PLANADVISER: Tell us about your role at your firm and how you contribute to its growth and progress.
Crosby: My role as a senior financial adviser varies day-to-day, but it primarily comes down to two responsibilities: working with current clients and their employees to help push the plan and participants forward, while continuously looking for new opportunities to work with additional plan sponsors. Before becoming a financial adviser, my role at the firm was primarily service-related, so working with current clients to ensure they are receiving the best possible service will always naturally hold the most valuable place in my day-to-day work life. I consider timely responses, along with providing clients with answers and insights before they have to ask for them, to be the most important parts of my job. While finding new client opportunities is the most obvious way to grow and progress in the industry, it is impossible to have true growth if your current clients are leaving due to poor service.
PLANADVISER: How did you end up in the retirement advisory industry?
Crosby: Truthfully, by luck. About a decade ago, I was looking to change jobs and was introduced to a retirement plan specialist looking to hire support. I didn’t know the first thing about the industry, but I felt a great connection with the adviser. At the time, while happy to get the job, I didn’t realize how fortunate I really was. For the next several years, I was working with and being tutored on a daily basis by a highly regarded adviser and eventually an advisory team recognized for excellence in the industry. Simultaneously, I was seeing the impact that a retirement plan adviser can have across a huge population of employees in helping them reach successful retirement outcomes. While you could say I stumbled into the opportunity, it is not one that I took or continue to take lightly. I am very fortunate to have ended up in this industry and position.
PLANADVISER: What steps do you think will help improve the retirement industry and participant outcomes in the future (particularly ways in which your firm can help with that progress)?
Crosby: When looking at the retirement landscape from a 10,000-foot view, I think the recent legislation mandating automatic features (automatic enrollment, automatic increases) for new plans may have the biggest impact on participant outcomes over the next 30 to 40 years. These features are nothing new to the industry, but they have a tremendous impact on plan participation and deferral rates compared to plans that do not utilize them. A newly hired employee can develop an impactful retirement balance without ever having to take action within their plan. For current plans that aren’t mandated to have these features, there are certainly varying factors that will impact whether or not a company or organization will want to utilize them, but I believe they are worthy of consideration.
When looking more closely at individual outcomes, personalized financial wellness and advice emerge as some of the most impactful services our team provides. The ability to offer on-demand, unlimited one-to-one meetings with employees and provide actionable advice on how to best position themselves for a successful retirement offers significant value. While this advice may not be as broad-reaching as automatic plan features, its personalized nature delivers considerable benefits.