice, which specializes in providing un-biased financial wellness and counseling services to employees of domestic and multi-national organizations.
Recognized as one of the world’s leading advocates of employee financial wellbeing, and the author of PwC’s Annual Employee Financial Wellness Survey, Kent has served as a strategic advisor to leading financial institutions, worked with various government entities focused on improving financial literacy, consulted with the US Military to address the needs of its personnel and is involved with various initiatives in the not-for-profit and charitable arena.
He is a regular guest speaker at conferences across the globe, is frequently quoted in the press and has served as technical advisor and key contributor to four books on financial planning.
He is a CPA, a Personal Financial Specialist, a graduate of Rutgers College and a long, suffering fan of their sports teams.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
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 didn’t address that at some point. As you will hear, paying off debt has an impact on your employees’ ability to save for retirement, however I was pretty excited to learn about some of the new tools and resources employers may offer to help to tackle both loan repayments and retirement savings!
Thank you to our email subscribers for submitting questions ahead of time, I was able to work many of the into our conversation. If you are not on our email list go to www.401kfridays.com/subscribe and join today!
I learned a lot from this episode, I hope you do as well.
Guest Bio
Tony Aguilar is co-founder and CEO of Student Loan Genius, Austin-based inventor of the first complete student loan employer benefits solution. Today he uses his years of experience as a financial advisor and founder of Amiti Advising and Campus Slice to help crush America’s $1.3 trillion student loan problem. Featured in the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and on CNN, his commitment to helping professionals get ahead and live a life free from debt is the common thread in all of his work. When he’s not leading the team at Student Loan Genius, Tony is spending time with his 3-year old daughter. He can also be found guest lecturing at the University of Texas and Concordia University on entrepreneurship and personal finance, serving as Chairman of Concordia University’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Board, or mentoring fellow social entrepreneurs and startups.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.