FiduciaryNews.com proudly presents…
2020 401K MEP/PEP (VIRTUAL) CONFERENCE
PREPARING FOR JANUARY 2021:
THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF 401K MEP/PEP OPERATIONS
– A HANDS-ON PERSPECTIVE –
Learn more about our impressive expert speakers:
Based on surveys that indicated who people would most like to hear speak on MEP/PEP topics, we’ve compiled an impressive list of featured experts to provide all that and more. Our speakers consist of ERISA attorneys – describing the implications of establishing a 401k MEP; Recordkeepers – describing the nuts and bolts of the logistics of a 401k MEP; and Consultants – describing the advantages to companies who use 401k MEP and how to convince companies of those advantages, etc. They include:
Conference Moderator
Christopher Carosa, Chief Contributing Editor, FiduciaryNews.com
Award-winning wordsmith Chris Carosa, a prolific writer and engaging speaker, is the author of more than one thousand articles and seven books, including the widely acclaimed 401k Fiduciary Solutions (2012, Pandamensional Solutions, Inc.), which has been referred to as “a vital reference tool for years to come.” He is currently Chief Contributing Editor for FiduciaryNews.com, a digital trade journal that provides essential information, blunt commentary, and practical examples for ERISA/401k fiduciaries, individual trustees, and professional fiduciaries. He is also a senior contributor to Forbes.com, a columnist for BenefitsPro.com, and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper catering to a dozen towns and villages in Western New York.
As a journalist, Mr. Carosa’s work has been recognized by the New York Press Association in the editorial and features categories. He’s also been honored by his peers, who voted him president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
But that’s not all. A trained astrophysicist, Mr. Carosa has worked in the investment management field for nearly 40 years. He has established, for either himself or others, nearly every kind of financial services firm you can imagine – from mutual funds to a bank trust company.
Though well-grounded in industry operations and marketing, he’s also an award-winning academic researcher and noted stock picker. In 2005, Mr. Carosa was named the winner in the Journal of Financial Planning Call-for-Papers competition in the academic category for his oft-cited research paper “Passive Investing: The Emperor Exposed.” But it has been his work in helping create a 401k MEP for a business association nearly decade ago that has most relevance for this conference.
An alumnus of Yale University with an MBA from the Simon School, Mr. Carosa has frequently appeared to discuss fiduciary issues at conferences across the nation, from coast-to-coast and from the snow belt to the sun belt. Beyond his own writing, he has appeared in national publications and news media, including The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, USA Today, Reuters, Barron’s, the New York Times, CNN, the BBC, and the Fox Business Network.
Of course, it therefore might not surprise you to learn this about him. In an earlier life, Chris was a top-rated AM disc jockey (when AM still played music) and popular play-by-play sports broadcaster for both football and hockey. If that’s not all, he also wrote a stage play called The Macaroni Kid, a romantic comedy musical that played before sell-out crowds.
Be warned: He likes to bring this same “and now for something completely different” vigor to his audiences.
Wednesday, August 25th – Beating the Unseen Competitive Threat
Terrance P. Power, President of The Platinum 401k, Inc.
Terry has been in the Retirement Plan Industry since 1981. He is an experienced retirement plan consultant who works with clients and advisors across the country on a fee-for-service basis.
He is the founder of American Pension Services, LLC, a fee-for-service third party administration firm located in Clearwater, Florida.
Terry is one of the retirement plan industry’s leading authorities on 413(c) multiple employer plans, including Association Retirement Plans and Pooled Employer Plans.
The firm also serves as a 3(16) Plan Administrator for Multiple Employer Plans and anticipates working as a “Pooled Plan Provider” for Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) beginning in 2021.
Terry is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, including those sponsored by ASPPA, fi360, NAPA 401(k) Summit, NIPA, PLAN ADVISOR, Wolters Kluwer, the United States Chamber of Commerce and several others.
He has provided expert testimony to the U.S. Department of Labor ERISA Advisory Council and the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. on topics relating to retirement plan service outsourcing and multiple employer plans.
He is frequently quoted in national retirement plan industry publications such as Forbes, Investment News, Fiduciary News, Pensions & Investments, and Plan Sponsor magazine for his unique expertise in the field of 401k Outsourcing.
Michael Montgomery, Managing Principal, Montgomery Retirement Plan Advisors, Inc., Chief Executive Officer at Fidelis Fiduciary Management
Michael Montgomery has over 43 years of experience in the retirement plan field, founding Montgomery Retirement Plan Advisors in 2004 after achieving success as a pension specialist or regional manager for several leading retirement plan providers. In 2014 he co-founded Fidelis Fiduciary Management to offer interactive 3(38) fiduciary services in partnership with non-fiduciary financial advisors.
