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 maybe not, and then put the other person on the spot to determine if the statement is Jargon, Gibberish, or Jumbled. We had a lot of fun recording this but want to make sure we weren’t the only ones. Please share your feedback on whether this was entertaining, informative or both or neither. Shoot us an email to feedback@401kfridays.com or leave a comment on LinkedIn to me, Rick Unser or JD Carlson. If the feedback we get is encouraging, we will tackle some additional retirement plan related topics using this format with future guests. The fate of Jargon, Gibberish or Jumbled is in your hands!
We also have another first with this episode, we have video! If you want to check that out, go to YouTube and search Plan Design Consultants. Or go to www.401kfridays.com/jgj and I will have a link towards the bottom of the page.
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 retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
It has never made a lot of sense to me how retirement plan participants go missing and lose track of sometimes thousands of dollars of their money. My conversation today with Spencer Williams, the President & CEO of Retirement Clearing House shed a lot of light on just how this happens. We tackle a host of related issues in a face paced back and forth dialogue which highlights some interesting findings from their recent study on the topic, we also hit on how missing participants factor into the concern around retirement plan leakage and what the impact is on both employers and employees when participants go missing. Of course, before we wrap up we provide some concrete thoughts on how to address the issue in your plan and look forward to a few new concepts that might help with this in the future.
Guest Bio
Spencer is Retirement Clearinghouse’s Founder, President and CEO. Retirement Clearinghouse is a specialized provider of portability and consolidation services for America’s mobile workforce and has serviced more than 1 million job-changing participants during Mr. Williams’ 9 year tenure with the company. Prior to joining Retirement Clearinghouse, Williams served in a number of senior executive roles at MassMutual Financial Group, and as a retirement Services executive at Federated Investors, Inc.
Williams earned his B.A. degree in English from the United States Naval Academy and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
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 retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Some tricky schedules got in the way of my production calendar so no new episode this week. However, as I searched through our archives I thought this episode had some great messages that would be good for some of our new subscribers to hear and for our long term listeners to have top of mind. Enjoy!
I'll have to admit, when I first heard of Don Barden and the "Perfect Plan" I was pretty skeptical. What does "perfect" mean? Who gets to judge "perfect"? My analytical mind was going crazy. However, as I became more familiar with Don and the concepts and elements he believes in, I felt it definitely made sense to bring him onto the podcast. My hope is that you will take away a few kernels of knowledge to help you rethink what retirement means along some motivation and inspiration!
Be sure to check back next week as we have a great line-up of new episodes where we will address some new topics, revisit some popular ones from new angles and have differing viewpoints on the same topic get together to share some interesting perspectives!
Guest Bio
Don Barden is a classically trained economist who earned his M.B.A. in Global Technology Management and International Business with an undergraduate B.B.A. in Economics and Finance. He is ABD in doctoral studies with a Ph.D. in Finance. He resides in Atlanta Georgia and is fluent in international business affairs.
Don’s work challenges and motivates people to think deeply about their beliefs, and reveals a plan to consistently achieve maximum communication and sales. His “unfair advantage” theories are revolutionary in today’s economy as he leads you on a journey that exposes the myth of modern sales and communication techniques. He awakens your creative energy, and identifies the path to cultural change.
Expertly mixing humor, academic capital, and time-tested systems, Don engages audiences through his highly personal and interactive speaking style. Don has the unique ability to break down toxic barriers and build an irresistible and motivated force of empowered team talent.
As an author, speaker, advisor and corporate executive, Don Barden’s counsel is highly sought after by some of the world’s most successful businesses. His experience and record-setting sales success have drawn him to corporate and political leaders who want to tap into his real-world experience in order to move their organization to higher levels of sales and cultural achievement.
Don personally averages over $1 billion in annual sales. He is highly noted for his ability to see “three sides” to every coin. He also serves as the past Board President for The Summit Counseling Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a unique multidisciplinary, multispecialty personal and family counseling center that provides over 8,000 hours of counseling each year. Additionally, he is a leading advisor to several private schools, businesses and faith based organizations.
Don is also a passionate supporter of the US Military, especially the 1st Ranger Battalion out of Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., and is a Special Advisor to the Sua Sponte Foundation. RLTW!
