Adam Johnstone

PLANADVISER: Tell us about your role at your firm and how you contribute to its growth and progress.

Johnstone: My role at our firm is leading our employee engagement and financial education efforts for our retirement plan clients. Through group education and one-on-one employee meetings, I strive to position myself as a trusted and valuable resource for any financial planning needs that plan participants may have. My goal is to encourage as much participation as possible in retirement plans to help participants save for the future. As employees can become overwhelmed by their finances and inundated with different opinions across all forms of media, my goal is to provide holistic financial education that helps participants make informed decisions that they can feel confident will put them on a clearer path toward ultimate financial freedom.

PLANADVISER: Where do you hope to take your career in the retirement industry in coming years?

Johnstone: As employers face continued pressure and expectations to provide more for their employees from a financial wellness standpoint, I would like to help expand our corporate offerings into other sorts of employer-sponsored plans, such as nonqualified deferred compensation and group benefit plans. I recently attained the Nonqualified Plan Consultant designation from the National Association of Plan Advisors. As these sorts of plans can serve as an invaluable tool for participants and their long-term financial planning goals, I hope to help implement these sorts of plans for both our current and potential new clients.

PLANADVISER: How did you end up in the retirement advisory industry?

Johnstone: As a Certified Financial Planner professional, I began my career and continue to operate primarily in the personal financial planning and wealth management space. Over the years, my business partner and firm leader, Brent Sheppard, has transitioned into working exclusively in the retirement plan advisory space. As his retirement advisory practice has grown rapidly over the years, along with that growth comes much time and energy that needs to be devoted to serving as a trusted and valuable financial resource for plan participants. This is where I came in and positioned myself to serve as the head of employee engagement and financial education for our retirement plan clients.