Happy New Years and I hope that 2017 gets off to a great start for you both perennially and professionally! After a wild 2016, I am happy to say that this is the last episode of the year which is rebroadcast of a prior episode before we release the first of many exciting new episodes in 2017! This episode with Dr. Joe Coughlin, the founder and director of the MIT AgeLab is one of my personal all time favorites. Not only was he a great guest, but he shared a lot of interesting insights on generations, the evolving workforce and the future of retirement. As I re-listened to this episode earlier today and compared my recent notes from with the ones from the first time I released it I was pretty surprised that I had some very different take aways from our conversation this time around! So, if you have already heard my conversation with Dr. Joe, I would suggest you take another listen, you’ll probably pick up a few new tidbits of knowledge that could help you position or refine your benefits, retirement or workforce strategy for the future! If you haven’t listened to it, you’re in for a treat!
On a side note, we publish a post about each weekly podcast episode on LinkedIn which includes an episode summary, links and timestamps of interesting points we discuss. If we’re not connected on LInkedIn, next time you log on search Rick Unser and either follow me or send me a connection request. To my knowledge, for better or worse, I am the one and only!
Finally, our new episodes resume on January 6th 2017 with our 50th episode featuring Meghan Murphy, the director of thought leadership at Fidelity workplace investing where we discuss four 401(k) trends too big to be ignored in 2017.
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 Advanced Management Program and the Department of Urban Studies & Planning. Author of over 150 academic publications, his research explores how demographic change, technology and social trends converge to drive future innovations in business and government. Coughlin publishes the online publication Disruptive Demographics and is a regular contributor to Wall Street Journal MarketWatch. Coughlin is one of Fast Company Magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” and one of the Wall Street Journal’s “12 pioneers inventing the future of retirement and how we will all live, work, and play tomorrow.” The Financial Times profiled him as a ‘guru in global aging’ and Money Magazine dubbed him a ‘retirement game-changer’. He is a Behavioral Sciences Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and a Fellow of Switzerland’s World Demographics & Ageing Forum, advising and speaking to businesses, governments, and non-profits worldwide. Coughlin spoke at Falling Walls in Berlin on the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and was a keynote speaker at the 2014 Nobel Prizes in Stockholm. Dr. Coughlin speaks and consults to industry providing strategic insights and strategy to the financial services and insurance, real estate and healthcare industries in North America and Europe.
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! 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!
Happy Holidays everyone! As a little treat here are two of our more popular episodes bundled into one for your listening pleasure. Both episodes feature Jason Roberts, ERISA Attorney and the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute which provides strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors. In the first part of the podcast we discuss how current 401(k) and ERISA litigation is shedding new light on fiduciary responsibilities and best practices as well as why Jason feels that spending too much time reviewing plan investments might not provide the fiduciary protection you have been lead to believe it does!
In part two we build on many of the concepts in part one, with a specific focus on conflicts, compensation and reasonableness. Why those three terms, well according to Jason, they are at the heart of roughly 90% of the recent 401(k) litigation. Also, Jason shares strategies to determine fee reasonableness in light of value, six open ended questions to evaluate service providers and explains the concept that low cost at all cost might not be the best fiduciary protection strategy!
Also, this episode along with several others has been approved for HR Recertification Credits! Go to 401kfridays.com/ce for more information. Finally, our new episodes resume on January 6th 2017 with our 50th episode featuring Meghan Murphy, the director of thought leadership at Fidelity workplace investing.
Guest Bio
Jason Roberts is the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI) providing strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors.
Prior to founding PRI, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading, national ERISA law firm where his practice focused on employee benefits and securities regulation. Jason continues to provide counsel on ERISA and investment-related matters at Retirement Law Group, PC and is frequently retained as an expert on fiduciary responsibilities, Department of Labor (DOL) investigations and retirement plan product development, design and implementation.
Jason was named as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. He is an active member of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) and American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). In 2014, Jason was appointed, for a two-year term, as an advisor for the Beach Cities Health District's finance committee.
Jason is a nationally-recognized speaker and has published numerous articles on fiduciary best practices, ERISA compliance and securities regulation. He is frequently quoted and interviewed by both professional and public publications.
Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law. He is a graduate of FINRA’s Compliance Boot Camp and has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.
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! 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!
