Deals & People October 31, 2024

2025 Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year Nomination Period Is Open

Nominations are now being accepted in seven categories.

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PLANADVISER is asking for your help in identifying the best retirement plan advisers in the country. If you work with or know of a great plan adviser or plan adviser team, please help us recognize the best in the business.

Nominations for the 2025 PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year awards are now being accepted in seven categories:

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  • Plan Sponsor Service: Nominate individuals only.
    Finalists and winners in this category stand out for their innovation and dedication in the service of retirement plan sponsor clients, with a particular focus on the efficient and effective delivery of plan-level support. The Plan Sponsor Service category recognizes those advisers directly serving and working with plan sponsors; they should be recognizable to the plan sponsor client.
  • Plan Participant Service: Nominate individuals only.
    Finalists and winners in this category stand out for their innovation and dedication in the service of retirement plan participants, with a particular focus on the efficient and effective delivery of individual-level advice and education.
  • Mentorship: Nominate individuals or teams.
    Finalists and winners in this category stand out for their commitment and success in supporting the personal and professional growth of their firm’s staff, their fellow advisers and their industry peers.
  • Efforts in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Nominate individuals or teams.
    Finalists and winners in this category stand out for their success in addressing the financial services industry’s clear and present diversity problem, with a particular focus on the importance of creating equitable and fair workplaces.
  • 403(b) Plan Service: Nominate individuals only.
    Finalists and winners in this category stand out for their innovation and dedication in the service of 403(b) plan sponsor clients. The category is intended to recognize those advisers focused on the efficient and effective delivery of plan-level support, not product sales.
  • Closing the Coverage Gap – Micro/Startup Plans: Nominate individuals only.
    Finalists and winners in this category stand out for their dedication to helping more Americans save for retirement in the workplace via micro and startup plans—especially those who work for small businesses or who are members of underrepresented communities.
  • Closing the Coverage Gap – MEPs/PEPs: Nominate individuals only.

    Finalists and winners in this category stand out for their dedication to helping more Americans save for retirement in the workplace via multiple employer plans and pooled employer plans—especially those who work for small businesses or who are members of underrepresented communities.

Nominations are welcome from plan sponsor clients, employers and brokers/dealers, as well as from working partners of these advisers, such as product and service providers, investment vendors, accountants, attorneys and plan administrators. However, self-nominations are not permitted, and only nominations from plan sponsor clients will be accepted for the Plan Sponsor Service, Plan Participant Service and 403(b) Plan Service categories.

Award recipients across all categories will be honored at the PLANADVISER Industry Leader Awards in New York City on May 15, 2025. Finalists and winners for Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year awards will be featured online at PLANADVISER.com. Previous finalists and winners may be viewed here. 

The deadline for nominations is January 10, 2025.

Questions can be directed to awards@issmediasolutions.com.
You may preview the form here before submitting your nomination.
Nominations may be submitted here.

In Practice October 30, 2024

Financial Finesse Acquires OfColor to Expand ‘Culturally Relevant’ Content

The financial wellness provider will integrate OfColor’s platform aimed to help workers of color.

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Financial Finesse, an employer-sponsored financial coaching provider, announced Wednesday it has acquired of OfColor, a financial wellness platform focused on supporting employees of color.

Founded in 2020, OfColor offers tailored coaching and resources designed to improve financial well-being for employees from underrepresented groups, helping them build wealth and achieve financial stability. Financial Finesse, which was founded in 1999 and works with employers to create customized financial wellness programs, declined to disclose terms of the deal.

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Liz Davidson, the CEO and founder of Financial Finesse, and Yemi Rose, the founder of OfColor, said the acquisition will bring “greater personalization” to Financial Finesse’s platform.

“OfColor has built an incredible library of culturally relevant content, including videos and articles, created by financial coaches of color and tailored to the lived experiences of employees of color,” Davidson and Rose wrote in an emailed response.

According to the pair, Financial Finesse will be rolling out in November an enhancement to its employee financial wellness hubs to make OfColor’s content available to all users, which includes those at more than 20,000 companies.

Financial Finesse will also tap into OfColor’s coaching expertise, created by coaches of color, to expand its lineup of available webcast topics for employer partners to choose from, which are expected to be popular among employee resource groups.

Uncertain Financial Times

“We’re living through uncertain financial times, and employees are feeling more financially vulnerable and stressed than ever,” Davidson and Rose wrote in the email.

Financial Finesse’s internal data show that financial stress has increased by 16% over the past year, and employees of color report higher levels of stress than other demographic groups. Through its Financial Wellness Think Tank, Financial Finesse has found that 45% of employees of color who engage in its live and artificial intelligence-driven coaching experiences reduced their financial stress significantly within a year.

“The more personalized our coaching experience becomes, the more effective we’ll be at driving results for the employees and employers we serve, and OfColor plays an important role in our larger personalization strategy, which made now the right time for the acquisition,” the pair wrote.

Davidson and Rose also pointed to recent financial wellness trends, noting signs of consolidation. When venture capital was flowing more freely in 2021 and 22, the industry attracted a lot of funding, they noted. Optimism was high, and the industry was overbuilt.

“As the marketplace evolves, we will very selectively consider additional acquisitions that can advance our personalization strategy and positive impact,” they wrote. “We look for mission-aligned companies that have proven results in reaching specific populations or addressing specific financial issues in a deep and meaningful way.”

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