2025 RPAY – Brent Sheppard, Cadence Financial Management

Business at a Glance as of 12/31/24

• Location: Lake Mary, Florida
• How many plan assets do you have under advisement? $403.7M
• What is your median plan size (in assets)? $5.3M
• How many plans do you have under administration? 76
• How many participants in total do you serve? 7,210
• Parent firm: Not applicable

PLANADVISER: Tell us about your practice and how you got into advising retirement plans.

Sheppard: Cadence Financial Management was built with the goal of helping employers navigate the complexities of sponsoring a retirement plan. We recognized early on that many organizations were overwhelmed by fiduciary responsibilities, compliance requirements and the sheer volume of decisions involved in maintaining a plan. We began in wealth management but quickly saw the impact that retirement plan guidance could have at scale—reaching not just individuals, but entire workforces. Today, we work with organizations across a variety of industries, helping them design, service and optimize 401(k) and other retirement programs. Our approach is rooted in making life easier for HR and finance professionals working to improve outcomes for employees. We believe a well-run plan doesn’t just check boxes—it creates real opportunity to improve financial futures of our workforce.

PLANADVISER: How do you grow your business? What changes to your practice or service model are you planning for 2025?

Sheppard: We grow our business through relationships—strong client referrals, partnerships with industry professionals and consistent reputation-building. Our clients often become our biggest advocates because they’ve experienced firsthand the difference we can make. Looking ahead to 2025, we’re focused on scaling with intention. First, we’re expanding our team by hiring an additional retirement plan consultant to deepen our client service capacity and ensure we maintain our responsiveness as we grow. We’re also investing in coaching and development for current team members, helping them grow professionally and continue delivering at a high level. Internally, we’re adopting new technology to streamline our own operations, improve workflows, enhance compliance oversight and create stronger internal controls.

PLANADVISER: What type of plan sponsor is your typical client (location, size, industry, design elements, etc.)? Please describe your average service model and deliverables. 

Sheppard: Our typical client is between 100 and 2,500 employees, often operating in industries like AEC (architecture, engineering, construction), food, manufacturing and technology. Many of our clients are multi-location or national in scope, private equity-backed and expanding due to M&A.

Our service model is hands-on and collaborative. We offer fiduciary oversight support, vendor management, investment monitoring, participant education strategy and plan design consulting. We conduct regular committee meetings, help clients meet their fiduciary obligations and ensure they feel supported every step of the way. What differentiates us is our ability to bring order to chaos—we’re deeply involved in plan operations, helping streamline processes, managing M&A transitions and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. For many of our clients, we become their go-to retirement plan resource—acting as an extension of their team.

PLANADVISER: What are three of the most important issues your plan sponsor clients face with their company retirement plans? What actions do you take to assist them in overcoming those issues?

Sheppard: Our clients often face three major challenges: (1) operational complexity from M&A activity, (2) lack of internal resources or expertise and (3) participant disengagement.

With M&A-driven clients, we help assess and align plan designs, coordinate transitions and manage provider integrations. Our goal is to ensure consistency and compliance during times of organizational change.

For lean HR and finance teams, we take on much of the administrative and fiduciary burden. We provide calendar-based service models, meeting prep, provider oversight and act as their strategic thought partner—essentially becoming their retirement plan team.

For disengaged participants, we deploy our team of financial planners and wealth managers to conduct proactive, ongoing outreach through emails, phone calls, group education sessions and one-on-one meetings. We don’t wait for employees to come to us—we meet them where they are and focus on building trust and understanding. We believe education is most effective when it’s consistent, accessible and human.

PLANADVISER: What’s your favorite book or podcast?

Sheppard: “Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance,” by Alex Hutchinson

Brent Sheppard is a registered representative of and offers securities and investment advisory services through MML Investors Services, LLC. Member SIPC. Cadence Financial Management, LLC is not a subsidiary or affiliate of MML Investors Services, LLC, or its affiliated companies. Supervisory Office: 16 Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, PA 19073. 610.325.6100.
CRN202804-8409876