Registration and Buffet Lunch 
Sponsored  by Women in Pensions Network

Opening Remarks: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER

Opening Guest Speaker: Jonathan Swan: Behind the Scenes in Trump’s Washington
You’ve seen him on TV. You’ve read his breaking news. You’ve come to trust his byline. But you’ve never heard him quite like this: unfiltered and uncompromising. An award-winning journalist with incomparable access to the halls of power, Jonathan Swan takes you behind the scenes in the Trump White House and on Capitol Hill. He introduces you to the people behind his headlines and explains what you might expect next from one of the least predictable administrations in recent memory. You’ll walk away with an insider’s view of Washington today and exclusive insight into how it will shape America tomorrow.

The Future of Retirement Advising: Retirement is part of a broad financial picture, both for plan sponsors, which look at it as part of a broader benefits program, and for participants, who consider it in the context of their overall financial health and budgets. What role will a retirement adviser play in this broader picture in the future? Does the advisers have to understand the broader benefits plan or offer personal financial planning to survive? Or will specialization continue to be a competitive advantage?
Moderator: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Jon Anderson, Head of Retirement Plan Solutions, Cetera Financial Group
Edward P. O’Connor, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Vincent Morris, President, Resources Investment Advisors

The State of Adviser M&A: What’s the right business model and home for your practice? The retirement plan advisory industry is undergoing consolidation. With industry statistics showing that 25% of advisers have changed firms in the last four years, there are clearly many advisers in pursuit of the right business model. Hear from deal-makers from across the industry that will address differences between ownership of firms, decision-making structures, personnel structures & support, core competencies, product and service focus, and how all of this is evolving.
Moderator: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Rick Shoff, Managing Director, CAPTRUST Financial Advisors
Dick Darian, CEO, Wise Rhino
David Reich, National President, Retirement Services, HUB International Investment Services, Inc.

Coffee Break

Top Trends: A high level discussion of industry trends, with an eye towards what will likely stay—or change—in the short and long term and how advisers can prepare.
Moderator: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Rick Fulford, Executive Vice President and Head of PIMCO’s U.S. Retirement and Defined Contribution Business
PIMCO U.S.

Legislation, Regulation, Litigation! Leading experts explain retirement-related developments in Washington, D.C. and in states across the country. We’ll discuss the latest in legislation, regulations, and litigation and what it means for advisers and their clients.
Moderator: John Manganaro, Deputy Editor, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Joan M. Neri, Counsel, Drinker Biddle
Jamie Fleckner, Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP
Kevin Walsh, Associate, Groom Law Group, Chartered

Cocktail Reception (Exhibit Hall)
Sponsored by MassMutual

Opening Night and After Dinner Speaker Sponsored by Ascensus

As Long As You’re Asking—A Conversation with Jason Alexander
Join us for an evening of comedy, music and conversation with the award-winning star of stage and screen in which the audience determines what they want to know the most. Alexander will present a variety of topics for the audience to pick and choose, culminating in behind the scenes stories of his life, career, and social activism. Or ask about anything you’ve always wanted to know and see if he can answer. Alexander has starred on Broadway, in hit films like Pretty Woman and Shallow Hal and,
of course, Seinfeld. He is an actor, director, producer, writer, children’s book author, award- winning magician, semi-pro poker player and social/political activist. It’s all on the table and the conversation is completely in your control, making for a once in a lifetime event.

(Wine Sponsored by Lincoln Financial Group)

After Dinner Cocktails
Monday Night Football After-Party immediately following dinner!
(Porte Cochere)

Breakfast (Exhibit Hall)

Opening Remarks: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER

Powered by Participants
Anne Lester, Portfolio Manager and Head of  J.P. Morgan Retirement Solutions, reviews how to put participants first with target date solutions and tools.
Sponsored by J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Fixed Income at the Crossroads
As the wave of Boomers approaches and moves into retirement, focusing on the impact of fixed income on portfolios has never been more important, especially for DC plans. Michael Collins, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, and Morningstar’s U.S Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the year for 2017, will discuss the key inflection points facing Fixed Income investors, such as accelerating global economies, monetary policy reversals/divergences, fiscal slippages, and maturation of the credit cycle, and how advisors and plan sponsors can help participants navigate the bond market in 2018 and beyond.
Presenter: Michael Collins, Senior Portfolio Manager at PGIM Fixed Income