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 retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Somewhere in the lifecycle of most retirement plans, employers are faced with the inevitable decision, should I bundle or unbundle the administration of my plan? There are several different perspectives on that question and some important considerations that employers should keep in mind. To help sort though this, I was excited to welcome back Doug Van Galder, he would call himself a recovering Third Party Administrator and is now a compliance analyst with the ERISA law firm Boutwell Fay. During our conversation we define the difference between recordkeeping and administration, discuss the profiles of groups who are more to unbundle administration and leave everyone with a few more thoughts to help guide you through the inevitable decision to bundle or unbundle the administration of your retirement plan.
Guest Bio
Douglas Van Galder is a Compliance Analyst who is committed to the favorable tax-qualified status and success of the private and public pension systems in America. Therefore, Doug assists Boutwell Fay LLP Clients and their service providers in properly administering retirement plans that remain compliant and deliver the intended benefits.
Boutwell Fay LLP is a highly rated, women-owned law Firm specializing in employee benefits and ERISA. We have seven Attorneys with Offices in Newport Beach, CA and New York City, NY. Boutwell Fay LLP is the only boutique law firm in Orange County, CA that focuses exclusively on employee benefits and ERISA. The Firm provides high quality legal services normally associated with large law firms, while its smaller size allows us to be more accessible to our Clients and more responsive to their needs. The Firm helps Clients with legal issues that arise in the context of: Qualified and Non-Qualified Plans, Health and Welfare Plans, Plan Corrections and Government Audits, ERISA and Fiduciary Consulting and ERISA Claims and Disputes.
In his capacities as a Compliance Analyst, Third Party Administrator (TPA), Record Keeper, Executive, Plan Sponsor/Trustee and Fiduciary Administrator, Doug has amassed 34 years of experience in the intricate business development, compliance and consulting aspects of retirement plans. Most recently, Doug was an Executive Vice President with both QBI, LLC and Fiduciary Administration, LLC serving as Defined Contribution Practice Leader and a Fiduciary Administrator, respectively. He previously founded and was the President of Strategic Pension Services, Inc. (SPS), where he led expert teams of Consultants and Administrators. SPS was acquired by QBI, LLC in January of 2015.
Doug is an Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent and earned the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries' designation of Qualified Pension Administrator. He is also the President for the Orange County Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council.
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 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
A quick word of warning, this episode is not for the faint of heart! Today we tackle and I think make more familiar the topic of factor investing. I will be the first one to admit that I am one of those people who is familiar with factor investing but have been confused with the role it can or does plan in workplace retirement plan investment menu design. So, I was personally excited to have Stacey Tovrov, a Vice President and Investment Strategies within Blackrock’s Defined Contribution business join me on the podcast to break this down.
With many in the investment community anticipating a low return environment in the future the “buzz” word when I speak with various investment firms has been factor investing and specifically what I learned is a subset of factor investing smart beta. For example, it seems we hear more that the XYZ strategy uses a factor based approach to accomplish this or that, or our ABC strategy uses an index based smart beta strategy and so on and so forth. During my conversation with Stacey, we address these statements, whether the average investor will understand this, how to measure performance and much more. She also shares some really unique insights on whether factor based investment labels could eventually replace the current style box or asset class based labels used to construct investment menus. In the words of Gru from Despicable Me, Lightbulb!
If you like this stuff or are curious you will be on the edge of your seat!
Guest Bio
Stacey Tovrov, Vice President, is an Investment Strategist within BlackRock's US and Canada Defined Contribution business. She is responsible for representing DC capabilities to plan sponsors, investment consultants, and advisors. The team partners with Sales, Research, and Product Development to evolve the firm’s suite of DC solutions, provide thought leadership, and develop client analytics.
Prior to moving to her current role, Ms. Tovrov was a member of the Multi-Asset Strategies group building the firm's sustainable investing platform. Previously, she was part of the Strategic Product Management group leading product development and strategy. She was also a member of BlackRock's Portfolio Management Group helping drive strategic initiatives across the firm's investment teams. Ms. Tovrov joined BlackRock in 2008 as an analyst in the institutional client business, where she was responsible for sales and servicing the firm's central bank, sovereign wealth fund, and other official institution clients globally.
Ms. Tovrov earned a BA degree in economics and international relations from Tufts University.
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 100 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!