The small to mid-size business retirement plan market is a key growth opportunity for advisors who are looking to expand their client base and provide much-needed benefit solutions to a traditionally underserved segment. With all the new tax incentives for startup plans and state mandates to either offer a plan or have employees opted-in to a state…

In this episode of the 401(k) Specialist Podcast, we’ll travel down the road to better participant outcomes with MFS Investment Management’s Jeri Savage, who will direct us through the key insights from the newly released 2024 MFS Global Retirement Survey. Podcast Episode Player Savage, Lead Retirement Strategist at Boston-based MFS, elaborates on …

Since the rapid rise in interest rates over the past few years, fixed income has come back into the spotlight. As the Federal Reserve begins cutting interest rates, retirement plan advisors might now be wondering how this shift will impact core bond and core plus bond portfolios. To find out, we speak with Matt Brill, CFA, Head of North America Inv…

Considerable resources have been devoted to solving the challenge of portability in retirement savings over the past few years, and the stakes are high to get it right and cut down on costly an unnecessary retirement plan leakage. In this episode, we talk with Ben Thomason, Head of Defined Contribution Distribution at Allianz Life Insurance Company…

ERISA attorney Allie Itami, Partner at Lathrop GPM in Minneapolis, joins the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast to talk about the status of the Department of Labor’s beleaguered fiduciary rule in light of recent stay rulings in Texas, and also chimes in on ERISA at 50 before addressing compliance challenges presented by annuities in 401(k) plans. And clic…

Morningstar Retirement President Brock Johnson joins a special 100th episode of the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast to provide an inside look and share insights into the past, present and future of the comprehensive retirement planning solutions and investment research unit. Johnson talks about how retirement solutions and research have evolved over th…

The retirement landscape is undergoing a dramatic shift, characterized by unprecedented challenges such as increased longevity and unpredictable market conditions. Traditional retirement models centered solely on wealth accumulation are no longer sufficient. A more holistic approach is imperative to effectively manage risks, generate sustainable in…

It’s quite rare for one person to manage a large-cap mutual fund for a consecutive span of 25 years, but that’s just what Kevin C. Holt, CFA, chief investment officer, U.S. Value Equities at Invesco, is celebrating this summer. Holt and Devin Armstrong, who have been co-lead portfolio managers for the Invesco Comstock Fund since 2007, apply a uniqu…

No matter how easy plan sponsors try to make it for employees to participate in their company-sponsored 401(k) plan, too many workers still aren’t enrolling. Our guests on today have some ideas on dealing with this problem—centered on how instead of making it easy to participate, making it even harder to avoid enrolling in the plan in the first pla…

Despite offering unique tax advantages, lots of people remain unaware of health savings accounts (HSA)—and even many who are using them aren’t using them to anywhere near their full potential. Jeremy Keil, CFP, CFA, a retirement-focused financial advisor and host of both the Retirement Revealed Podcast and Mr. Retirement YouTube channel, joins the …

The DOL’s new fiduciary rule is scheduled to become effective in September, and retirement plan advisors and plan sponsors have plenty to do to prepare for the changes it will bring. Jerry Schlichter, founding and managing partner of Schlichter Bogard LLC and a well-known pioneer of retirement plan excessive fee litigation, visits the 401(k) Specia…

Health Savings Accounts can be a very effective tool not only to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses, but also to save for retirement thanks to a unique triple tax advantage. To check in on the pulse of the HSA market, we talk with the co-founder and president of Devenir Research Eric Remjeske, who is also a co-author of the semi-annual Devenir …

The Department of Labor released its final “Retirement Security Rule” recently, which aims to raise the legal bar for financial advisors, brokers, insurance agents and others who give retirement investment advice. Noted ERISA attorney Fred Reish Esquire, Partner at Faegre Drinker, shares his thoughts on some of the rule’s key focuses and changes, a…

There’s a trend happening right now where asset managers are using a new strategy to help 401(k) plan participants manage their retirement spending: Target date funds featuring annuities. Morningstar recently did some really interesting research on this trend, and there are some compelling reasons to believe this type of solution could gain some se…

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic everywhere these days, including the financial services industry. We check in with artificial intelligence early adopter Liz Davidson, founder and CEO of Financial Finesse, who tells us about their award-winning AI-powered virtual financial coach named Aimee, and how AI really is turning into a game-changer fo…

The workplace retirement plan industry’s premiere event is just days away, with top professionals set to descend upon Nashville April 7-9 for the 2024 NAPA 401(k) Summit. We get a preview of the big event from two of the key people in charge of putting it together in Nevin Adams and John Sullivan, the former and current Chief Content Officers for t…

The 401(k) has been under attack on multiple fronts lately. Between calls for eliminating their tax advantages to prop up Social Security to Bernie Sanders pining for a return to pension plans, and momentum seeming to build for the TSP-like “Retirement Savings for Americans Act” that many in the workplace retirement market believe would constitute …