Sponsored by PGIM Investments

Coffee Break

Session 1
Team Building
When an advisory practice grows into a team, how do you divide up the roles? The various roles that are critical to forming a robust team include key account executive, investment adviser, fiduciary trainer and participant education specialist. Do you make certain advisers the lead adviser/customer relationship manager and support them with other staff members who handle fiduciary responsibilities, investment choices and employee education? If it is a multi-office team practice, do you centralize certain functions in the headquarters office to ensure consistent customer service—or do you permit branch offices some autonomy?Moderator: John M Ludwig, Financial Advisor, LPL Financial, LHDretirement (An Independent Firm)
Panelists:
Eileen Greenspan, Senior Vice President, Senior Plan Advisor, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group
Joseph P. Lee, Senior Vice President, Head of Retirement Platforms and Strategy, First Eagle Investment Management, LLC
Bill Rice, Director, Advisor Development,
Pensionmark Financial Group, LLC

Session 2
Plan Committees
One of the most common reasons plan sponsors turn to advisers is to get assistance with governance, including items such as putting in processes that help avoid litigation and running an efficient investment committee meeting. What are the latest and greatest strategies for improving plan sponsor governance? How can advisers work to train the plan committee to select and monitor investments, adhere to plan governance and minimize plan risk. Additionally, what kind of fiduciary training should the adviser provide each year?
Moderator: Bruce Lanser, Senior Retirement Plan Consultant,
UBS Retirement Plan Consulting Group
Panelists:
Stephen Rubino, Senior Vice President of Institutional Services, Financial Engines
Tim Irvin, Consultant, Cammack Retirement Group
Robert J. Rafter, President, RJR Consulting

Session 3
Executive Benefit Plans: NQDC
Executive benefit plans can help clients  attract, retain and reward the key employees and executives who drive the success of their business, and help those employees better save for retirement. Learn how integrating NQDC plans can grow your advisory practice and deliver additional value to your existing clients. Hear from advisers who have helped clients add nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans to benefits programs and from providers about how to  identify a prospective opportunity for such plans. 
Moderator: Jonathon Schultheiss, Retirement Plan Advisor/Partner, Gate CIty Advisors, LLC
Panelists:
Jeff Roberts, Regional Channel Manager, ADP
Shawn Besser, Vice President, NQ Practice Regional Consultant, Prudential Retirement
Corby Dall, President & Managing Partner, 401k Advisors Intermountain

Session 1
DOL Audits of Retirement Plan Advisers
Are DOL investigations of retirement plan specialists the next frontier?What are DOL investigators looking to find, and what types of questions are they asking of advisers? Learn how to respond to an audit, and lessons learned from those who have completed them.
Moderator: James F. Sampson, Director, Retirement Advisory Services, Hilb Group Retirement Services
Panelists:
Jim O’Shaughnessy, Managing Partner, Sheridan Road Financial
David C. Kaleda, Principal, Groom Law Group, Chartered 

Session 2
Responding to RFPs
It has become more common for plans with upwards of $20 million in assets to go through a formal RFP process to find a new adviser, but it can be a cumbersome process to respond. How can advisers effectively and efficiently respond to RFPs and how can they differentiate themselves?
Moderator: Joe Brummel, Director Retirement Plan Consultant, Wealth Enhancement Group
Panelists:
Brian Hanna, Senior Plan Consultant, Everhart Advisors
Jason K. Chepenik, Managing Partner, Chepenik Financial

Session 3
HSA/Health Care
In the constantly evolving benefits landscape, plan sponsors and participants rely on the vision and guidance of trusted partners to make the best choices. As healthcare costs rise, many employers are shifting greater responsibility to employees to save for expenses using tax-advantaged health savings accounts (HSAs). What are the benefits of health savings accounts and how do they fit in a retirement plan advisers’ practice?  Do HSAs present a natural opportunity for DC advisers to help promote more holistic retirement planning that considers the challenging task of paying for medical care post-employment? How much of an opportunity does the HSA market present from a growth standpoint?
Moderator: Nicole DeLahanty, Managing Director, Pavilion Advisory Group Inc.
Panelists:
Kevin Murphy, Head of Strategic Accounts, Franklin Templeton Investments
Jamie Greenleaf, Lead Advisor/Principal, Cafaro Greenleaf  

