401(k) Roundtable

Rick Unser
401(k) Roundtable

401(k) Roundtable takes you behind the scenes for a look at what it takes to run a successful retirement plan. A podcast designed for retirement plan sponsors, fiduciaries and members of retirement plan committees, each episode features a guest expert to engage in an informative conversation with host and industry veteran Rick Unser. Get the perspectives and insights you need to make more informed decisions to benefit your plan, employees and business.

  1. OCT 22

    Business Insights: Navigating the Economic Terrain

    Host Rick Unser and Jeff Schulze, CFA, Head of Economic & Market Strategy at ClearBridge Investments, delve into the current economic landscape as we approach the end of 2024. They discuss the possibility of a soft landing for the economy, examining the implications of inflation trends, the Federal Reserve's recent decisions, and the overall market sentiment. With the elections on the horizon, the duo analyzes how political dynamics can influence business and investment strategies. They emphasize the importance of diversification, explore labor market trends, and assess the outlook for fixed income and commercial real estate. Join us for a deep dive into the forces shaping the future of business, and discover key trends to watch as we head into 2025. Anatomy of a Recession Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All opinions and data included in this commentary are as of the publication date and are subject to change. The opinions and views expressed herein are of the ClearBridge speaker and may differ from other portfolio managers or the firm as a whole, and are not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results or investment advice. This information should not be used as the sole basis to make any investment decision. The statistics have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of this information cannot be guaranteed. Neither ClearBridge Investments, LLC  nor its information providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.

    47 min
  2. SEP 17

    Transforming Employee Retirement Outcomes with Smart 401(k) Design Choices

    In the debut episode of 401k Roundtable, we dive into Vanguard's latest "How America Saves" report, which sheds light on the latest trends in 401(k) plan design. We’ll discuss the report’s findings on plan effectiveness, rising participation rates, and the growing popularity of professionally managed allocations. Our guests share their insights on automatic enrollment and how it's transforming participation rates in their organizations. We’ll also explore innovative features like Super Roth accounts, self-directed brokerage options, and true-up contributions. Our conversation covers a range of topics including improving wait times, shortening vesting schedules, and enhancing employer contributions. We’ll address the challenges of managing retirement distributions and the importance of protecting retirement assets. Plus, we'll delve into the benefits of auto portability for consolidating smaller 401(k) balances and examine emerging trends like student loan matching and retirement income solutions. Finally, we discuss the rising importance of financial wellness and communication, and look at the potential of pooled employer plans and managed advice as future industry trends. Join us as we explore how thoughtful 401(k) design can make a real difference for employees and keep your plan ahead of the curve.   The views and opinions shared by Mr. Unser and his guests are their own and not necessarily those of Creative Planning, LLC. This show is designed to be informational in nature, and does not constitute investment, tax or legal advice. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, including those discussed on the show, will be profitable, or equal any historical performance.

    1h 5m
  3. 03/03/2023

    Are We Approaching The Tipping Point For Private Equity & 401(k) Plans?

    It’s been a minute since we focussed on PE and retirement plans. To dive into this I have Dan Cahill of the private equity firm Partners Group, one of two firms that took the initiative to seek guidance from the DOL on the utilization of PE in 401(k) plans. We dive right into, what the significance of the information letter in 2020 was, what has transpired since then, the investment case for and against PE and how plaintiff’s attorneys are viewing things.   A lot of great stuff, I learned a lot, hope you do as well. Guest BIo Daniel Cahill is part of the Client Solutions Americas business unit, based in New York. He is responsible for fundraising and business development for Partners Group's strategic US DC initiative. He has 19 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Partners Group, he worked at Neuberger Berman, where he was most recently in charge of strategic planning and business development for both retirement and subadvisory platforms. Before Neuberger, he worked at Putnam Investments where he served as relationship manager interfacing with intermediary platforms, mainly in the private bank and wirehouse space. He holds an MBA and a Master of Science in Finance from the Carroll School at Boston College as well as a bachelor's degree in finance from Boston College, Massachusetts, USA. He is also a CAIA charterholder.   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 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!

    51 min
  4. Should the Financial Markets Guide Your Business (or 401(k)) Decisions?

    02/17/2023

    Should the Financial Markets Guide Your Business (or 401(k)) Decisions?

