2024 RPAY – Leah Sylvester, Shepherd Financial

Business at a Glance as of 12/31/23

• Location: Carmel, Indiana
• How many plan assets do you have under advisement? $3.7B
• What is your median plan size (in assets)? $5.4M
• How many plans do you have under administration? 268
• How many participants in total do you serve? 60,000
• Parent firm: N/A

PLANADVISER: How is your team unique/competitive in the marketplace?

Sylvester: Shepherd Financial was built to specifically serve retirement plans. We’ve always operated with a team structure rather than as individuals, which allows us to provide our clients with consistent, best-in-class service. I’m proud to say our team is comprised of incredible people from a wide range of backgrounds. Their unique work experiences provide different perspectives on how to serve employees across a variety of industries. Our retirement plan specialists are able to handle the intricacies and nuances of the industry in a way a generalist simply can’t. We use detailed workflows for proper preparation and timely follow-up, document everything and produce customized, quality content for each client.

Our team’s mission is all about helping people and companies thrive. As the president of retirement plans, I’m simply unwilling to settle for the status quo and am always looking for ways to take our service game to the next level. This means we are constantly absorbing new information, strengthening relationships with industry thought leaders and bringing this knowledge to our plan sponsors.

And while all of our core values are important, we believe empathy is truly what differentiates us from other advisers in the marketplace. Empathy is not hard-wired in anyone – it’s a skill we help each team member develop, challenging them to share and understand others’ experiences. We know our level of care and willingness to engage with clients like this is both what helps retain business and win new business.

PLANADVISER: Are you connected to a wealth management division? If so, please explain how you work for them and your goals for coordination. If not, please explain whether you plan to be in the future, or not, and why.

Sylvester: Yes, we are. We’ve made a big effort over the years to ensure our wealth management division is a complement to and continuation of the services we provide to retirement plan clients. As their retirement plan advisers, we know we have the opportunity – and honor – to build trusted relationships with both plan committees and employees. We don’t take that lightly!

Retirement is a very big life event, and we spend a lot of time helping people get ready for it. Transitioning from a consistent paycheck to living off what you’ve saved can be intimidating, so once you get to retirement, you want to work with someone you trust. Because we have a team of wealth advisers skilled at handling that next phase of life, we can extend that trusted relationship from our retirement team to our wealth management team. Our goal for coordination is to create a seamless, best-in-class transition. And we can achieve that seamless experience because this isn’t starting all over with someone new – our wealth management team, including six CFPs, is visible and accessible for retirement plan participants at all times. They can ask technical questions, get allocation recommendations or receive a complimentary consultation to gauge how their financial plan is doing.

PLANADVISER: What challenges do you think the retirement plan industry faces, and what role do you have in addressing and confronting those challenges?

Sylvester: We’re all facing an information overload! The rules surrounding retirement plans have become more complex, the decisions and options more varied, and the consequences steeper. There’s no way for a committee member to be a full-time expert in so many facets of plan management – and that means trusted, proven advisers need to be the bridge. We take the lead. We simplify. We clarify. As we proactively advocate for our clients, we show them how to then proactively advocate for their plans and employees.

As advisers, we’re certainly challenged by fee compression. We want to deliver more services, authentically deepen relationships, and continue to hire the best team members, but it can be a delicate balance when competitors undercut pricing while offering less services. We have to keep demonstrating we charge a reasonable fee for our value add.

For the industry as a whole, we need to get excited about and committed to the next generation. How can we bring younger, more diverse individuals straight from college into the retirement plan industry? There are so many possible lanes, from advisers to recordkeepers to TPAs to mutual fund managers to actuaries, and the need for great talent continues to grow. Our team is proud to champion the important work of preparing people for successful retirement outcomes. That means establishing a presence and networking with higher education institutions, creating clear development paths, and offering consistent learning opportunities.

PLANADVISER: Why do you feel it is important to work with plan sponsors and companies offering retirement benefits to their employees?

Sylvester: A retirement plan is one small component of someone’s company, but making sure it’s compliant and competitive to be an attractive benefit for recruitment and retention really does require a full team of people! Most of the time, employers don’t have the expertise or time to dedicate to their plan. And that’s where we can provide such value as their trusted resource.

I genuinely believe it’s my job as a consultant to listen first. I need to understand their pain points so I can provide actionable solutions. It’s a joy to know I can make a real difference for a plan sponsor – together, we can achieve company goals, provide benefits to employees that actually allow them to reach positive retirement outcomes and ensure compliance with the many rules and regulations out there. When I do my job well, it lets my clients thrive in the areas where they are the experts, remain competitive in the marketplace and breathe easier at night.

PLANADVISER: What are three of the most important issues your plan sponsor clients face with their retirement plans? What actions do you take to assist them in overcoming those issues?

Sylvester: Plan sponsors want to know if their plan and its benefits are competitive so they can recruit and retain talented individuals. We benchmark plan design features like automatic enrollment/increases, matching formulas and vesting schedules. And with numerous other plan design options as a result of SECURE 2.0, there’s even more for consideration. We compare these against companies of similar size, in the client’s local vicinity and within their specific industry. We also look at data from their top competitors – are they offering something unique in their plan? Can we spot any trends? We talk through any associated costs, as well as how to best promote these enhancements to their current and future employees. The next hurdle is managing complexity in an environment of ever-increasing customization. We help plan sponsors break down investment offerings like target date funds, managed accounts and guaranteed income products, just to name a few. The best solutions only work if people can understand them. That’s why having an effective communication plan is essential. And communication is where we thrive – our presentations, resources, and team members themselves enable employees to truly understand their options and how to make informed decisions.

Finally, in unknown territory or when something goes wrong, plan sponsors need to know how to manage it. Missed deferrals, upcoming audit or potential plan merger? We’ll hold your hand throughout. As complex as all this actually is, we are there to ease the fiduciary burden.