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401(k) Fridays Podcast

The 401(k) Fridays Podcast features a weekly conversation with an expert guest to help employers and their service partners keep up with workplace retirement plan topics and trends. Listen today, improve your retirement plan tomorrow!
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Now displaying: January, 2017
Jan 27, 2017

As a retirement plan sponsor, you are constantly bombarded with sales calls, articles, new products, updates on litigation and much more. This information overload can make it challenging to filter through the noise and bright shiny objects to focus on what’s really important to your retirement plan and your participants. With that in mind, I was excited to have Tom Kmak, CEO and co-founder of Fiduciary Benchmarks rejoin me on the podcast to offer some perspective.  By way of background, Tom is consistently recognized as one of the most influential people in the retirement industry, prior to founding the incredibly successful firm Fiduciary Benchmarks he was the CEO of JP Morgan Retirement Plan Service.  During our conversation, he pulls from his over three decades of experience to comment on how current “trending topics” such as financial wellness, the focus on fees, ERISA litigation, commoditization and few others can draw attention away from helping retirement plan participants retire successfully.   Also, If you missed our first conversation on the podcast be sure to check out, “401(k) Plan Fees: Benchmarking Value & Reasonableness” it was our most popular episode for 2016. 

 

Before we get started, I have mentioned on the last few episodes that we are launching an exciting research project on February 1st.  Here’s a quick preview to get you thinking, we will be posing the following question to employers, “What have you always wanted to ask your employees about your retirement plan but have been afraid to?”  That’s it!  To be clear, we are looking for questions that you would be uncomfortable asking your own employees, but knowing the answers would help you make more informed decisions about your retirement plan and the potential human capital impact on your business.   More to come, and the only way to participate is if you’re an email subscriber, connected with me on LinkedIn or following me on twitter.  So don’t delay, go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe and you can take care of all of those in one stop.

 

Without further ado, i hope you enjoy my conversation with Tom!

 

Guest Bio

CEO and co-founder of Fiduciary Benchmarks, 2007 to current.  Fiduciary Benchmarks (FBi) is a premier and patented benchmarking service (U.S. Patent 8,510,198) for defined contribution plans that uses various mathematical models to help fiduciaries determine whether the fees they are paying to their service providers are reasonable in light of the value being received.  Through their construction and presentation, FBi reports give plan decision makers the context necessary to improve decisions and positively affect the measures of long-term plan success.  FBi reports are available primarily through advisor/consultants, recordkeepers, TPAs and other plan service providers. 

Prior to founding FBi, Tom Started the JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services business in 1990 with American Century.  Upon leaving in October 2007, that business employed 1,100 people serving 200 large plan sponsors with over 1.5 million participants and more than $115 billion in assets.

During his 18 years with Retirement Plan Services, the company initiated numerous industry firsts including no blackout conversions and the innovative employee education program, Audience of One.  Tom also served on the Executive Committee for JPMorgan’s asset management business.

Named by Ingram’s magazine as one of Kansas City’s inaugural class of “Forty most influential people under Forty,” Tom is a recognized expert in the retirement services industry who has been a featured speaker at various conferences and has published articles in some of the most well-known periodicals in the industry.

Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University with B.A. degrees in Economics and Computational Mathematics.  He is also the first graduate of the Management Fellows Program and 3 year letterman in inter-collegiate basketball.

 

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

A weekly podcast where Employers, Retirement Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries come to hear candid insights from retirement industry leaders on important trends, topics and current events. Each episode is designed to explore a specific topic and leave our listeners with concrete ideas and strategies to enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.  

With over 50 episodes we’ve had the good fortune chat with attorneys, authors, investment managers, professors, business leaders and fellow employers to explore a wide range of topics including fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! Be sure to check previous episodes at www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.

Jan 20, 2017

Today is inauguration day and depending on your political leanings, it represents the beginning, the end, the beginning of the end or some other variation on that theme!  However, what I am excited about is sharing my recent conversation with Bob Holcomb, ERISA Attorney and Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at Empower Retirement where we discuss what employers should expect from retirement plan policy during the Trump Administration.  Now, despite what I just said a minute ago, Bob does a really nice job of providing a thoughtful and rationale view of the landscape to help you digest information and plan accordingly.  Our   conversation starts with what impact the President has on retirement policy, moves to initiatives in Congress, potential changes in tax policy that could impact both retirement plan sponsors and your participants, then on to the Department of Labor and closes with some predictions of what the future holds. 

 

Before we get started, as a reminder we are getting ready to launch a podcast and social media research project where I am will be asking employers to to share your input on one question, thats it.  However, your answers to one simple question will produce a really interesting body of work which we will share verbally on the podcast and in a white paper with our email subscribers.  We’re kicking things off in February and fair warning, the only way to participate is if you’re an email subscriber, connected with me on LinkedIn or following me on twitter.  So don’t delay, go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe and you can take care of all of those in one stop. 

