2025 PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year
Plan Participant Service

Jim Keenehan

Senior Consultant,
HUB International

FINALIST

Business at a Glance as of 12/31/24

  • Location: Bethesda, Maryland
  • How many retirement plan assets do you have under advisement? $880M
  • What is your median plan size (in assets)? $22M
  • How many plans do you have under administration? 40
  • How many participants in total do you serve? 9,000
  • Parent firm: HUB International

PLANADVISER: What does success mean for your practice? What metrics do you use to measure success?

Keenehan: For us, success is defined by client satisfaction, employee financial well-being and team growth. We measure this through client retention, a strong indicator of trust and long-term impact; team career growth to ensure our team members continue to develop their expertise; new client acquisition, which reflects the value we bring to the marketplace; and Financial Wellness engagement by tracking metrics like increases in emergency savings and reductions in high-interest debt. These benchmarks help us ensure we’re making a meaningful difference.

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

Keenehan: Despite progress, too many organizations still offer subpar retirement plans with high fees and limited participant support. We firmly believe that every employee deserves access to a high-quality retirement plan with reasonable fees and fiduciary guidance.

To help address this, we provide free workshops educating plan sponsors on best practices and strategies to turn their retirement and financial wellness programs into competitive advantages. We advocate for a more employee-centric approach, ensuring retirement plans are not just offered, but truly utilized to their fullest potential.

PLANADVISER: Please describe your service model in serving participants (including frequency of work, as well as how you are compensated).

Keenehan: Our participant service model is built around a customized financial wellness program tailored to each client’s unique workforce. It begins with a financial wellness assessment to understand employees’ financial challenges and priorities. From there, we develop a program that includes live workshops on relevant topics and one-on-one financial coaching. During these sessions, employees receive holistic, fiduciary advice on any financial matter. We believe financial wellness is an essential component of a strong retirement benefit. That is why our services are included in our full-scope fiduciary consulting agreements.

PLANADVISER: What are three of the biggest challenges that plan participants face today? How are you helping to address them?

Keenehan: The three biggest challenges are:

  • Lack of emergency savings
  • High-interest debt
  • Rising cost of living

When we meet with employees one-on-one, we take a comprehensive look at their income, spending habits and financial accounts. Our approach isn’t about restricting their lifestyle. We would never tell someone to skip their favorite coffee shop or stop going out with friends. Instead, we focus on intentional spending and smart financial planning.

By setting achievable goals and providing accountability, we help participants improve their financial situation step by step, so they’re in a stronger position each time we meet.

PLANADVISER: What’s your favorite book or podcast?

Keenehan: I’ll go a little off the beaten path here. I’m a diehard Notre Dame fan (and proud alum), so I love keeping up with Irish Illustrated for all things Fighting Irish football.

If I had to pick a finance-related favorite, “I Will Teach You to Be Rich,” by Ramit Sethi, is a great, straightforward guide to building wealth without sacrificing the joys of life.

The PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year finalists and winners demonstrate leadership and a commitment to excellence in serving retirement plan sponsors and participants and contributing to the retirement plan adviser industry. Nominees are judged on a mixture of qualitative and quantitative measures, including tenure in the business; retirement plan business as a percentage of practice revenue; answers to essay questions; compliance records; and willingness to serve in a fiduciary role to clients’ plans. Finalists are interviewed by judges before a winner is selected. In 2025 there were 54 applicants and 28 finalists. No fee is charged to participate. The rating is not indicative of the Advisor’s future performance.