Bryan Peebles

Managing Director,
Strategic Retirement Partners

Business at a Glance as of 12/31/24

• Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky
• How many retirement plan assets do you have under advisement? $903.5M
• What is your median plan size (in assets)? $37M
• How many plans do you have under administration? 25
• How many participants in total do you serve? 16,000
• Parent firm: Not applicable

PLANADVISER: How is your team unique in the marketplace? How do you differentiate yourself from others?

Peebles: We pride ourselves on being authentic and relatable. Our goal is to take away the complexities that come with the retirement plan space and finances in general, throw out all the industry jargon and give our clients, their employees and their families the confidence that they are maximizing their offerings to the fullest. With every new relationship, we ask why we were selected. And every time, the reason is because we were relatable and they felt that we truly cared about their employees’ well-being. And that is exactly the feeling we want to leave them with.

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

Peebles: Obviously, we all have new business goals, and meeting or exceeding those goals is a success in itself. But we also have to look at our current clients and maintaining or even enhancing those relationships is just as if not more important. So, we look at milestones every year with our clients. What positive impacts did we make on the plan? We look at the number of meetings we had with employees and the outcomes of those meetings. How many employees did we help increase their deferral rates? Did we drive up Roth utilization for those that would be most benefited by it? Are we able to help employees make investment moves that better align with their comfort level and goals? If we can say show real improvement in those areas, then I would call that success.

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

Peebles: The service model is set up in a way that there really isn’t a day that goes by without participant interaction. It stems from the belief that to truly be effective to a wide variety of participants, then you have to meet the individual where they want to be met. That means delivering the information in a way they will be most willing to engage. That could be through monthly participant newsletters or videos, dedicated on-site days, or giving employees access to schedule a virtual meeting or phone call at any time. Using all three methods means that when they have a question, concern or need, they know there is a resource available to help them. It’s also important for them to know that they can reach out and not worry about receiving a bill or invoice for doing so.

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

Peebles: The biggest challenges I am seeing right now with participants are coming from an area of current needs, more than retirement—the necessities of daily life competing for the same dollars as retirement savings, debt levels that feel insurmountable and emergency expenses arising. That is why we are really focusing on getting as many of the new SECURE 2.0 provisions that address these immediate financial needs in place as quickly as possible. We also focus education on helping address those other areas, from holding participants’ hands through creating a budget that actual meets their needs and not just what they think they should be spending, to walking them through creating their emergency expense account. We know that if we can address these immediate needs, it will give participants the comfort and ability to take larger steps toward a financially independent retirement.

PLANADVISER: What’s your favorite book or podcast?

Peebles: I am a big fan of the Wall Street Journal podcasts, Your Money Briefing and What’s News. Short 15-minute episodes that are easy to catch and stay up with timely events.