Financial Wellness, while a very hot topic, is not yet mainstream. One reason could be there has not been a clear value proposition for the employer to invest the time and/or the money to roll it out. Today, my conversation with Lynn Pettus, the National Leader for Ernst & Young’s Employee Financial Services Practice sheds some light on that topic. Our conversation begins with exploring what financial wellness is or isn’t, how employers are measuring the impact of financial stress in the workplace and what can be done to help employees. Also, Lynn talks about her biggest competition (its not who you think it is), discusses the value of speaking to peers who have embraced financial wellness and ways you can either dip your toe in the water and just offer gold stars to engaged employees or go "all in" with a fully integrated health, financial and emotional wellness strategy.
Lynn references and shared some of the work Ernst & Young has done on financial wellness which we have posted on the website at www.401kfridays.com/pettus if you want to check it out. While you’re there, don't forget to subscribe to our email list so you don’t miss any valuable updates on new episodes and other valuable information!
Guest Bio
Lynn Pettus is a tax partner located in Charlotte, North Carolina. She serves as the National Director for the Employee Financial Services practice and relationship partner for the Southeast and Southwest areas. Her time is concentrated on serving large private and public sector employers in the strategic development of financial education and counseling programs focused on employee benefit plans. Ms. Pettus also helps coordinate Human Capital resources, firm-wide, to assist in serving area clients in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
Ms. Pettus has spoken at The Conference Board’s Pensions & Retirement Conferences and has presented at The Wharton School, Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Research. She is co-author of articles for Benefits Quarterly, the Society for Human Resource Management and the Pension Research Council. Ms. Pettus has spoken in numerous other forums and has been quoted in the general media (e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal), and trade publications (e.g., Employee Benefit News, Employee Benefit Advisor, National Health & Underwriter), as well as other media.
As a graduate of Converse College in South Carolina, Ms. Pettus holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant, Personal Financial Specialist (AICPA Designation), Certified Investment Management Analyst, and Registered Investment Advisor. Additionally, she is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants, the Investment Management Consultants Association, and the National Association of Securities Dealers (Series 65 Examination).
Ms. Pettus actively supports women’s initiatives through her involvement with Ernst & Young’s Inclusiveness Advisory Council, National Tax Inclusiveness Steering Committee, Professional Women’s Network and through her community work with the Junior League of Charlotte. She has served on the boards of local charitable organizations including Carolina Voices and the Carolina Raptor Center. Ms. Pettus has also acted as Ernst & Young’s coordinator for the Arts & Science Council Fund Drive and supports the United Way.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over ninety prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Nine years into a bull market, that generally gets people talking about bubbles. Today, I am excited to have Rob Arnott, Chairman of Research Affiliates join me for a second round on the podcast! Why have him back you might ask, well Rob and his firm manage nearly $200 Billion dollars and over the years have made some bold statements, pioneered several unconventional strategies and challenged conventional wisdom to search for solutions that add value for investors.
As you will hear, Rob is not shy to share his thoughts on the current state of the financial markets, address a bubble he sees developing in the market and provide some different perspectives, sometimes very different on some popular investment trends. If you are listening and think this one might not be for you, I would encourage you to give Rob a chance before moving on. In addition to his unconventional thinking, I love that he can take some complex topics in the market and make them easy to understand, regardless of your level of investment or financial acumen.
Guest Bio
Mr. Arnott is the founder and chairman of Research Affiliates, a subadvisor to PIMCO. In 2002, he established Research Affiliates as a research-intensive asset management firm that focuses on innovative asset allocation and alternative indexation products. He previously served as chairman of First Quadrant, as president of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic Investors), and as vice president at The Boston Company. He also was global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers. He has published more than 100 articles in journals such as the Journal of Portfolio Management, the Harvard Business Review and the Financial Analysts Journal, where he also served as editor in chief from 2002 through 2006. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1977 in economics, applied mathematics and computer science.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
The idea of changing workplace retirement plan recordkeepers, or going through a "conversion" in retirement plan lingo, can be a daunting and stressful proposition if you are not familiar with the process. If it has been a little while since you changed recordkeepers or if you just never had the pleasure, my conversation today with Tom Dennis, Director and Head of Defined Contribution Implementation Services for John Hancock should be helpful.
We tackle head on some of the most common concerns and misperceptions such as the need to make a change on January 1st, how long blackout periods last, what happens to your employees’ money during a conversion and much more! We will also leave you with several strategies to help you take the mystery and stress out of the process so that your upcoming or next record keeping change can dare I say, be as close to seamless as possible!
Guest Bio
Tom Dennis is Director, Defined Contribution Implementation for John Hancock Retirement Plan Services (JHRPS), a position he held with New York Life Retirement Plan Services, which merged with JHRPS in April 2015. In this role, he is responsible for the oversight, guidance, and support of a team of Project Managers implementing plans onto JHRPS’s mid and large market recordkeeping platform.
With 28 years in the retirement industry, Tom provides overall accountability for the successful implementation of new defined contribution qualified and non-qualified plans, and corporate action activity. Prior to joining the JHRPS, he most recently worked as Associate Managing Director of Retirement Research for LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. Prior to LIMRA, Tom spent 11 years at Fidelity Investments leading large market Implementation and Client Service teams.
Tom received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Connecticut, and an M.B.A. from the University of Hartford.
Outside of work, he enjoys golf, and is the former President of the Tolland (CT) Soccer Club.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your workplace retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over eighty five prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!