Wealth Manager Carnegie Bolsters Qualified Retirement Plan Team

Wendy Eldridge

Carnegie Investment Counsel, a registered investment adviser with $4.5 billion in assets, has bolstered its qualified retirement plan practice with the hiring of 25-year veteran Wendy Eldridge, the firm announced Tuesday.

Eldridge will join as retirement plan adviser with a focus on enhancing the firm’s relationships with plan sponsor clients. She comes from Marcum Wealth, where she was a partner and managing director, and will join Cleveland-based Carnegie’s existing retirement plan practice, led by one of the company’s owners, Kim Gannis.

Eldridge is based in Cleveland, and will join the Cleveland-based firm with offices nationally.

One of the main reasons she chose Carnegie is “because of the firm’s current wealth management practice,” she wrote via email. “The firm’s experience and focus on wealth management will be instrumental” in her “vision of converging the two practices.”

Carnegie’s CEO, Richard Alt, noted in the announcement Eldridge’s experience and knowledge in structuring a retirement plan for employees.

“As a fiduciary adviser, we are extending our client-first priority into the retirement plan business with the addition of Wendy,” Alt said.

The strategy is part of a continued trend in retirement planning and wealth management. On Tuesday, CAPTRUST—one of the largest RIA players in the field—announced it has reached $1 trillion in assets across retirement plan advisement and individual wealth management.

“Plan sponsors need a trusted retirement plan adviser now more than ever,” Eldridge wrote via email. “Companies are increasingly recognizing the absolute necessity of not just offering a retirement plan but a competitive one. … Plan sponsors are facing more responsibilities and need to rely on their adviser to maintain their plan from a compliance and fiduciary standpoint, while also providing a true benefit to employees.”