Mike believes in making a positive contribution to industry best practices and has been a frequent writer and speaker on fiduciary issues. He and his team have been recognized by NAPA, Fi360, Financial Times, Plan Adviser, and 401kWire for their commitment to retirement plan best practices and thought leadership. As multiple employer plans began to receive increased national attention in 2011, Mike wrote the Fi360 Article of the Year: Multiple Employer Plans as a Fiduciary Risk Mitigation Tool.
His firm became one of the earlier advisory firms to be CEFEX certified by the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence as a fiduciary advisor to defined contribution plans, including specific certification for ERISA 3(38) services and non-ERISA fiduciary practices for governmental entities.
Philip S. Scott, Registered Representative, Private Client Services, Investment Advisor Representative at Strategic Capital Advisers
As a Financial Advisor, Phil has accumulated nearly 30 years of experience in the Financial Services Industry. His practice focus areas have always centered around his expertise in Retirement Planning. Phil’s combined experience within the Defined Contribution space of 403(b), 401(k), 457(b) and MEP have allowed him the opportunity to assist his clients in the areas of Investment Planning, Rollovers, College Funding and Executive Benefits.
Phil has spent nearly his entire career working closely with employer-sponsored plans. Working on-site or virtually, his passion has always been Participant Education Services, working very closely with his individual clients as they plan for their retirement. This model has always been widely embraced and appreciated by his Employer-Clients, who sponsor Retirement Plans and value education for their Employees.
As the Founder, Owner and Operator of Strategic Capital Advisers- Phil’s background includes the roles of Senior Financial Counselor and Regional Manager for one of the largest global recordkeepers, where he provided oversight for the Firm’s Midwest’ Healthcare Clients. Currently, as Operator of Strategic Capital Advisers, Phil’s daily activities include running his Firm’s Operations, Business Development, strategic planning and supporting a Team of Independent Advisors, who specialize in Retirement Plan’ Participant Education Services.
Phil’s MEP expertise includes working very closely with Closed-MEP and Open-MEP Sponsors from construction of the MEP, coordinating all efforts between the Sponsors’ Administrators and the Fiduciary Experts to the Recordkeepers being interviewed. From construction phase to on-boarding the first Adopter, Phil has continual communications with each of the Service Parties, who are paramount in the operations of the MEP. In addition, Phil’s primary role in developing the MEP is engaging with Adopters, who are considering the MEP. From on-boarding the Adopter to coordination of their Employee/Participant Enrollments, Phil is very involved in each of these aspects, prior to assigning one of his Advisors to each Adopter. Prior to his career in Financial Services, Phil graduated from Wittenberg University and spent time in the NY Mets and NY Yankees’ minor league affiliates, while pursuing the opportunity to play in the big leagues.
Phil is married to his sweet wife Lisa, together they enjoy their Children: Michael, Bryan and Megan as well as their grandbabies: Thatcher, Aibeline & Shepherd.
David N. Levine, Principal at Groom Law Group
David Levine advises plan sponsors, advisors, and other service providers on a wide range of employee benefits matters, from retirement and executive compensation to health and welfare plan matters.
David advises on the design and redesign of complex retirement, executive, and health and welfare plans; ongoing, day-to-day counseling of plan sponsors; in-depth compliance reviews of corporate and governmental benefit programs; products and compliance for retirement and health service providers, and representation of tax-exempt organizations with respect to issues involving corporate governance, executive compensation, and unrelated business income tax liability.
David was previously the Chair of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (2011-2013) and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and serves in a number of leadership roles in the American Bar Association Tax Section’s Employee Benefits Committee. Mr. Levine regularly speaks on plan design, fiduciary governance, and legislative issues and contributes a recurring column to NAPA Net — The Magazine. He is recognized in the Chambers USA guide for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation.
Thursday, August 26th – Capturing the Rare Opportunity First
Pete Swisher, Founder and President of Waypoint Fiduciary LLC
Pete Swisher is a highly recognized thought leader within the U.S. financial services industry and a domain expert in group retirement programs such as Multiple Employer Plans (MEPs), Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs), Association Retirement Plans (ARPs), and group trusts. He is one of the nation’s leading authorities on all aspects of retirement plan governance, including the ERISA trustee, named fiduciary, and Section 3(16) plan administrator roles, but also practical aspects of retirement plans such as product development and distribution strategies and methods.