    It seems like the major themes that are dominating the investment markets are also of great interest to individuals trying to make decisions personally or in their businesses. That isn’t always the case. I couldn’t think of a better person to wade through this with me than a perennial podcast favorite Rob Arnott, Founder and Chairman of Research Affiliates. As usual, Rob packages his enthusiasm, excellent communication, and insights in a way that should help you think through current trends and how they could impact you, your business and even a few items on your 401(k). Hope you enjoy!   Guest BIo Rob Arnott is founder and chairman of the board of Research Affiliates. Rob plays an active role in the firm’s research, portfolio management, product innovation, business strategy, and client-facing activities. He is a member of the Investment Committee and the Executive Committee of the board. With Chris Brightman, he is co-portfolio manager on the PIMCO All Asset and All Asset All Authority funds and the PIMCO RAE™ funds. 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. In 2002, Rob founded Research Affiliates as a research-intensive asset management firm intent on delivering innovative and impactful products and insights. Prior to establishing Research Affiliates, Rob was chair of First Quadrant, LP, which he built up from 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 has published more than 130 articles in such publications as the Journal of Portfolio Management, Harvard Business Review, and Financial Analysts Journal, for whom he served as editor in chief from 2002 through 2006. Rob has received eight Graham and Dodd Scrolls, which are awarded annually by CFA Institute to the top Financial Analysts Journal articles of the year. He also has received four Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy awards from the Journal of Portfolio Management. He is co-author of The Fundamental Index: A Better Way to Invest (Wiley 2008). Rob 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 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 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!

    57 min
  5. 02/03/2023

    Bonds Behaving Badly, What Happened & What's Next?

    Bonds, or fixed income investments did not have a great year in 2022 to say the least. The big question is now what? To delve into that, I am excited to have Michael J. Collins, CFA, and Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager for Core, Core Plus, Absolute Return, and other Multi-Sector Fixed Income strategies at PGIM. We start with commentaries on performance, then move to interest rates, different areas of the bond market and most importantly, what, if anything plan sponsors should be doing in their 401(k) or workplace retirement plans. Also, Michael mentions the graph below, you'll have to listen to get the proper perspective. That’s it, I hope you enjoy! Guest BIo Michael J. Collins, CFA, is a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager for Core, Core Plus, Absolute Return, and other Multi-Sector Fixed Income strategies. Previously, Mr. Collins was a High Yield Portfolio Manager and Fixed Income Investment Strategist. Earlier he was a credit research analyst, covering investment grade and high yield corporate credits. Additionally, he developed proprietary quantitative international interest rate and currency valuation models for our global bond unit. Mr. Collins began his career at the Firm in 1986 as a software applications designer. He received a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from Binghamton University and an MBA in Finance from New York University. Mr. Collins holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI). He currently serves as the Treasurer on the Board of CEA, a non-profit that provides education and employment for people with disabilities.   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 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!

    56 min
  6. 01/20/2023

    Are You in The Know About SECURE 2.0?

    If you are at all involved with workplace retirement plans, you would have to have been living under a rock to have not heard about SECURE 2.0. It is a hot topic, while also ambitious and even confusing. With all those factors, I couldn’t think of a better person to join me to wade through all this than Alison Cohen, Partner at the Ferenczy Benefits Law Center. We do cover a lot ground today so get ready. Also, while there has been a lot announced, keep in mind many new provisions don’t go into affect for one or more years and we still will need guidance from the IRS or others to answer many basic and logical questions.   Guest Bio Alison J. Cohen, J.D., APA, APR is a Partner with Ferenczy Benefits Law Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She advises clients on many issues related to qualified retirement plans, including design, mergers and acquisitions, audits, and operational issues. Alison commonly works with clients that have operational issues to guide them through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and/or Department of Labor (DOL) corrective programs, prepare corrective filings, and prepare and support clients through an audit conducted by the IRS and/or DOL. Alison is a member of the Georgia and California State Bars. Prior to joining Ferenczy Benefits Law Center, Alison worked at a large bundled service provider for nearly 16 years as an Associate Vice President, Compliance Manager and Regulatory Liaison. As part of her responsibilities there, Alison served as a national speaker on audit and correction issues. She served on the Employee Plans Subcommittee of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Governmental Entities (ACT). Alison has been actively involved with the National Institute of Pension Administration (NIPA) serving as a speaker, author, and developer/teacher. In 2019, Alison received NIPA’s Excellence in Education Award, which recognizes outstanding educators within the national membership who have made significant contributions and improvements to NIPA’s educational programs. Alison holds designations as an Accredited Pension Administrator (APA) and an Accredited Pension Representative (APR) from NIPA.  Alison is the former first President and an active member of the Pension Education Council of Atlanta (PECA). Alison is a co-author of The Plan Correction eSource and in 2019 she also assumed co-authorship of ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide. Alison speaks frequently on qualified retirement plan topics and issues, bringing a sense of humor and practical solutions to clients, colleagues, and industry professionals.   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 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!

