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

Rosenoff: I went to Northeastern University, where six-month co-ops are part of the curriculum. My first co-op was on the 401(k) sales desk at Putnam, and I absolutely loved it. The people I worked with were amazing, many of whom I still interact with today. That experience gave me exposure to the industry and helped me land my final co-op at Marsh McLennan in 2016. Since then, I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by incredible people who have excelled in their own right and were willing to share their knowledge of the adviser world with me. Beginning as a co-op, binding plan review books and taking notes on any call I was invited to, to now, eight years later (I haven’t left), I am now director of investments for the Northeast region.

If you ask any finance major while they’re in college, I’m willing to bet the overwhelming majority of them, when asked what they want to do (20-year-old me included), will say investment banking or hedge fund analyst, and none of them will say investment adviser for 401(k) plans. With the benefit of hindsight, I feel very fortunate and appreciative that I was able to begin my career in this part of the financial services world instead.

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)?

Rosenoff: As someone whose role is focused on investment research, I would love to say something along the lines of “pick better funds” as the way to improve the industry and participant outcomes in the future. While offering solid investments is critically important, to me, the biggest gap our industry has is participant education, by far.

In my opinion, the primary driver of generating positive outcomes is getting participants to understand the simple things we all take for granted right off the bat, like the importance of contributing more money early on, ensuring the match is always captured, the benefits of Roth contributions, the purpose of target-date funds, etc. A few simple adjustments early in a career can make an outsized impact later. There’s plenty of attention now on the decumulation phase, which is absolutely necessary, but in many cases, it’s just too late, because participants don’t have enough saved. We need to solve that at the core issue, which is building better financial habits for the younger end of the workforce so when it does come time to decumulate, participants are able to take advantage of the options available to them and retire with dignity.

PLANADVISER: What have you done that you are most proud of?

Rosenoff: Don’t judge me, but I am most proud of the work I’ve been able to do on the stable value asset class. It was always odd to me that this asset class that garnered a significant percent of plan assets was basically ignored, and the commonly cited reason I found when I asked why it was ignored was “stable value is complicated.” I felt it was an opportunity to add value. Up until recently, stable value certainly was boring, but nonetheless critically important because of its wide usage and role as the most conservative option. I actively chose stable value as one of my areas of coverage (hence the “don’t judge me”) and, since then, have developed a library of content, including our own factsheets, comparison tools and industry surveys. Most importantly, I helped provide new and innovative solutions to our clients to get them out of inferior products. Given the fundamental shift in the interest rate environment, stable value is now decidedly not boring and actually presents a major opportunity to differentiate our team’s investment capabilities for our clients.

I also passed all three levels of the CFA exam on the first try; that was pretty cool, too.

About Marsh
Marsh is the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor. With over 45,000 colleagues operating in 130 countries, Marsh serves commercial and individual clients with data-driven risk solutions and advisory services. Marsh is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. With annual revenue nearly $20 billion, Marsh McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment through four market-leading businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman. For more information, visit mmc.com, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter or subscribe to BRINK.

About Marsh McLennan Agency
Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) provides business insurance, employee health & benefits, retirement & wealth, and private client insurance solutions to organizations and individuals seeking limitless possibilities. With 10,000+ colleagues and 180+ offices across North America, MMA combines the personalized service model of a local consultant with the global resources of the world’s leading professional services firm, Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC).