2008 Retirement Plan Adviser Team of the Year

Team members: Barbara Delaney, Cathy O’Halloran, Martha Kelly, Kylee Hall

“Our company has worked with Barbara [Delaney] for more than 19 years and I have personally worked with her for 13 years,” one client says. “We are a mid-size company without many administrative internal resources and Barbara understands this and makes sure we have the resources and information available to provide a solid plan for our employees.”

Among an extraordinarily strong field of finalists, FFoA, led by President Barbara Delaney, stood out in receiving a record number of client nominations, as well as nominations from provider partners, TPAs, CPAs, and others. The accolades heaped on the team were noteworthy, as was the tenure of many of the relationships.

“I believe the reason our clients have been so loyal to our firm is we really do care. We have developed relationships that go beyond business to friendship and mutual respect,” explains Delaney about why her average client has been with her for more than a decade. “Our caring and passion carry over to customer care.”

Delaney has been working with employer-sponsored retirement plans for more than 20 years. On her own at FFoA since 2000, late last year Delaney announced a partnership with Avenir Equity, another National Retirement Partners firm, and its principal Bob Goldstein. The two firms also jointly purchased the book of business from another advisory firm, Wall Street Access, and have brought on one of that company’s employees. The new firm is operating under the name StoneStreet Equity.

Delaney says she serves as a counselor of sorts, negotiating the occasional tensions between HR and finance, and acting as an advocate for the plan sponsor in negotiations with vendors. Luckily for the negotiations, those in the TPA and provider community have high praise for the adviser team as well. “Having participated in quarterly investment reviews and annual pension valuation meetings with Barbara [and FFoA], I am amazed at their level of knowledge and consulting provided to their clients. They are able to translate the complex definitions and terminology into easy actionable takeaways and key decisions that the Executive Committee needs to address. The client has told me numerous times how happy they are with Barbara and her team’s services,” comments one TPA firm.

Having developed the depth and expertise to advise on multiple plan types, some of FFoA’s clients utilize their services as a total retirement adviser: “ FFoA is an extremely professional and knowledgeable group of people who are responsive to our needs as a company. They are excellent at assisting us in managing our service providers for our retirement plans (defined benefit, 401(k) and 457),” explains a client; “They provide us with independent advice and assist in managing our costs. They provide informative one-on-one sessions, as well as group sessions with our employees regarding our retirement plans and individual retirement goals. Overall, they have provided excellent guidance and service.”

In fact, this approach to advising on multiple plan types is a priority moving forward. Although it might sound a bit contrarian, Delaney says that the firm currently is focused on expanding its focus on defined benefit plans, which currently represent about 20% of the practice. Goldstein has a background as an actuary and, paired with Delaney’s strong background in asset management, they position the firm to offer an even more fully consultative approach to such plans. In fact, they already have been receiving referrals, she says.

Another change to the business is taking place in the area of fees. Although, traditionally, the majority of its fees have been from commissions, with a smaller portion coming from fees based on assets, Delaney expects those proportions to shift in the coming year. “By switching broker/dealers [to NRP Financial], we now are exploring more of a fee structure,” she explains.

The ability to tackle difficult situations is important, especially in a changing regulatory environment, and, although many of her clients sing her praises, Delaney admits there have been some trying times: “One of our clients that is publicly traded recently had to restate earnings and, as a result, all of the investment committee was replaced,” she explains. “We developed a new strategy in 2007 whereby, in the beginning of each review, we have a section on best practices for fiduciaries. By the time we went through that, the committee was all on board as we reviewed all prior meeting summaries and we were able to provide the documentation on how we arrived at the plan design and lineup.” Did it make a difference? You bet, she explains. “Going into the meeting we were almost told we would be fired. We have the client a year later and they are very happy.”

In regard to working through the changes of the Pension Protection Act and its implications for automatic enrollment and deferral increases, FFoA has been proactive in encouraging plan sponsors to adopt automatic enrollment and has succeeded with more than three-quarters of clients. In fact, Delaney encourages all her clients to budget for 100% participation, so they are always prepared for the cost.

FFoA manages to balance that focus on the future with a sold awareness of each plan sponsor’s needs and appetite for change. As one plan sponsor acknowledged, “[FFoA] at all times strives to understand our company culture and employee needs and, consequently, can provide a broad-based view of options and opportunities for our plan in an individualized manner. In fact, our plan is considered a retention tool in our competitive market and area of the country.”

Overall, the success of FFoA likely can be attributed to the breadth and consistency of sentiments like the plan sponsor client who said: “From the time we began working with Barbara and her team at FFoA, the quality and integrity of our company plan has improved dramatically. Our investment options are well-balanced and the awareness of our employees and their participation in our plan has greatly improved. I would also say that the trustees of our plan feel that the plan is being managed more responsibly than it was before the team at FFoA came to our rescue.”