Client Service January 20, 2021

15th Anniversary of RPAY: Josh Ulmer

His practice has a nine-step strategy for how retirement plan advisers can improve the health of defined contribution plans and the retirement outlook for participants.

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Josh Ulmer

Josh Ulmer of the SeaPort Group at Morgan Stanley says that since he was named the 2017 PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year (RPAY), “the industry has become smaller through the consolidation of recordkeepers and plan advisers, and with that increased competition comes better services and pricing for plan participants and sponsors.”

He adds that “it has become more challenging for plan advisers to differentiate themselves, and it requires us to offer more services.”

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Despite these challenges, he says the SeaPort Group at Morgan Stanley has nearly doubled its assets under advisement (AUA) in the past three years, from just over $1 billion to $2 billion, while the number of plans it serves has risen from 35 to 55 today, Ulmer notes.

What has not changed is the group’s service model. Ulmer is the adviser at the practice, supported by five specialists in a vertical team structure: a practice leader, relationship manager, investment advisory specialist, investment analyst and investment reporting associate. Morgan Stanley provides the back office administration and operational support, Ulmer notes.

“We have found this the best structure to deliver services to clients, allowing us to focus on providing best-in-class advisory services to defined contribution [DC] plans,” he says. “This structure allows us to spend a lot of time evaluating the business strategy and the services we deliver to drive successful outcomes, as well as ensuring we consistently deliver a high level of service and execution. The model works great and is, certainly, something I intend to stick with.”

Ulmer says he is very optimistic about the future of the retirement planning industry. “Specialists who can prove their worth and provide clients with an understanding of the value they bring will always have a place in the market,” Ulmer says, adding he believes that advisers who can offer customized solutions will especially have a bright future.

Ulmer is also hopeful that pooled employer plans (PEPs) will catch on at the lower end of the market to improve retirement plan access.

Ulmer says he does not think that holistic financial wellness is more important today than it was three years ago. Rather, he argues that it has always been important.

What has changed is that there is a greater awareness among sponsors of the importance “of getting employees into the retirement plan and on track for a successful retirement,” he says. “They are now taking a broader view of just saving for retirement and auto-enrollment features to meet their employees wherever they are on their financial journey. A successful and holistic financial wellness offering must cover every aspect of someone’s financial journey, including student loan debt, college savings, medical expenses and saving for a home, to mention just a few. What is different today is that advisers are using technology to deliver this in scale.”

Since the pandemic hit the United States last March, the SeaPort Group has urged its plan sponsor clients “to step up their communication and messaging efforts to employees, especially on financial wellness fundamentals,” Ulmer says. “We have been urging participants to stay the course. We know that periods of volatility can lead to damaging decisions and suboptimal behavior.”

The practice made it a point to explain to its plan sponsor clients the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Ulmer says. The SeaPort Group also prioritized ensuring that the recordkeepers it works with could comply with the new laws, he says.

As to how retirement plan advisers can improve the health of DC plans and outcomes for participants, Ulmer lists nine things that advisers need to concentrate on.

“First, they need to fully understand plan design, administration and compliance,” Ulmer says. “Having technical knowledge is incredibly important to be a successful adviser and to improve the health of defined contribution plans and participants.

“Second, they need to understand the demographics of the plans they serve,” Ulmer continues. “They need to take the time to get under the hood and have conversations with human resources [HR] so they understand plan participant characteristics. That will guide how they use automatic features and can customize them around each sponsors’ retirement readiness goals.”

Next, he says advisers need to offer a holistic financial wellness program that has a robust infrastructure in place in order to deliver it.

“Fourth, they need to remain current on the legislative and regulatory front, fully up to date on provisions that impact plans.

“Fifth, they need to revisit plan success measures every year to see what progress is being made and continuously move the bar higher and higher,” he says.

Next, Ulmer suggests that advisers fully familiarize themselves with the offerings of recordkeepers, third-party administrators (TPAs) and investment managers.

Ulmer says he believes that each advisory practice should be able to conduct proprietary investment analysis, and that they should charge reasonable fees that are benchmarked regularly. Finally, Ulmer says advisers should “work with the client to have them adopt the right fiduciary service level for their plan.”