Pete’s expertise has been developed and shaped by 20+ years of service as a financial advisor, consultant, subject matter expert, government affairs leader, top-producing salesperson, sales executive, and brand-builder, giving him a unique balance of knowledge and experience about how retirement systems succeed from both a fiduciary and legal perspective as well as from a business perspective.
He graduated with a degree in Linguistics from the University of Virginia, where he was selected for the prestigious Echols Scholar program. He served in the first Gulf War as Executive Officer of a U.S. Marine infantry company.
Pete is the founder and president of Waypoint Fiduciary LLC, a consultancy specializing in PEPs, MEPs, and building the institutional fiduciaries of the future. He lives with his wife, Shannon, in the horse country of Central Kentucky, and can be reached at pete.swisher@waypointfiduciary.com.
Ilene H. Ferenczy, Esq., Ferenczy Benefits Law Center
Ilene H. Ferenczy, J.D., APA, CPC is the Managing Partner of Ferenczy Benefits Law Center, an employee benefits law firm in Atlanta, GA. Ms. Ferenczy advises clients on all types of employee benefit plans, particularly focusing her practice on qualified retirement plans, benefits issues in mergers and acquisitions, and advising third-party administrators of employee benefit programs on technical and practice issues. Having become an attorney after more than ten years as a third-party administrator, she brings a unique and practical approach to her advice. She is a member of the State Bars of Georgia and California, and holds designations as an Accredited Pension Administrator from the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA), and a Certified Pension Consultant from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). Ms. Ferenczy is the 2017 recipient of NIPA’s Excellence in Education Award and the 2007 recipient of ASPPA’s Educator of the Year Award.
She is a nationally known speaker on benefits issues, and has authored more than 100 articles for publications such as the Journal of Pension Benefits (where she is the Co-Editor-in-Chief), The 401(k) Advisor, and The ASPPA Journal (now The Plan Consultant). Her book, Employee Benefits in Mergers and Acquisitions, an Aspen publication, is now in its 19th edition. In 2019, Ms. Ferenczy assumed co-authorship of ERISA: A Comprehensive Guide. She also authored three textbooks on defined contribution plans for ASPPA’s education and examination program, is the author of the Qualified Plans module of ERISApedia.com, and was a prior author of The Plan Termination Answer Book. Ms. Ferenczy is a frequent live presenter and also has recorded numerous webcasts and other e-learning tools for several organizations. She is a past adjunct professor in the College of Law at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, and on the Employee Benefits Advisory Board of the John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits in Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to being on the NIPA Board of Directors and the Board of the Pension Education Council of Atlanta (PECA), Ms. Ferenczy is a former member of ASPPA’s Leadership Council and a former co-chair of ASPPA’s Government Affairs Committee. She frequently advocates to the Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service on behalf of plans and their sponsors. Ms. Ferenczy is also a Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, the highest honor awarded to ERISA lawyers. Her extensive benefits experience and national reputation have qualified her to give testimony as an expert witness in ERISA litigation, and enabled the firm to be a member of the International Network of Boutique Law Firms.
Troy Tisue, President of TAG Resources, LLC in Knoxville, Tennessee
In 2001, Troy Tisue co-founded TAG Resources to address the 401(k) product gap in the small business sector. He is the creator of The Open MEP® and many of the aggregated plan structures being offered throughout the country today. Troy is one of the industry’s leading experts on both multiple employer plans and fiduciary outsourcing. He is regularly invited to Washington DC to share his knowledge on the retirement industry with legislators and contributes to retirement focused articles for a number of national publications. Troy has built programs for corporations nationally and internationally and has firsthand experience and insight into the global economy. Troy graduated with two undergraduate degrees from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He lives in Knoxville, TN with his wife and 3 daughters.
Lisa A. Massena, Principal at Massena Associates LLC in Portland, Oregon
Lisa A. Massena, CFA, is a retirement leader partnering with governments and service providers to develop savings programs focused on increasing private sector retirement coverage. In 2020 Lisa founded Massena Associates to help clients successfully navigate new spaces, achieving on-budget implementation, state of the art operations, and happy users. Services to support these outcomes include strategic advice on market position and opportunities; financial analysis; program design and development; implementation planning and support; issue expertise and testimony; marketplace updates and education; and communication services. Prior to establishing Massena Associates, Lisa served on the Government Savings team at Ascensus, the nation’s largest independent recordkeeper, and as the founding Executive Director of the OregonSaves program. She has also held executive positions at State Street and mPower. Lisa is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a graduate of Portland State University.
