Matthew Vandre

Director of Digital Services, Fiduciary Financial Planner, Francis LLC

Business at a Glance

PLANADVISER: How has your retirement plan practice evolved over the past three to five years? What strategic decisions most changed your growth trajectory or client impact?

Vandre: Over the past several years, I have helped our retirement plan practice evolve from a primarily regional, in-person model into a highly scalable, technology-enabled national platform—without losing the personal connection our clients expect. The work-from-home shift accelerated this transformation, allowing us to deliver fiduciary consulting and participant education virtually, while expanding our reach beyond geographic boundaries.

As virtual engagement became normalized, we refined our delivery to balance efficiency with depth. Video meetings, recorded education and interactive digital tools now complement in-person support, giving employers flexibility and participants consistent access to advice—whether they’re in an office, at home or on the road. This approach allows us to standardize best practices while remaining responsive to the unique needs of each workforce.

More recently, my leadership of the Francis AI Committee has begun to enhance how we serve both sponsors and participants. Artificial-intelligence-driven tools help us create more timely, accessible and life-stage-relevant education. Internally, these tools support continuity across relationships, aligning insights from plan sponsors to financial planners to digital touchpoints. This ensures participants receive consistent, accurate guidance, regardless of when or how they engage.

PLANADVISER: What differentiates your team in a crowded advisory marketplace today? Please expand on what you do differently in practice, not philosophy.

Vandre: What differentiates our team is not a philosophy, but how we operate in practice. Francis LLC is built on a strictly conflict-free, hourly-based fee model, eliminating asset-based fees, commissions and sales incentives that can erode participant outcomes. This structure builds immediate trust and protects employees from conflicts shown to increase costs and reduce performance.

We focus exclusively on employers and their employees, rather than splitting attention between retirement plans and individual wealth management. Our advisers act as ERISA fiduciaries at all times, ensuring participant interests remain the sole priority.

Most importantly, participants have direct access to experienced advisers—not call centers or rotating representatives. That access matters in real life. When a participant I had worked with for years called after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, we spent months together preparing her finances and estate so she could focus on her family. In another case, I helped automatically enrolled employees earning minimum wage pause retirement contributions to stabilize housing and build emergency savings.

Our culture emphasizes empathy, approachability and partnership. This combination of fiduciary rigor, transparency and ongoing human support delivers meaningful impact for all employees—not just those with large account balances.

PLANADVISER: How do you engage participants across different life stages and income levels? Include frequency, delivery methods, and how your services are paid for.

Vandre: We engage participants by combining conflict-free advice, consistent human access and timely technology-supported education—delivered in ways that meet people where they are. Our strictly hourly-based fee model establishes trust early, since participants know advice is never tied to products, rollovers or asset gathering.

Engagement includes regular in-person visits—at least annually anywhere and for any shift—supplemented by virtual meetings to effectively support remote, mobile and multi-site workforces. This blended model ensures accessibility without sacrificing personal connection.

We tailor education and advice by life stage and need. Early-career employees focus on participation, debt management and savings habits. Mid-career participants receive guidance on taxes, competing priorities and family planning. Late-career employees engage in retirement readiness, income strategies and transition planning.

Storytelling is often where trust is built. I once met with a skeptical union leader who initially sat with arms crossed, unsure of our intentions. After relating through common interests and experiences, we ended up discussing his dreams for the future. Technology supports this work by delivering timely content and providing participants direct access to the planner of their choice—never a call center.

PLANADVISER: What participant behaviors are hardest to change—and how are you addressing them? (e.g., low deferrals, leakage, disengagement, financial stress)

Vandre: The behaviors hardest to change—low savings rates, present bias and financial stress—are driven less by a lack of knowledge and more by deeply rooted habits, beliefs and competing priorities. As a result, I pursued an education in behavioral finance to help our team focus on relationship-based advice, informed by behavioral finance and cognitive behavioral change models, rather than one-time education.

Our approach starts by connecting financial guidance to what matters most to the participant in the present moment. We help individuals uncover the beliefs and emotions influencing their decisions, then work together to reframe those beliefs into achievable, practical steps.

One example involved a young man who had settled for chronic underemployment. Through financial planning conversations, I helped him recognize his value, refine his résumé and prepare for interviews. He ultimately secured a position paying twice his previous salary, transforming both his financial outlook and self belief.

By addressing mindset alongside mechanics, we help participants break patterns that hold them back and build momentum toward long-term financial stability.