Registration and Buffet Lunch

Opening Remarks: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER

Retirement Plan Advisers of the Year on the Hot Seat: Have a pressing question you want to ask some of the best advisers in the country? Representatives from 2019 Retirement Plan Advisers of the Year answer audience questions about their practices, client services, team structure, and whatever else the audience cares to ask.
Moderator: Joshua P. Itzoe, Partner & Managing Director, Greenspring Advisors
Panelists:
Vincent Morris, President, Resources Investment Advisors
Jason K. Chepenik, Managing Partner, Chepenik Financial
Ellen R. Lander, Principal and Founder, Renaissance Benefits Advisors Group, LLC
David T. Griffin, Director – Institutional Retirement Plans, Atlanta Retirement Partners | LPL Financial

The Role of Participant Services in a Retirement Advisory Practice: What is your most valuable asset? Who is your customer – is it the plan sponsor or the participant? With fee compression a continuing challenge for many advisers, participant services have grown in popularity among traditional retirement plan specialists. Panelists from traditional retirement plan specialists will discuss the evolution of participant services in their firms and how they are embracing new practice models and delivery mechanisms. Panelists will also discuss the competition for participant attention and the role the relationship with the plan sponsor can play in winning the end participant client.
Moderator: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Grant Arends, President, intellicents
Brian Hanna, Senior Plan Consultant, Everhart Advisors
James F. Marshall, Founder/Chairman, Spectrum Investment Advisors

Coffee Break

Learning From Adviser M&A Transactions: The retirement plan advisory market is constantly in flux, and competition is fierce for advisers to “sign on” with supporting firms and services. The past year has seen some significant transactions as retirement plan advisers make decisions about the future of their practices and the market and acquiring firms see the opportunities in cementing a larger foundational presence in serving retirement plans. Hear from some high-profile retirement plan advisers who recently went through transactions discuss what they learned through the process. Advisers will hear about the busy M&A market and things advisers should consider as they contemplate their future.
Moderator: Dick Darian, Founder & CEO, Wise Rhino Group
Panelists:
Ty Parrish, Partner, Cerity Partners
Daniel Bryant, President of National Sales, Retirement and Private Wealth, Sheridan Road Financial, a division of HUB International

Washington Update: Leading experts explain retirement-related developments in Washington, D.C., and state capitals across the U.S. We’ll dive deep into the latest legislation and regulations impacting retirement plan sponsors and participants.
Moderator: John Manganaro, Managing Editor, PLANADVISER.com
Panelists:
Joan M. Neri, Counsel, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
David N. Levine, Principal, Groom Law Group, Chartered

Cocktail Reception

Opening Night and After Dinner Speaker Frank Caliendo
Comedian, actor, and impressionist Frank Caliendo has been making people laugh his entire life.  He is well known for his impressions of famous personalities. On stage, Caliendo’s high energy act is a blend of observations, impressions, characters and anecdotal stories that start at a frenetic pace and never let up. Though Frank can be highly known for his variety of sports-related impressions, he makes his live shows appealing for everyone in attendance by continually including a little bit of every major genre – sports, political figures, and celebrities.

After Dinner Cocktails and Monday – Football Night!

(Sponsored by T. Rowe Price)

Breakfast (Exhibit Hall)

Opening Remarks: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER

Ready! Fire! Aim? An Analysis of Participant Behavior
The Ready! Fire! Aim? research series is an ongoing study that analyzes how participants are engaging with defined contribution plans and how these saving and withdrawal behaviors can interact with target date fund design. Initially published in 2007, J.P. Morgan’s original research found participant behavior was much more varied and volatile than many target date fund providers had assumed in their asset allocation models, with significant ramifications around potential outcomes. This year we evaluated an expanded participant universe, which allows for a deeper analysis dive with perspectives on how enrollment and salary can shape behaviors and what advisors can do to help build stronger plans.
Presenter: Anne Lester, Portfolio Manager and Head of Retirement Solutions, J.P. Morgan Asset Management

(Sponsored by J.P. Morgan Asset Management)

The SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI)
One of the most anticipated regulations this year was the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI).   Roberta Ufford with the SEC’s Division of Investment Management and Bradford Bartels with the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets will join us to discuss Reg BI and other rules and guidance issued alongside Reg BI, including an interpretation relating to the duties of advisers under the Advisers Act, and how the new rules and guidance may affects rollovers and rollover related advice.   
Moderator: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Roberta Ufford, Senior Special Counsel, Division of Investment Management, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Bradford Bartels, Special Counsel, Division of Trading and Markets, Securities and Exchange Commission

Coffee Break (Exhibit Hall)