    57 min
  7. 12/16/2022

    Will Your 401(k) Account Soon Follow You Around?: Automatic Rollovers Coming To A Plan Near You

    Here we go with a 401(k) Friday’s Podcast first, three guests and a great topic. Today we dive into the recent announcement that three major recordkeepers are launching the Portability Services Network. Joining me to discuss what this means is Dave Gray from Fidelity, Greg Long from Alight and Steve Holman from Vanguard. We tackle what is an automatic rollover, the problems it solves for employees and employers, how it works and whether the DOL and others think this is a good idea. This could have been a disaster having three guests, each with a lot to say, but it turned out well. I hope you enjoy!   Guest Bios Dave Gray is a member of the Workplace Investing Executive Management Team and serves as the Head of Workplace Retirement Platforms, Workplace Investing for Fidelity. Dave leads Fidelity’s defined contribution and multi-product platform and product development teams across sites in the US, India, and Ireland. The teams are responsible for developing and managing market-leading solutions and customer experiences and the continuous modernization of the Workplace Retirement platforms, leveraging cloud technologies. Dave also has principal responsibility for next generation defined contribution plan innovation, notably digital assets and the blockchain. In addition, Dave was appointed to the Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council.  Prior to joining Fidelity, he worked at Charles Schwab where he served as a member of Schwab’s Retirement Plan Services executive leadership team responsible for client experience, product management, and business strategy. Previously, Dave served as a Vice President at Standard Insurance Retirement Services where he built and led the client relationship management organization, and earlier as a member of Invesmart’s executive team responsible for general management of the retirement plan business.  Dave earned a Bachelor of Arts from Tennessee Temple University. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 66 licenses.    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 225 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!

    1h 1m
  8. 12/09/2022

    Creating a Foundation for Financial Wellness

    It’s been a little while since we tackled financial wellness, there has been a lot going on in that area so I was glad to be able to connect with Brent Hines, the co-founder and Chief Development Officer of the educational non-profit, Foundation for Financial Wellness. The Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s lives by empowering them with the knowledge and the motivation to take control of their financial lives. During our conversation, we compare definitions of financial wellness, talk about how to design and deliver effective programs with employers and discuss training and certification programs for employers and the industry.   For additional information we discussed in the episode, here is the link for Brent's Tedx Talk and the Financial Wellness Professional Certification program.    Great stuff, and I hope you enjoy!   Guest Bio Brent Hines is the co-founder and Chief Development Officer of the educational non-profit, Foundation for Financial Wellness. The Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s lives by empowering them with the knowledge and the motivation to take control of their financial lives.  The Foundation’s curriculum is rooted in the principles of Behavioral Finance which makes every class topic taught by the Foundation unique, innovative, and extremely valuable. Brent’s vision has led to the expansion of the Foundation’s curriculum, delivery, and effectiveness.  Some of today’s most popular class topics are budgeting, debt elimination, insurance, investments, retirement, taxes, and life & legacy planning. Brent regularly delivers keynote addresses on behalf of The Foundation for Financial Wellness, bringing motivational presentations to corporations, workforce boards, churches, groups, and associations offering real-world financial solutions to thousands of individuals and the organizations of which they are members.   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 250 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode every other Friday!

    50 min
4.7
out of 5
76 Ratings

About

401(k) Roundtable takes you behind the scenes for a look at what it takes to run a successful retirement plan. A podcast designed for retirement plan sponsors, fiduciaries and members of retirement plan committees, each episode features a guest expert to engage in an informative conversation with host and industry veteran Rick Unser. Get the perspectives and insights you need to make more informed decisions to benefit your plan, employees and business.

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