The Markets January 20, 2021

Market Watchers Hope Steadier Leadership Will Propel Growth

Speaking on the day of Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th U.S. president, sources say the markets and the economy should benefit from steadier, informed leadership.

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Nigel Green, chief executive and founder of deVere Group, is one of the market watchers applauding the nomination—and expected confirmation—of Janet Yellen as U.S. Treasury secretary.

Should she win Senate approval, Yellen will become the first person to have served as Treasury secretary, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers and chair of the Federal Reserve. In Green’s estimation, Yellen’s experience and steady leadership should help stock markets reach record highs during 2021.

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“Today’s political pageantry in Washington represents the dawning of an era of renewed certainty, stability and the return to established norms, all of which the markets approve,” Green suggests, referring to Inauguration Day. “Investors’ focus is now already on Janet Yellen, who will take over from Steve Mnuchin as U.S. Treasury secretary.”

As Green recalls, Yellen’s first day of confirmation testimony occurred in Congress on Tuesday, and the former Federal Reserve chair called on lawmakers to “act big” on coronavirus stimulus, especially with interest rates being at historic lows. Green says Yellen will stick to this message in the coming weeks and months, as the Biden administration’s 100-day vaccination blitz unfolds.

“At the Fed, she continually made the case for full employment, meaning we know already, her track record proves it, that she is prepared to spend,” Green says. “With Ms. Yellen in charge and with an economy that needs a shot in the arm, I think we can expect massive spending combined with continued ultra-low interest rates for years. This will act as a catalyst for stock markets.”

Importantly, Green warns against blind optimism, as the nation and the world continue to grapple with a deadly pandemic and deep internal and international political tensions.

“Investors should ride the Biden bounce in the markets—but do so judiciously,” he suggests. “There will be peaks and troughs as always, but with these policies and greater stability in the White House, I believe, we could see markets produce even higher highs in 2021 than in 2020.”

John Vail, chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management, says the coming years will undoubtedly bring more progressive policies to the fore—a fact that can both buoy and hinder markets.

“The proposed Cabinet definitely has a progressive tilt,” Vail says. “Even Janet Yellen, who seems centrist and certainly is respected, certainly has strong progressive credentials. Appointments can fairly quickly be approved by Vice President [Kamala] Harris breaking any ties, but it will be interesting to see if the Democrats care if they have no or only a handful of votes from Republicans.”

In Vail’s view, if the Democratic majority wishes to compromise in the hope of getting bills passed outside of the reconciliation process, then they might have to withdraw the most progressive nominees.

“Full information is not available on what executive orders will be changed or started, but some could have an effect on markets, especially any restrictions on fracking or other increases in regulation, especially in the health care and drug sectors,” Vail adds. “Note, however, that district judges may halt some of these orders in the same way they did with [former President Donald] Trump’s orders. The aggressiveness of the orders will indicate how much [President Joe] Biden wishes to compromise with Republicans in the Senate on the first stimulus bill.”

Annette Guarisco Fildes, president and CEO of the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), says her organization will work with Biden, Harris and the 117th Congress to protect and enhance employee benefits during the coming term.

“Our large employer member companies are ready to do their part to help vaccinate their workforces and reopen the economy,” Guarisco Fildes says. “ERIC believes the practical measures we have shared with the president will have an immediate, positive impact on working Americans across the nation by advancing access to vaccinations, lowering health care costs and enhancing financial wellness and retirement security.”

ERIC is calling on Congress and the administration to provide relief for single-employer pension plans and the multiemployer pension plan system; to strengthen retiree health care by allowing employers to use excess pension funds for retiree health and retiree life insurance benefits; and to temporarily ease testing requirements for employers that reinstate 401(k) matching contributions for the 2020 plan year. 

“ERIC will work diligently to ensure that large employers can provide robust, affordable, high-value employee benefits to their workforce,” Guarisco Fildes says. “There has never been a more important time to ensure that workers and their families are safe and healthy and have access to high quality, affordable health care and a financially secure retirement.”

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