Lunch (Exhibit Hall)

Workshop 1 Sponsored by Voya Financial
Learn how to increase leads and drive deeper wallet share with nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) planning
This 45 minute Workshop facilitated by Voya’s Kirk Penland, 35+ years of experience in benefits consulting, Chief Executive Officer of Pen-Cal Administrators, Inc., recognized leader in employee and executive benefit plans, and recently acquired by Voya Financial, will provide you with:

• Key industry trends and the short and long-term benefits of including nonqualified retirement planning in your wheelhouse of expertise
• An overview of the basic components of eligibility, participation, contributions, vesting and funding of NQDC plans
• Methods to frame out different NQDC scenarios to reduce tax implications
• A workbook that you can use immediately to target your current book and deepen wallet share and/or find new streams of revenue with a differentiated approach

Workshop 2
Sponsored by Capital Group, home of American Funds
Addressing the Elephant in the Room
Our industry’s collective objective is to help plan sponsors meet their fiduciary obligations and reduce liability, and to help plan participants meet their long-term investment objectives. This, as you know, is easier said than done. For example, how important is investment manager selection? How can we better understand the differences between active and passive investment management? What have we learned from ERISA, DOL commentary and case law about what matters? Can the right target date series make a significant difference? What makes a target date series “right”? Join us for useful information and lively discussion about these important issues and more.
Presenter: Jonathan A. Young, Senior Vice President, Senior National Accounts Manager, Capital Group | American Funds

Workshop 3
Sponsored by ALGER
The Power of Focus: Looking for Alpha in a Sea of Beta
With the popularity of focused strategies on the rise, Alger recently worked with Greenwich Associates to explore the appetite for and popularity of focused strategies among institutional investors, investment consultants and retail fund intermediaries. In this session we will explore the study’s results on how Focused Strategies can be beneficial for clients and debunking some of their common misconceptions. (Click here to view the full study)
Key findings from the study include

• The need for increased alpha is driving the shift toward focused strategies
• Proponents of focused strategies believe the best way to create alpha is to invest with managers who diverge from their benchmarks and allocate to their highest conviction ideas
• Focused strategies typically exhibited lower risk, as measured by beta and down market capture, than strategies with a larger number of stock 

Presenter: Kevin D. Collins, CFA® Senior Vice President, Client Portfolio Manager, ALGER

Session 1
Target-Date Fund Evolution:
Target-date funds continue to be the predominant QDIA, gathering significant assets over the last decade. Most plan sponsors haven’t created a specific process by which to evaluate them, and haven’t reevaluated their selection since original adoption, and need guidance from their advisers. Advisers that are selecting these funds for or with plan sponsor clients must ensure they are aware of the way these funds have evolved and are evolving, in order to best select a fund suite. This session will help advisers understand considerations in the following areas: how to consider and compare low cost passive to active funds; glidepaths structures, which are more complex than a simple “to” or “through” label; understanding overall fund risks; the rise of active passive strategies, in which managers are able to over- or under-weight index funds based on outlook while staying within target bands; and custom target-date funds.
Moderator: Jason A. Johnson, Senior Vice President-Wealth Management, Retirement Plan Consultant, Wealth Advisor, UBS Financial Services, Inc. 
Panelists:
Ruthann Pritchard, Institutional Portfolio Manager, Fidelity Investments
Todd Lacey, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Stadion Money Management
Brian Cosmano, Vice President, Strategic Product Initiatives, Great-West Investments
Jake Gilliam, Head Multi-Asset Strategist, Charles Schwab Investment Management

Session 2
Financial Wellness
There are about as many ways to define “financial wellness” as there are providers of financial wellness services, but at the heart, successful financial wellness programming helps retirement plan participants do better and feel better about money matters. Beyond explaining their own definitions of financial wellness and why they feel financial wellness support is a must-have for successful defined contribution (DC) retirement plans, panelists will offer specific insight into the ways financial wellness programming is being integrated into retirement benefits today. Included in the conversation will be pragmatic guidance you can use to help your plan sponsor clients identify the right sources of financial wellness—be it delivered by the recordkeeper, by the adviser or by a third-party provider. Panelists will also examine how to help clients define goals for wellness programming, how to set benchmarks for measuring progress, and how to compare and combine different approaches for the best participant outcomes. 
Moderator: Michael M. Kane, Managing Director, Plan Sponsor Consultants
Panelists:
Lynda Abend, Chief Data Officer, John Hancock Retirement Plan Services
Michael Domingos, Vice President, National Corporate Strategy & Distribution, Prudential Retirement
Tina Wilson, Senior Vice President, Head of Investment Solutions Innovation, MassMutual U.S
Chad Brown, VP Managing Director Wholesale Distribution, Transamerica

Session 3
Partnering With Providers and Advisers
Growing the practice while maintaining superior service levels for existing clients continues to be a top priority among retirement plan advisers. With the constant demands on your time, when and how do you find new clients while keeping up with your existing book? For an increasing number of advisers, the concept of strategic partnering is the answer to sustainable growth. In theory, advisers have been doing this for years with certified public accounts, attorneys, benefits specialists, third-party administrators, etc. However, recent survey data highlights some new trends in the evolution of strategic partnering, such as the emergence of retirement plan advisers partnering with generalist wealth advisers to gain new business, or the greater reliance on recordkeeping partners or investment managers to complete tasks that traditionally fell on the adviser or his staff. Expert panelists will describe the range of opportunities advisers have to partner with the different types of providers that are active in the retirement planning arena. In addition, advisers will learn how a more formalized partnership structure, with clearly written guidelines and principles, can drive stronger and more repeatable results.
Moderator: Marianne W. Marvez, Vice President/Director, Innovest Portfolio Solutions LLC
Panelists:
Dana R. Hartwell, Director, Head of DCIO Sales, New York Life/Mainstay Investments
Mark Bentley, Regional Retirement Wholesaler, Retirement Plan Sales, Paychex Retirement Services
Mark Gutrich, Managing Director, Fi401k Advisors, LLC
Todd Kading, President, LeafHouse Financial

Session 1
ESG Investments
Few topics have gained popularity among plan sponsors and participants as quickly as Environmental, Social and Governance investing, known colloquially as “ESG.” And yet, while the client demand for expanded access to ESG opportunities continues to grow, important questions remain about the proper role of ESG within the context of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and other laws/regulations that require the best-interest curation of DC plan participants’ investment opportunities. Against this backdrop, expert panelists will review how ESG regulations have changed in the recent past, including the latest move by the Trump administration to “clarify” the bold new standards set previously by the outgoing Obama administration for conducting ESG investing under ERISA. The conversation will also look beyond the short-term regulatory fluctuations to explore the fundamental appeal of ESG, both from the sponsor and participant perspective. Among other objectives, advisers will learn how to discuss and better define the crucial concept of “materiality” as it pertains to ESG investing under ERISA.
Moderator: Steven W. Glasgow, Executive Vice President/Wealth Management, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
Panelists:
Stacey Tovrov, Vice President, DC Investment Strategy, BlackRock
Ron Cohen, Head of DCIO Distribution, Wells Fargo Asset Management

Session 2
Practice Efficiencies
Digging into investment prospectuses and market data is only a small part of what financial advisers do for retirement plan clients today. In fact, new data suggests that financial advisers focused more on client management than on investment management see much stronger asset growth and client retention over time. According to some experts, putting in place just a handful of next-generation client management best practices can increase the value of an advisory business by more than $1 million over a 10-year period. During this session, panelists will discuss the shift measured among the most successful advisory firms of moving away from portfolio management in favor of client management processes. Advisers will learn about emerging opportunities to delegate the resource-hungry investment management function to a third party to concentrate instead on gathering and building lasting relationships. Other topics to be addressed will include how to efficiently on board new clients; how to best price, structure and deliver the product set to promote efficiency; and how to identify profit potential by delegating other practice management functions traditionally falling in the adviser’s lap.
Moderator: Phil Senderowitz, Managing Director, Central Florida, Strategic Retirement Partners
Panelists:
David T. Griffin, Founder and Owner, Atlanta Retirement Partners, LLC. 
Joseph F. DeNoyior, Managing Partner, Washington Financial Group  

Session 3
Stable Value Funds:  How stable value can be used as a capital preservation anchor in a diversified portfolio, and how, in a rising rate environment, including stable value in a portfolio is a wise move?
Moderator: Joe Connell, Partner, Sikich Retirement Plan Services
Panelists:
William E. McLaren, Vice President, Stable Value Business Leader
Lincoln Financial Group

Coffee Break

In Focus: Retirement Benefits for Small Business
Small business plays a critical role in the U.S. economy, but has traditionally struggled to provide cost-effective retirement benefits. Today, public policy, new technologies, and industry enhancements are addressing this deficit and expanding retirement plan coverage for millions of workers. What’s the role of the modern advisor in this shifting landscape? How can advisors efficiently and profitably serve this emerging segment of “new” retirement savers? In this session, we’ll explore the small business opportunity and how advisors can best capitalize on it.

Sponsored by Ascensus

Featured Speaker: Morgan Housel: The Messy World of Risk
Risk, in investing textbooks, is taught as the stock market going up and down. In the real world, risk is far more complicated, harder to define and different for every investor. Risk in the real world is not being able to meet your financial goals, which is primarily caused by investors’ own biases and behaviors, particularly buying when the market is high and selling after a pullback. Morgan Housel shares five clear stories of how investors, business executives and everyday people misinterpreted risk to disastrous consequences, and how investors can identify and correct their own biases to make better investment decisions.

Cocktail Reception
Mardi Gras in Orlando! Franklin Templeton Investments is treating us to a New Orleans fete that rivals the fun of Bourbon Street! Beads, masks, mystique and good ole authentic Creole cuisine lend themselves to a jazzy Night Two reception. Join the festive parade of conference attendees over to the party where you will enjoy Cajun Jambalaya, French Quarter Carvings and more Louisiana favorites. This will be one lively evening that you won’t want to miss!
Sponsored by Franklin Templeton Investments

Late Night Lounge (Lobby Lounge – Main level) Sponsored by Prudential

Breakfast (Exhibit Hall)

Opening Remarks: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER

Future Faces of Advising: Should the retirement plan adviser industry work to increase interest in it as a career path? Often seen as a generally monolithic group, what does the face of the adviser look like in the future? How the need for succession planning and an interest in diversity may play a role in building the future of the industry.
Moderator: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Keith J. Gredys JD, Chairman and CEO, Kidder Advisers, LLC
Melissa Cowan, Vice President, Women in Pensions Network

Now What? You have built a credible retirement plan practice; but how do your manage team dynamics, scale the business and continually innovate for the next-level of success?
Moderator: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Josh Ulmer, Corporate Client Group Director, Senior Vice President – Financial Advisor, SeaPort Group, Morgan Stanley Institutional Wealth Services
Todd Timmerman, Managing Director, Retirement Plan Analytics
Chris Miller, Managing Director, Pensionmark Financial Group, LLC

Coffee Break

Understanding the Participant Mind: Plan participants are not a monolithic group and make active decisions about their overall finances–even when they may seem like poor decisions in the context of their single account balance. What does research tell us about participant thinking and wants? Panelists will discuss how to consider through participant considerations with plan sponsor clients when proposing and discussing plan design options.
Moderator: John Manganaro, Deputy Editor, PLANADVISER
Panelist:
Shannon McCarthy, Sr. Consultant, Brand Leader, Nationwide
Dan Peluse, Director of Retirement Plan Services, Wintrust Wealth Management

The Value of an Adviser – Plan Sponsors Tell All: Plan Sponsors of the Year share why they selected their advisers, what works well–and what hasn’t. Hear candid discussion from plan sponsors about the adviser relationship.
Moderator: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER
Panelists:
Heather Masterson, Human Resources Director, Hendrick Motorsports
Joanna Farrere, SVP, Human Resources & Administrative Services, Illinois Health and Hospital Association

Closing Comments: Alison Cooke Mintzer, Editor-in-Chief, PLANADVISER

To-Go Lunch