Deals & People November 19, 2007

CAPTRUST Announces Two New Advisory Board Members

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors announced that Jeff Montgomery and Quana Jew will join the firm’s advisory board.
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Montgomery is the Chief Executive Officer of NFP Securities, Inc., a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser. Jeff is also the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of NFP Insurance Services, Inc. Both organizations are wholly owned subsidiaries of National Financial Partners Corporation. NFP is a national network of independent financial advisers offering financial services to high net worth individuals and growing entrepreneurial companies.

Jew is a partner in the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the law firm Arent Fox LLP. She is an expert in ERISA law with extensive experience in tax, regulatory and design issues applicable to profit-sharing plans, money purchase pension plans, 401(k) programs, 403(b) plans, and 457 plans. Quana also advises clients on Executive Compensation (Section 409A arrangements) as well as compliance requirements with respect to employee health and welfare benefits programs. She is also a columnist for PLANADVISER magazine.

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Montgomery and Jew join Charles Ruffel, founder and CEO of Asset International (parent company of PLANADVISER) of Stamford, Connecticut; Rob Solomon, founder and CEO of Texas-based Bulldog Solutions, Inc; and Jerry Tylman founder of Charlotte, NC-based Greenway Solutions, Inc. on CAPTRUST’s Advisory Board.

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors is an independent research and advisory firm focused on providing strategic advisory services to retirement plans and high net worth individuals. CAPTRUST is headquartered in Raleigh, NC with offices in Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, Philadelphia, PA, and Richmond, VA.

IMHO November 16, 2007

IMHO: Thank Full

Thanksgiving has been called a “uniquely American″ holiday, and while that is perhaps something of an overstatement, it is unquestionably a special holiday, and one on which it seems a reflection on all we have to be thankful for is fitting.
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Here’s my list for 2007:
First, I’m thankful for the voluntary nature of the defined contribution solutions in the Pension Protection Act—that plan sponsors were given guidelines and protections for adhering to specific safe harbor approaches, but were not forced to adopt those or prohibited from pursuing their own approaches to things like automatic enrollment (albeit without the regulatory protections). I’m thankful for the Department of Labor’s ongoing willingness—and enthusiasm—for soliciting and incorporating feedback on their regulations from those of us who have to work with them every day.
I’m thankful that, despite the mass coverage of defined benefit plan freezes—and the new restrictions imposed on these programs by the PPA and the accounting profession—so many employers remain committed to the concept. I’m thankful—as are, no doubt, the workers that count on those programs—that so many employers have been willing (and, I suppose in some cases, forced) to make the contributions to at least narrow, if not eliminate, their funding gaps.
I’m thankful for an extra year to gear up for 409A, the thoughtful and deliberative approach by the Department of Labor on the final qualified default investment alternatives (QDIA), and the availability (if somewhat later than one might have hoped) of a sample notice for automatic enrollment plans. I’m glad that 403(b) plan participants can look forward to some of the structural efficiencies and fiduciary oversight that have long been part of the 401(k) market—and thankful that plan sponsors were given some extra time to prepare for that fairly significant change.
I’m thankful that so many entities are concerned about how much we are paying for our 401(k)s—and only a little bit worried that so much of that well-placed concern will serve to make things worse.
Much as there is to be thankful for, there are some things still to look forward to. For instance, I’ll be thankful when:
  • Those in Washington appear to worry as much about encouraging employers to set up workplace retirement plans as they do about scrutinizing and punishing those who have;
  • Plan sponsors simply decide to eliminate company stock as a participant investment option—if only to deny the plaintiffs’ bar so many easy targets.
Still, all in all, I’m thankful to be able to play a small part in helping provide for the retirement security of others—and grateful that so many gifted professionals have committed themselves to being part of the solution to these issues.
Most of all, I’m thankful for the unconditional love and patience of my family, the camaraderie of dear friends and colleagues over the years, the opportunity to write and share these thoughts—and for the ongoing support and appreciation of readers like you.

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