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, questions and challenges you’re facing in your retirement plan with us, it has truly helped shape the content, selection of guests and questions I ask! Be sure to check out our robust library of prior episodes where you can explore on demand interviews with attorneys, investment managers, professors, industry leaders, fellow employers and others who share a wealth of information for employers, plan fiduciaries, investment committee members, etc. The topics range from fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! Simply go to www.401kfridays.com/podcasts to check it out! Please keep sharing your input on topics, ideas to add value or questions I should be asking in 2017!
Finally, in the spirit of sharing during the holiday please tell a friend, colleague or the members of your professional network about the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, I promise we have a lot of exciting things in store for 2017!
Guest Bio
Trisha is a recognized authority in the 401(k) industry. Trisha was appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Labor to serve on the ERISA Advisory Council for a three-year term (2006). During her tenure, she prepared recommendations on target date fund analysis, stable value issues and participant financial education. Additionally, she served as Chair for the study of stable value funds (2009) and Vice Chair of the Council (2008). She has been included on 401kWire's annual “Most Influential” list multiple times. She is a “Member-at-Large” of the Retirement Advisor Council, a national organization that advocates for successful qualified plan and participant retirement outcomes through the collaborative efforts of experienced, qualified retirement plan advisors, investment managers and defined contribution plan service providers.
Prior to creating Retirement Playbook, Inc. (2011), Trisha founded Resources for Retirement, Inc. (1995). Among the country's first plan advisory firms, Resources for Retirement, Inc. was included annually, during its lifetime, in PLANSPONSOR’s “Top Advisory Firms and Best Consultants.”
Earlier, Trisha was a member of the team that developed the country’s first 401(k) plans. During her tenure, she was involved in all aspects of bringing the new plans to life, including the creation of the first 401(k) education programs and assembling plans matched to clients’ employee populations.
Trisha’s comments have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Bloomberg Businessweek. She speaks frequently on retirement plan issues at national forums, including the Plan Sponsor Council of America and the Center for Due Diligence.
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! 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!
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 a reminder, this isn’t the first time we have explored various investment strategies for your 401(k) plan on the podcast, if you want to check out others, go to www.401kfridays.com/investments. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the many truisms of Rob Arnott!
Guest Bio
Rob Arnott is the founder and chairman of Research Affiliates. He is also portfolio manager on the PIMCO All Asset and All Asset All Authority family of funds and a suite of PIMCO products based on the RAFI™ Fundamental Index™ approach.
Over his career, Rob has endeavored to bridge the worlds of academic theorists and financial markets, challenging conventional wisdom and searching for solutions that add value for investors. He has pioneered several unconventional portfolio strategies that are now widely applied, including tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index approach to investing. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world’s most provocative practitioners and respected financial analysts.
Rob managed two asset management firms before founding Research Affiliates. As chairman of First Quadrant, LP, he built up the former internal money manager for Crum & Forster into a highly regarded quantitative asset management firm. He also was global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup), the founding president and CEO of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic Investors, LLC), and a vice president at The Boston Company.
Rob Arnott received a BS summa cum laude in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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! 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!
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 transitioning from a 401(k) savings plan to a retirement plan. Glenn also shares thoughts on how to address and answer questions around measuring the return on investment from employer contributions. On that note, we also discuss if you want to develop more of a retirement plan, should that employer contribution be a match or profit sharing contribution, and how does an increasingly more mobile workforce factor into this conversation?
Remember, many episodes of the podcast have been submitted or pre-approved for both SHRM and HRCI recertification credits. Check it out at 401kfridays.com/ce to see how you can listen, learn and earn!
Guest Bio
Mr. Glenn Dial is a managing director with Allianz Global Investors, which he joined in 2011 as Head of Retirement Strategy. Mr. Dial has more than 20 years of retirement-industry experience. He previously held senior-management positions with JPMorgan and Ceridian. Mr. Dial holds three patents as the co-inventor of the “method and system for evaluating target-date funds” and is also credited with developing the target-date fund category system commonly referred to as “To versus Through.” He is the author of a monthly newsletter titled, “Dialed In to Retirement.”
Glenn is one of the 100 Most Influential People in the Defined Contribution industry according to the 401kWire.com survey in 2015, 2014, 2013.
He has a B.S. /B.A. in finance from the University of Central Florida and an M.B.A. from Rollins College.
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! 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!