Session 1
The Pillars of Asset Allocation Fund Options 
Managed accounts, Target-Date Funds, Hybrid Funds, Risk-Based models.
Moderator: Steven W. Glasgow, Executive Vice President/Wealth Management, Financial Advisor, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC 
Panelists: 
Ralph Ferraro, Senior Vice President, Head of Product, Lincoln Financial Group
Ellen R. Lander, Principal and Founder, Renaissance Benefits Advisors Group, LLC
David A. Anderson, Partner, SHA Retirement Group

Session 2
Unique—And Simple—Ways to Increase Savings 
It is understood that increasing deferrals is hard, especially when most Americans don’t have emergency savings and are living paycheck to paycheck. But, every bit going into the retirement plan can help. What are new ways that the industry is seeing to help participants add extra money to their retirement plans, whether through savings apps, like EvoShare, or text messaging, or one-time additional asks?
Moderator: James F. Sampson, Director, Retirement Advisory Services, Hilb Group Retirement Services
Panelists:
Christy Lausch, Workplace Investor Experience Vice President, T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
Katie Taylor, Vice President, Thought Leadership, Fidelity
Mick Wienholt, Retirement Services Major Accounts Sales Executive,  ADP

Session 3
Beyond the Buzzwords: Making “Cents” of Financial Wellness 
“Financial wellness” may be a hot phrase in the retirement plan industry, but it’s a bit of an enigma…there’s no agreement on what it means or expected outcomes—or even an anticipated ROI. Each person–adviser, provider, plan sponsor–has a different idea of what financial wellness is, from simply a holistic education program, to a student loan benefit, to an integrated HSA, to something else entirely. So enough with what is might be, this session will tackle what it MUST be to have its intended effects. In this session, interactive polling will crowdsource a meaning and standard for financial wellness, while expert panelists will discuss and debate various delivery mechanisms, the role of fintech, topics that should be addressed with employees, the options for providers-those affiliated with the plan or outside specialists, as well as in and out of plan solutions to help lessen financial stress and improve retirement outcomes of Americans.
Moderator: Sean M. Ciemiewicz, Founder & Managing Partner,Retirement Benefits Group (RBG)
Panelists:
Kenneth Forsythe, Head of Product Strategy, Empower Retirement
Jim McDonald, Partner, Channel Financial
Kelli Send, Principal, Senior Vice President – Participant Services, Francis Investment Counsel LLC

Session 1
Building the Next Generation Of Advisers 
If a client at age 65 is hesitant to work with an adviser who is much younger than they are, what’s going to happen in 10 years? Or 20 years? This breakout session will examine the most effective strategies for attracting and retaining younger people in the financial advice field. Importantly, the session will also explore ways to attract more diverse talent in terms of gender and racial/cultural background. Particular attention will be paid to the challenging fact that barriers to entry in this industry have shifted and in many cases gotten more difficult.
Moderator: Daniel J. Peluse, Director, Wintrust Retirement Benefit Advisor
Panelists:
Stephanie Hunt, Retirement Plan Consultant, Atlanta Retirement Partners
Keith J. Gredys, JD, Chairman and CEO, Kidder Advisers, Inc.

Session 2
Multiply Employer Plan (MEPs): Opportunity or Threat?
For retirement plan advisers, passage of “open multiple employer plan (MEP) legislation” could fundamentally change relationships with plan sponsors and providers, as well as create the need for new distribution models. Complicating the issue, there are many proposed bills floating around the Congress that would pave the way for the use of open multiple employer plans, each in a different way. This breakout session will explore in detail the different proposals for promoting the use of open MEPs, and attendees will learn about the near-, mid- and long-term consequences for advisers in the rise of open MEPs. Particular attention will be paid to the big question of how open MEPs will be distributed and served.
Moderator: Robert A. Goldstein, Principal, StoneStreet Equity LLC
Panelists:
David Kaleda, Principal, Groom Law Group, Chartered
Eric S. Levy, Executive Vice President, AIG Retirement Services, AIG Life & Retirement

Session 3
A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity…With a Deadline
When focusing on improving participant outcomes, sometimes it can be hard to also manage all of the aspects of retirement plan optimization – fiduciary governance, plan management, investment services, participant engagement, delivering value on expenses and documentation.  In a recent study, approximately 300,000 financial advisors are reported to have between 1 and 10 retirement plans.  Many of these advisors are likely high integrity advisors but don’t have the time or resources to devote to becoming specialists in serving retirement plans. As employers (fiduciaries) “raise the bar” on expectations from their advisor there is an opportunity for partnering.  But the key is finding the right partner.  Finding the right partner can be critical, both to win new business, and to create the desired successful outcomes with others. Learn about the benefits and service models that are available for support.
Presenter: Todd Timmerman, Managing Director, Retirement Plan Analytics

Lunch (Exhibit Hall)

Workshop 1 
(Sponsored by American Funds by Capital Group)
What’s on the Menu? Re-evaluating Investment Lineups Beyond the QDIA
Since nearly 80% of DC assets are outside the QDIA, it’s crucial that the entire DC menu be designed for participant success. We all know that too much choice can be bad for participants, but which types of investments should be included in a streamlined menu? In this presentation, we outline building blocks for a better DC menu, providing specific suggestions in the three major asset classes: U.S. equity, international equity and fixed income.