 

Guest Bio

Robert Holcomb is Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for Empower Retirement. In this role, Mr. Holcomb oversees retirement policy efforts on behalf of Empower Retirement and meets with members of congress, regulatory agencies and other policy makers on pension related matters. In addition, he interprets pension-related legislation and regulations, consults with clients and internal partners on legislative and regulatory issues. He currently is Chairman of the American Benefits Council (ABC) and works with other industry advocacy groups. Prior to joining Empower, Mr. Holcomb was employee benefit counsel for a national bank.  A frequent speaker at industry conferences, Mr. Holcomb has been in the retirement business for more than 25 years serving in client management, operations, technical consulting and sales support roles. He is a graduate of the University of  Kansas School of Law.  

 

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

A weekly podcast where Employers, Retirement Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries come to hear candid insights from retirement industry leaders on important trends, topics and current events. Each episode is designed to explore a specific topic and leave our listeners with concrete ideas and strategies to enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.  

With over 50 episodes we’ve had the good fortune chat with attorneys, authors, investment managers, professors, business leaders and fellow employers to explore a wide range of topics including fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! Be sure to check previous episodes at www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.

Jan 13, 2017

If you are interested to learn how thinking differently about your company culture and employee benefits could help you win the battle for talent today and in the future, then you don't want to miss this episode!  And if that wasn't enough, we also reveal that we are in the midst of a complete revolution in the nature and composition of the workforce which occurs every four generations while sharing some great strategies for employers who might be struggling to adapt!  Full disclosure, there’s not a lot of talk about retirement plans in this episode.  My guest is Jamie Notter, the Founding Partner of WorkXO, a startup that helps organizations map their Workplace Genome and turn workplace culture into a tangible business tool that drives growth. Jamie also co-authored When Millennials Take Over, Preparing for the Ridiculously Optimistic Future of Business and shares some great tidbits from his research as well.  

 

We are also getting ready to launch a podcast and social media research project where I am going to need some quick and easy input from employers.  We’re kicking things off in February and fair warning, the only way to participate is if you’re an email subscriber, connected with me on LinkedIn or following me on twitter.  Don’t delay, go to 401kfridays.com/subscribe and you can take care of all of those in one stop.  I’ve talked with a few of my clients about what we are working on and they loved it so I look forward to unveiling it soon!

 

As this episode is a bit outside of our typical retirement themed topics, after you are done listening I would love feedback on whether you would like more of these from time to time, or should we stick with retirement centric topics, send me an email with your thoughts to info@401kfridays.com.  

Guest Bio

Jamie Notter is a founding partner at WorkXO where he helps leaders drive growth through cultural alignment. He brings 25 years of experience in conflict resolution, generational differences, leadership, and culture change to his work at WorkXO, a startup that helps organizations map their Workplace Genome and turn workplace culture into a tangible business tool that drives growth. Author of two books (When Millennials Take Over, and Humanize), Jamie has a Master’s in conflict resolution from George Mason and a certificate in OD from Georgetown, where he serves as adjunct faculty.

401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview

A weekly podcast where Employers, Retirement Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries come to hear candid insights from retirement industry leaders on important trends, topics and current events. Each episode is designed to explore a specific topic and leave our listeners with concrete ideas and strategies to enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.  

With over 50 episodes we’ve had the good fortune chat with attorneys, authors, investment managers, professors, business leaders and fellow employers to explore a wide  range of topics including fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more! Be sure to check previous episodes at www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.

Jan 6, 2017

Well here we go, kicking off another year and I couldn’t be happier that the first episode of 2017 features my conversation with Meghan Murphy, Director of Thought Leadership at Fidelity Workplace Investing.  While I won’t steal Meghan’s thunder, I will tell you that she shares a lot of valuable information for employers that should be very helpful to your retirement plan and participants this year and well into the future.  

 

Before we get started, not only is this the first episode of 2017 but it is also our 50th episode, that’s 5-0!  To everyone who shared feedback, questions and challenges you’re facing in your retirement plan with us, thank you.  Your input shapes the content, selection of guests and questions I ask!  With 50 episodes completed, this also means we have a robust library of prior episodes you can explore on demand featuring 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.  The topics range from fiduciary best practices, investment commentary, legal and regulatory updates, plan design trends, employee engagement strategies and much more!  So, please keep sharing your input on topics, ideas to add value or questions in 2017!  

 

Guest Bio

Meghan is a Director on Fidelity’s Workplace Investing Thought Leadership team and is responsible for the development and delivery of data driven points of view on retirement savings and financial wellness trends. This work is leveraged by employers and their employees, advisors, policy makers and the media. Additionally, she is a media representative in the retirement space, helping to bring data based stories to life for the general public. Meghan has been with Fidelity since 2000 and has served in various leadership positions across the organization. 

 

401(k) Fridays Overview

Where Employers, Retirement Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries come to learn and retirement industry leaders stop by to share their candid insights on current trends, topics and happenings.

Now with 50 episodes, be sure to check out our robust library of 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! Please keep sharing your input on topics, ideas to add value or questions in 2017!

 

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