Unlocking the Door to Broader Adoption of Guaranteed Lifetime Income in 401(k)s: Matt Gray and Todd Levy Guaranteed lifetime income remains a hot topic in the workplace retirement plan market and there are plenty of factors at play these days that are helping these solutions gain traction—and more widespread adoption—in 401(k) plans. Matt Gray, Ass…

Ohtani’s ‘Retirement’ Strategy, NQDC Plans and 2024 Stock Trends with ‘401(k) Lady’ Jeanne Sutton Baseball’s biggest star Shohei Ohtani made headlines recently by signing the largest individual contract in the history of sports when he inked a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Interestingly, he deferred $68 of the $70 million…

Catching Up with 'Annuity Yoda' Tamiko Toland Guaranteed in-plan lifetime income solutions is a hot topic in the workplace retirement market these days, and we wanted to hear from one of the foremost experts on these products in “Annuity Yoda” Tamiko Toland. After stints at TIAA and CANNEX, the thought leader in retirement and annuities in the indi…

The Year Ahead with John Hancock Retirement CEO Wayne Park As the new year opens, our first podcast of 2024 features a look at what to expect in the workplace retirement market from a high-level leader in John Hancock Retirement CEO Wayne Park. With oversight over all aspects of John Hancock Retirement’s business, Park is an ideal person to shed in…

IBM sent shockwaves through the retirement industry recently when it was revealed that the tech and computing giant is halting its 5% 401(k) match in favor of a 5% contribution to a new, portable, immediate-vesting pension called a “Retirement Benefit Account.” Joining us to discuss this move and its wider implications within the retirement industr…

2024 SECURE 2.0 Insights with Principal’s Lance Schoening As we head toward 2024, more and more provisions of the landmark SECURE 2.0 retirement reform legislation package are coming online, including some provisions that have lots of people in the industry really excited. One of those people is Lance Schoening, Director of Policy at Principal, the…

IRI’s Jason Berkowitz: Why Biden’s Fiduciary Rule Gets it Wrong While the American Retirement Association is among those saying “fair” when it comes to the Department of Labor’s new proposed retirement security rule released last week that seeks to update the definition of an investment advice fiduciary under ERISA, many insurance-based organizatio…

Talking DOL Retirement Saving Priorities with EBSA Head Lisa Gomez It’s been about a year since the Honorable Lisa M. Gomez was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of Labor, and quite a busy year it’s been for the head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, which is responsible for administering, regulating and enforcing provisions of ER…

When you want to gain insight about what’s going on in the retirement industry, you want to talk to someone who’s in the loop and immersed in the business. We can’t think of someone who fits that description better than Jania Stout. 401(k) Specialist’s “Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes” in 2020 is now the Senior Vice President, Retirement + Weal…

Capitol Hill Retirement Reform Update with Invesco’s Jennifer Flitton With 2024 quickly approaching, it’s a good time to check in on the status of retirement reform efforts and progress in Washington D.C.—particularly as the industry prepares for a variety of SECURE 2.0 provisions scheduled to kick in come January. To learn where things stand on a …

Andrew Biggs Explains Why There is Really Is No Retirement Crisis In an environment where Americans are repeatedly told by mainstream media that they are facing a serious retirement savings crisis because they aren’t saving enough, there’s one person who repeatedly stands up to refute these claims. Andrew Biggs, Senior Fellow at the American Enterp…

Building Client Relationships with Advisor Derek Fiorenza Derek Fiorenza, C(K)P, CPFA, AIF, PPC, MSBA, is wired a little differently than the typical retirement plan advisor. He joins us to explain the somewhat unique approach he has to building client and participant relationships. Fiorenza, who serves as the Vice President, COO and CCO of Summit …

Lifetime Income Solutions in 401(k)s Allianz Life’s Joe Hendrickson and AmericanTCS’ Brian Lenz Discuss Market Momentum In-plan guaranteed lifetime income solutions, such as annuities, have received plenty of attention in the wake of the SECURE Act of 2019 and 2022’s SECURE 2.0 legislation, which made it significantly easier to add these types of s…

Fred Reish’s DOL Fiduciary Rule Update The retirement industry will be keeping a close eye on the Department of Labor in August in anticipation of proposed regulation regarding its fiduciary rule, and whether or not a retirement plan-to-IRA rollover recommendation made by an advisor who is a fiduciary to a plan or participant constitutes a fiduciar…

Retirement Advisor Marketing with Rebecca Hourihan We were curious to learn more about what 401(k)-focused advisors are doing with their 401(k) marketing efforts these days, and what kind of investments in time and resources they are making in efforts to grow their business. For answers, we checked in with Rebecca Hourihan, Founder and Chief Market…

Exploring the Mid-Cap Market with Invesco’s Justin Livengood Our guest today makes the argument for why mid-caps as an asset class belong in a properly diversified defined contribution plan investment menu, and explains why most 401(k) participants are probably not aware of just how overly exposed they are right now to just a handful of the biggest…

The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence and Chat GPT specifically has raised a bunch of fresh questions about the role it will play in financial advice, and how it will impact the work and role of financial advisors moving forward. High-profile advisor Michael Kitces—the “Chief Financial Planning Nerd” at Kitces.com, Head of Planning Strateg…