Key takeaways:

• A carefully curated investment lineup can help put guardrails around participant choice, boosting the chances for success.
• Offering fewer, but broader, funds can help participants avoid overly concentrated portfolios.
• Investment options should provide participants the downside resilience they need.

Presenters:
John Doyle, SVP, Senior Retirement Strategist, Capital Group | American Funds
Jonathan Young, SVP, Senior National Accounts Manager, Capital Group | American Funds

Workshop 2
”Trailblazers in Benefits: Crush Student Loan Debt & Win the Talent Acquisition Race!”
Student loan debt is not just a millennial problem, it affects many participants of all ages, and is making it difficult for many to find the funds to plan for retirement. Companies are starting to recognize this problem, and some are finding unique ways to help.  Advisors can help engage plan sponsors with this topic by bringing them a solution that allows employees to defer part or all of their employee contributions, as well as part or all of their employer match, towards paying student loan debt.  A financial Advisor with over 25 years of experience, David Krasnow is the founder and CEO of Thrive Matching, LLC.   Thrive was created to enable individuals with Student Loan debt to allocate the company match dollars for student loan repayment, helping employees pay down their debt from education loans without increasing the employer’s benefits budget.
Presenter: David Krasnow, Founder and CEO, Thrive: Flexible Matching Program

Session 1
New Considerations For Retirement Plan Committees
One of the most common reasons plan sponsors turn to advisers is to get assistance with governance, including items such as putting in processes that help avoid litigation and running an efficient committee meeting. Advisers do this by working hand in hand with retirement plan committees. This session will detail best practices (through case studies) advisers can utilize when working with committees, and address the need for committee training.
Moderator: Robert Rafter, President, RJR Consulting
Panelists:
Jeffrey M. Petrone, Managing Director, SageView Advisory Group
Brett Shofner, Work Plan Retire
Sean Patton, Founding Partner, Westminster Consulting

Session 2
The Value of Supplementary Plan Options
Advisers are increasingly looking at Cash balance, Nonqualified Deferred Compensation, and ESOPs as a way to increase leads and drive deeper wallet share by adding supplementary plan options to your practice. This session will detail options to help clients attract, retain and reward the key employees and executives who drive the success of their business, and help those employees better save for retirement. Learn how integrating supplementary savings plans can grow your advisory practice and deliver additional value to your existing clients. Hear from advisers who have helped clients add these options to benefits programs and from providers about how to identify a prospective opportunity for such plans.
Moderator: Corby Dall, President & Managing Partner, 401k Advisors Intermountain
Panelists:
Jeff Roberts, Regional Channel Manager, ADP
Phillip L. Currie Jr., Managing Director, Fulcrum Partners

Session 3
Prospecting And Asking for Referrals in 2019
Survey data shows advisers find it a challenge to obtain enough referrals so that they can meet their growth goals. The data shows advisers want to increase their referability, but they are not sure exactly how to do it. This breakout session will encourage advisers with growth aspirations to not focus on one or two tactics but to build a strategic framework for becoming more referable. Another consideration that will be explored is the way advisers can leverage technologies that will help them scale their businesses, support growth, and add more value for their existing clients.
Moderator: Jason A. Johnson,Senior Vice President-Wealth Management, Retirement Plan Consultant, Wealth Advisor, UBS Financial Services, Inc.
Panelists: 
David T. Griffin, Director – Institutional Retirement Plans,Atlanta Retirement Partners | LPL Financial
David Hinderstein, President, Strategic Retirement Group
David M. Kulchar, Managing Director, Retirement Plan Services, Oswald Financial

Coffee Break (Exhibit Hall)

Session 1
The Fundamentals Of Retirement Income Products
Retirement income is overwhelming! Decumulation is much more complicated than accumulation–needing much more personalized and specialized guidance, and the time is now to focus on this vital component of retirement and retirement plans. As participants accumulate most of their wealth in payroll deferral savings plans, it means they are increasingly looking to their plan sponsors for guidance, who turn to retirement plan advisers. Whether or not advisers are creating individual retirement income plans in a wealth-management framework, all advisers must understand the fundamental products being offered and developed. Panelists will discuss different options for retirement income products types to help advisers understand the current landscape, which may include (but are not limited to) in-plan insurance products, managed payout funds, managed accounts, and out-of-plan annuity windows.
Moderator: James A. Lyday, Managing Director, Pensionmark Financial Group, LLC
Panelists:
Doug McIntosh, Vice President, Investments, Prudential
Sean Murray, Principal and Chief Revenue Officer, Retiree Income

