Presentation Descriptions
What’s Ahead for the the Economy and the Market
Dr. Kevin A. Hassett, Director, Economic Policy Studies,
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
In this session, Dr. Hassett will review the key factors driving the economic outlook in the months ahead. He will explore the latest thinking on the fundamental challenges facing the economy, such as the collapse of the housing market, and the surge in energy prices. Dr. Hassett will also discuss what is happening in Washington, and an emphasis on the policy changes that are likely to follow the 2008 election.
Creating Championship Teams
Steve Young, Famed NFL Quarterback
Steve Young will speak about creating championship teams, both on and off the field. He will use universal metaphors from team sports to draw analogies and success strategies that can be applied to the real world of business. These analogies illustrate best practices for both individual leaders and for teams. It will include the following themes: Leadership, Passion, Accountability, Strategy, and Excellence
WORKSHOP: Grow the Business
Under the Hood of a Bundled Provider: Communication and Advice Programs that Drive Action
Michael Dickman, Director, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Catherine Miller, Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Far too often plan participants do not have the time or expertise to manage their retirement plan needsthey already have a day job. Meeting their retirement plan needs means shifting the goal of educating participants from learning to taking action. Hear how Schwab assists plan sponsors to take action and succeed with smart, measurable education programs and creative plan designs that tackle problem areas head on. Take away proven solutions on advice, managed accounts, automatic and semiautomatic plan features.
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Automating Your Retirement Plan
Staying Ahead of the Curve: How Target Retirement Funds, and Comprehensive Advice Help Increase Deferral Rates
Sherrie Grabot, President, GuidedChoice
Jonathan R. Hall, Retirement Consultant, BNY Mellon Asset Management
The focus of this panel discussion will be utilization of target retirement funds and comprehensive advice within defined contribution plans. Industry experts will discuss the common structure of Target Retirement Funds and will discuss how target retirement funds can lead to an increase in deferral rates. A leading expert on participant advice programs will discuss the industry trends, and share revealing statistics on deferral rates for participants that adopt comprehensive advice.
WORKSHOP: Operate the Business
Under the Hood of a Bundled Provider: The Skeletons in the Closet
Christian Bodle, Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Dave Davidson, Principal, Retirement Plan Services, LLC
Debbie Pritchard, Vice President, The Newport Group
Retirement services can be a very challenging business, especially for record keepers who maneuver through the complexities of plan administration, a wide variety of plan requirements and ever-changing rules and regulations. In this segment, you will have an opportunity to engage a panel of your peers who will be prepared to offer perspectives on how they have addressed some of these challenging circumstances. We will ask session participants to vote in advance on array of potential topics and we will focus on the most popular subjects in this segment. Potential topics include: dealing with lost participants, protecting plan and participant assets from fraud, handling various issues with loans, vesting, and forfeiture or break-in-service rules.
Staying Ahead of the Curve: Fiduciary Issues, 401(k) Fees and Best Practices, and New 403(b) Regulations
Marcia Wagner, ERISA Attorney, The Wagner Law Group
The focus of this topic is the changing legal landscape regarding fiduciary issues and liabilities, with an emphasis on 401(k) fees and related litigation. The law is evolving quickly because of recent high profile litigation concerning 401(k) fees, including the ever popular revenue sharing arrangements, and proposals by the government. This session will delve into these matters and provide practical advice on what service providers should do and best practices.
Measuring for Success
Ray Henderson, Director, Business Health
Robert Imrie, Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
In today’s environment, regulatory changes as well as product enhancements have provided plan sponsors with an overwhelming array of plan features and design options available for their 401(k) plans. When considering plan design decisions, more and more plan sponsors are relying on their recordkeepers’ consultative insights into industry trends, participant impact assessments and best practice recommendations. Find out how you can differentiate your value proposition to prospects and deepen your existing relations through comprehensive plan and participant benchmarking. The presenters will compare the performance of practices that choose to do certain things compared to those that don’t and provide some simple tips and tactics to help you improve your bottom line. In addition, find out how this same information can be used in identifying strategic opportunities that make sense for your business model.
State of the 401(k) Marketplace
Tom Modestino, Senior Analyst, Cerulli Associates
There is a sea of change happening in the retirement plan marketplace. Forces are pulling distributors and manufactures in many directions depending upon the market segment involved. This session will break down the issues and opportunities in the various 401(k) marketplace segments, offer sustainable best practice business models and views on what’s on the horizon for this market. This will include the following:
- Segments dressed down: Micro, Small/Mid, Large and Mega
- Several key forces to target your sights: Lifecycle trends, automation (k)-nation, open architecture and invest only / defined contribution opportunities, The Fee story (truth and myth).
- Keys to building a successful 401(k) business model
Individual Behavior in Defned Contribution Plans
Shlomo Benartzi, Associate Professor & Co-Chair, Behaviorial Decision-Making Group, UCLA Anderson School of Management
Retirement planning is an extremely difficult task. Even financial economists find it difficult to figure out the optimal savings rate, the optimal portfolio choice, and the best withdrawal strategy at retirement. Given the complexity of the decisions involved, many plan participants adopt simple rules of thumb, like doing exactly what their co-workers are doing, which often results in biases and suboptimal decisions. In this session, Professor Benartzi will discuss heuristics and biases in retirement savings plans. In addition, he will discuss how plan sponsors and their retirement advisors could use lessons from behavioral finance to improve the design of the plan and communicate more effectively with participants.
What’s Going on in Washington
Francis J. Kelly, Managing Director & Head, Government Affairs – Americas, Deutsche Bank AG
Frank Kelly will present everything you wanted to know about Washington but didn’t want to make a campaign contribution to find out! With Congress now more than half a year into a new session, there are a number of legislative issues under consideration that, if passed, will impact investors and the financial services industry. Frank will provide insights on the latest from Capitol Hill along with some very interesting insights to key events happening around the globe.
Retirement at Schwab
Mark Coffrini, Senior Vice President,
Michelle LeCates, Senior Vice President, The 401(k) Company
Dave Thompson, Field Vice President,