Why Financial Advisors Need Personal Branding: Sheri Fitts Anyone who attends a retirement industry event knows there’s a pretty good chance Sheri Fitts is speaking at it. Today we’ve got the well-known branding consultant and founder of Sheri Fitts & Co. with us to talk about the need for and importance of personal branding among 401(k)-focused fi…

Why Advisors Need to Consider Value Equities in DC Plan Investment Menus Now: Invesco’s Kevin Holt After underperforming growth for years, value equities finally had their time in the sun in 2022. While both value and growth stocks declined last year, growth stocks fell much further than value thanks in large part to rising interest rates. In this …

EIG’s John Lettieri Refutes ARA Claims of Proposed Bill’s Challenge to Private Retirement Plan System When American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff told attendees at the recent NAPA 401(k) Summit in San Diego that a new bill expected in Congress soon could mark the beginning of a “year’s long battle” over the future of America’s retirement s…

Talking Guaranteed Lifetime Income Solutions with Allianz Life’s Michael De Feo Guaranteed lifetime income in retirement plans is a hot topic these days, with study after study revealing that Americans want to know more about it and view these products as a good fit to help them reach their financial objectives. While 401(k) plan sponsors are showi…

5 Big Issues with Small 401(k) Plans: Rebalance’s David Ranney Small-business 401(k) plans face a lot of specific issues and challenges that don’t necessarily impact larger retirement plans. This week we’re focusing squarely on some hot-button issues specifically related to small 401(k) plans, and to help us do that we’re joined by an expert in the…

Pete Swisher Deciphers SECURE 2.0’s Complex Startup Tax Credit The new SECURE 2.0 legislation has brought with it plenty of questions and confusion about its 92 different provisions, and few might be more confusing—or impactful—than the startup tax credit provision for small employers. Independent fiduciary expert Pete Swisher of Group Plan Systems…

Tackling Student Loan Debt Relief Issues with Candidly’s Laurel Taylor Student loan debt has gotten plenty of attention lately, thanks not only to the great news about the student loan debt repayment provision in SECURE 2.0, but also because of the ongoing pause on federal student loan payments, President Biden’s controversial student debt forgiven…

Josh Itzoe’s Been Busy, and 401(k) Advisors are Reaping the Benefits Former TAPO honoree Josh Itzoe is now spending his days helping other 401(k) advisors. As the Founder & CEO of FiduciaryWor(k)s and its FiduciaryRx platform, he focuses on developing insights, research, technology, fiduciary consulting, and practice management coaching in the area…

Bonnie Treichel Talks Retirement Income Solutions, the New ESG Rule and SECURE 2.0 There’s a select few people in the retirement business who seem like they’re just about everywhere, and are involved in just about everything. Bonnie Treichel from Endeavor Retirement is one of those people. As the Chief Solutions Officer of Endeavor Retirement, she …

The Groom Law Group’s Jake Eigner Talks Final SECURE 2.0 Hurdles and New ESG Rule Impacts Groom Law Group Attorney Jake Eigner—a rising young star in the ERISA community—highlights some of the sticking points that need to be worked out in finalizing the SECURE 2.0 retirement reform package on Capitol Hill, including differences in the three bills m…

The Carson Group’s Jamie P. Hopkins is a busy guy. A nationally recognized writer and researcher who frequently speaks at events around the country, Jamie is the Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions at the Carson Group, and he’s also a Finance Professor at Creighton University’s Business School. On top of that, he’s got a new book this month, “Find…

Surprising Findings About Participant Retirement Income Perceptions: Invesco’s Greg Jenkins Our friends at Invesco recently released a voluminous new study exploring 401k plan participant and plan sponsor preferences for generating long-term retirement income. The research unearthed some rather surprising findings, including that only a very small …

What Excites, Intrigues Ascensus CEO David Musto about the Industry? What’s happening with sequence-of-return risk, inflation, and the possibility of more delayed retirements? There are few better to answer than Dave Musto, CEO of independent recordkeeping giant Ascensus. Musto joins us to talk about these topics and more, and as Halloween approach…

Here's the Skinny on President Biden's Student Loan Debt Relief Long expected, it's finally happened. President Biden declared student loan debt relief for certain borrowers through what the administration calls targeted cancellation. We wanted to know what it meant for borrowers and retirement savers and what impact it might have on employee benef…

SRP’s Shannon Maloney Likes to Make Tough Guys Cry—Here’s Why Shannon Maloney is a Desert Storm veteran, Managing Director with Strategic Retirement Partners (SRP), and a monthly finalist for the 2022 Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes. Shannon joined us to talk about ESOPs and defined benefit plans, which are two areas of her expertise. She also …

Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm on Who Owns the Participant and What’s Next for Recordkeeping We pitched Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm a softball question to start the interview and hit him with a hard follow-up. True to form, he deftly fielded both. The digital 401(k) recordkeeper is on a tear of late, raising money from major players, and is now named to I…