Deals & People February 9, 2015

Wellspring Joins LPL Broker/Dealer Platform

Wellspring Advisor Group is the newest addition to the LPL Financial broker/dealer platform.
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Broker/Dealer (B/D) and registered investment adviser (RIA) custodian LPL Financial says the advisory firm Wellspring Advisor Group has joined its broker/dealer platform.

As CEO, John Carroll leads the Wellspring Advisor Group, a recently launched dually registered independent financial advisory firm. He explains that Wellspring has aligned with the RIA platform of Independent Financial Partners (IFP), to provide support services for Wellspring’s fee-based financial advisory business. Additionally, the company has also aligned with Pensionmark Retirement Group, which provides a wide range of retirement-plan administrative and fiduciary support services. As of November 1, 2014, Carroll had more than $130 million in brokerage and advisory assets.

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“We are enthusiastic about affiliating with LPL Financial and bringing to our clients the significant benefits of a truly independent financial advisory practice,” Carroll says. “We appreciate LPL’s culture of independence and its open architecture framework, which enable us to provide our clients with unbiased financial advice.”

Carroll expects the new LPL partnership to “greatly accelerate our ability to accommodate further growth in the Gulf Coast region and to support our clients’ needs.”

Steve Pirigyi, executive vice president of business development at LPL Financial, says the firm has known Carroll for a long time and looks forward to levering his credentials in the financial advisory and retirement planning arena.

Carroll is a veteran in the retirement planning industry with nearly 30 years of experience. He was part of the executive start-up team that launched Wellspring Resources, which grew into a large national retirement plan outsourcing company, in a joint venture with State Street Bank of Boston in 1996.

The new Wellspring advisory firm will focus primarily on providing fee-based retirement planning services to privatelyvowned professional service firms, as well as retirement planning and wealth management services to business owners.

Louis Hanna, director of recruiting for Independent Financial Partners, says IFP is delighted to have Carroll join the Independent Financial Partners family. “John is a perfect example of one of the many breakaway advisers who have recognized the benefits and attributes of IFP’s multi-custodial hybrid RIA platform as a destination for their high net worth advisory practices,” he says. 

Products February 9, 2015

New TDF Evaluation Tool from Greenspring Wealth

Greenspring Wealth Management has launched the Target Date (k)larity evaluation tool, aimed at supporting the fiduciary needs of retirement plan sponsors and participants.
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Greenspring Wealth Management says it created the Target Date (k)larity product to help defined contribution plan fiduciaries engage in a prudent process to choose the most appropriate target-date fund (TDF) strategy for their participants.

“Target Date (k)larity is a comprehensive three-phase, seven-step target date evaluation process that aligns closely with Department of Labor guidance from 2013,” the firm explains.

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Phase one begins by identifying the goals and needs of the plan and assessing participant demographics such as age, salary, tenure, as well as participation and deferral rates. In phase two, Greenspring uses the information gathered in the first phase to conduct product due diligence on multiple TDF options—analyzing areas such as asset-class exposure, glide path construction, performance, risk vs. return and fees. In phase three, Greenspring makes a TDF recommendation and documents the entire process with a written executive summary and 25-page recommendation report that sponsors can leverage in audits and regulatory reviews.

“In the past, the selection of TDFs has typically been tied to the choice of plan provider with little thought given to whether the solution was right for the plan and participants,” notes Joshua Itzoe, partner and managing director of Greenspring’s institutional client group. “But with TDF assets projected to capture nearly 90% of 401(k) contributions by 2019 and more than 30 different product alternatives, we believe the fiduciary burden for retirement plan committees to prudently select and monitor TDFs has never been higher.”

More information on the Target Date (k)larity product line is at www.greenspringwealth.com/tdk. 

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