Session 2
Health Saving Accounts (HSAs) As a Retirement Planning Vehicle
In the constantly evolving benefits landscape, plan sponsors and participants rely on the vision and guidance of trusted partners to make the best choices. As healthcare costs rise, many employers are shifting greater responsibility to employees to save for expenses using tax-advantaged health savings accounts (HSAs). What are the benefits of health savings accounts and how do they fit in a retirement plan advisers’ practice? Do HSAs present a natural opportunity for DC advisers to help promote more holistic retirement planning that considers the challenging task of paying for medical care post-employment? How much of an opportunity does the HSA market present from a growth standpoint?
Moderator: John Manganaro, Managing Editor, PLANADVISER.com
Panelists:
Larry Bohrer, VP, Corporate Brokerage Retirement Services, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Gregory F. Adams, Consultant, Fiduciary Investment Advisors, LLC

Session 3
The Road to Offering Financial Independence, Profitably
Financial wellness is on the tongue of everyone in the retirement plan industry and while HR clients may be enthusiastic, most finance departments are wary. Advisers who want to be true retirement plan advisers, with an eye towards all areas of the retirement plan, need to determine how they can offer access to best-in-breed financial wellness programs to enrich the benefits programs and participant outcomes–while maintaining profitability and adding to their overall value. What does it mean for advisers to deliver financial wellness (on their own or through partnerships with providers) and what does a year of participant service delivery and successful outcome-based metrics look like? This session will answer those questions, using with real life examples and outcomes—to show advisers how they can create stronger retirement plans and client relationships through leveraging financial wellness. Advisers will understand how to partner with wellness providers, and move the needle at client plans, while still owning the client relationship and adding value to the client as the trusted expert consultant.
Moderator: Paul D’Aiutolo, Senior Vice President – Wealth Management, Senior Retirement Plan Consultant, The D’Aiutolo, Malcolm & Associates Investment Consulting Group
Panelists:
Kelley M. Palmer, Marketing Director, Retirement Optimization, John Hancock
John M. Ludwig, Financial Advisor, LHD Retirement

What ‘Is the Future
of Financial Wellness?
Join MassMutual’s Head of Product, Paul LaPiana, and Nova 401(k) Associates’ Executive Vice President, Russ Hooker as they discuss how current market trends are affecting our industry. Together we’ll look at where the industry is going and how as an advisor, you can better prepare your participants to plan for it.
Presenters: Paul LaPiana, Head of Product, MassMutual U.S.
Russ Hooker, Executive Vice President, Nova 401(k) Associates
Interviewer: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER

(Sponsored by MassMutual)

How to Define Your “Practice Culture”
All the flurry of M&A activity and the movement towards acknowledging a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) means advisers leading practices must be proactive and intentional about defining what they want their practice to be known for—not just in terms of client and participant outcomes but in terms of their employees and communities as well. This isn’t just good for business, but good for recruitment, as younger professionals increasingly want to understand how a firm views its CSR footprint before joining. Hear how leading advisers have consciously set out to define a community or service role as part of their adviser culture.
Moderator: Jason K. Chepenik, Managing Partner, Chepenik Financial
Panelists:
Randall C. Long, Founder and Managing Principal, SageView Advisory Group
Barbara Delaney, Principal, StoneStreet Equity LLC

Cocktails (Exhibit Hall)

BBQ Country Blues Party! (Valencia Terrace and lawn)
No need to go off-site!
All are invited to our BBQ Country Blues party on the back lawn, featuring live music, food, drinks, and much more!

Late Night Lounge (Lobby Lounge—Main level)

Breakfast

Opening Remarks: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER

Unlocking the Retirement Income Dilemma: For those paying attention, retirees have spoken volumes and demonstrated through observable behavior their numerous preferences for living a successful retirement.  These in turn, have significant implications for advisors and their clients both in terms of adapting plans to accommodate retiree needs and retirement income solution design.
Speaker: Rick Fulford, Executive Vice President and Head of PIMCO’s U.S. Retirement and Defined Contribution Business, PIMCO U.S.
Interviewer: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER

(Sponsored by PIMCO)

Molly’s Game: The True Story of the Women Behind the Most Exclusive High-Stakes Underground Poker Game in the World
Guest Speaker: Molly Bloom

Coffee Break

Risk Management for Advisers—Litigation, Insurance, Audits: Recent retirement plan lawsuits focused on questionable investments options, high fees, plan administration challenges and conflicts of interest have entangled some advisers, and other advisers have spent years working through DOL audits. Advisers have to understand the landscape and know how to preempt their involvement, but respond when necessary. Hear from expert attorneys and an insurance carrier about how advisers can put their best foot forward.
Moderator: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Jamie Fleckner, Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP
Rhonda Prussack, SVP and Head of Fiduciary and Employment Practices Liability, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

To-Go-Lunch