PLANADVISER: Tell us about your role at your firm and how you contribute to its growth and progress. How did you end up there?
Masciopinto: In my role, we serve as the client’s direct day-to-day contact on the plan. We view our role as the quarterback of the plan for the sponsor. If there’s something I can’t directly help them with or answer, we help facilitate with their vendor partners to come to a solution. We are often their first phone call, and our goal is to make the sponsor’s life easier. Our clients are there to run a business, and we are there so they don’t have to be a retirement plan expert. My daily interactions with clients help to build their trust in our firm and fuel growth through retention and referrals. This is a role I’ve been in since entering the job market post-graduation more than 12 years ago. While it was not the career I sought out in college, this is an industry I am passionate about and see myself in for the remainder of career.
PLANADVISER: Have you had mentors or role models? Who are they and what lessons have you learned from them?
Masciopinto: I have been fortunate enough to have great mentors throughout my career. My first job was with a smaller registered investment advisory firm. There I had the opportunity to work with two amazingly skilled and patient advisers. They truly taught me from the ground up as a kid out of college and made me into the adviser I am today. They helped instill a passion for this industry and a proactive approach to client customer care. Prior to my current role, I worked at a larger firm and had countless mentors along the way, many of whom I still stay connected with to this day. My experience there helped broaden my experience and knowledge in the industry. Today at Creative Planning, I am surrounded by amazing coworkers daily. My manager and team consistently make themselves available as resources. Our collaborative environment has truly helped me continue to grow as not only an adviser, but a professional and person. It has been a blessing to find such an amazing company to work for with equally talented and amazing people.
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)?
Masciopinto: Our firm has been at the forefront of improving participant outcomes through our efforts in employee education and financial wellness. Through technology, communication and boots-on-the-ground employee interactions, we can be a resource for plan participants on anything related to financial matters. Our goal is to provide for employees what they would otherwise see if they were working with their own financial adviser. That also means we can tackle the tough questions, like how to handle their debt or how to create a budget. We truly are meeting participants where they are, rather than continuing the same generic retirement plan education. It is innovation like this that will continue to push the industry forward with the goal of getting everyone a secure retirement.