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National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA)

NAPA Announces New Leadership for 2022-23


National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | April 12, 2022

Tampa, FL — The National Association of Plan Advisors welcomed Corby Dall as its 2022-2023 President at the opening session of the 2022 NAPA 401(k) Summit.

Dall is a senior vice president of OneDigital’s Retirement + Wealth division specializing in retirement plan consulting. Based in Salt Lake City, UT, he leads a well-respected team of professionals that focus solely on the success of retirement plans. Previously he was President & Managing Partner of 401kAdvisors Intermountain, a nationally recognized RIA founded in 2002. His firm joined Resources Investment Advisors in 2017 and subsequently OneDigital in 2020.  A founding member of NAPA in 2011, Dall has served on NAPA’s Government Affairs and Membership Committees, and as co-chair of the NAPA DC Fly-In Forum.

In his remarks, Dall acknowledged the contributions and accomplishments of Alex Assaley, NAPA’s 2021-2022 President, presenting his predecessor with a special award thanking him for guiding the organization through its ninth year.

 

Leadership Council Changes

Other changes in the NAPA Leadership Council for 2022-2023 include:

Last year’s Vice President, Renee Scherzer, CPFA, a Principal at 401K Resources in Scottsdale, AZ, is this year’s President-Elect, while Keith Gredys, Co-founder, Chairman & CEO of Kidder Advisors based in Clive, IA, replaces Scherzer as Vice President.

Alex Assaley replaces 2019-2022 President Pat Wenzel as Immediate Past President.

New members joining the Leadership Council are Lee Bethel of Comprehensive Benefit Services in Alexandria, VA; Christopher Dubie of Morgan Stanley in Colchester, VT; Tina Sanchez of BlackRock in Boston; and Doug Bermudez of SRP in Rolling Hills Estates, CA. They replace departing members Brendan McCarthy, Kevin Mahoney and Katrina Bell.

 

About the National Association of Plan Advisors

The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors. NAPA is part of the American Retirement Association, based in the Washington, D.C. area. More information about NAPA is available at napa-net.org.

 

Media Contact:
Nevin E. Adams, JD
(703)-516-9300 Ext 114
[email protected]

NAPA Names Nation’s Top DC Advisor Teams


National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | March 30, 2022

ARLINGTON, VA — The National Association of Plan Advisors has published its list of the nation’s top defined contribution (DC) Advisor Teams with AUA over $100 million.

Unlike other lists, this focuses on individual firms, or what may, in a wirehouse environment, be referred to as a team, or office, and the assets under advisement related to their defined contribution (DC) practice, specifically from a single physical location.  The inaugural list was published in 2017.   

“Since their inception, NAPA’s various industry lists have been a valuable Who’s Who of who matters in the world of retirement plans and retirement plan advisors,” noted Nevin Adams, Chief Content Officer of the American Retirement Association, and Editor-in-Chief of NAPA-Net, the nation’s leading online resource for retirement plan advisors.  “This latest chapter – the NAPA Top DC Advisor Teams, ranked by self-reported DC assets under advisement – presents a compelling case for their positive impact on the nation’s private retirement system”.

A record number of teams made this year’s list, representing nearly $2 trillion in DC assets under advisement – the retirement savings of some 27 million working Americans.  Significantly, those teams include nearly 2,000 advisors – and many more support personnel – working to help Americans prepare for a financially satisfying retirement from 38 states and Washington, D.C.  “As the nation’s leading voice for retirement plan advisors, we are once again pleased to highlight the contributions and commitment of these teams,” noted Adams.

The list of NAPA’s Top DC Advisor Teams with AUA Over $100 Million, which will, along with the list of Top Multi-Office Firms, be published in the Spring issue of NAPA Net the Magazine, is available online.

 

About the National Association of Plan Advisors

The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors. NAPA is part of the American Retirement Association, based in the Washington, D.C. area. More information about NAPA is available at napa-net.org.

 

Media Contact:
Nevin E. Adams, JD
(703)-516-9300 Ext 114
[email protected]

NAPA Launches ESG Certificate Program for Advisors


National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | July 14, 2021

ARLINGTON, VA — Amidst growing worker interest in, and plan sponsor curiosity about, investments in environmental, social & governance investing, the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) has launched a new certificate program designed to help advisors educate and evaluate those alternatives.

The NAPA ESG Investing for 401(k) Plan Advisors Certificate Program is specifically designed to provide retirement plan advisors with the knowledge to help employers manage their ERISA fiduciary obligations in evaluating the prudence of an ESG investment. The ESG program addresses the different terminology associated with ESG investing principles, strategies, and screens, and provides tools and resources to help advisors communicate the benefits and risks of ESG investments for retirement plans.

In fact, a recent survey of retirement plan participants in plans that did not currently offer an ESG option found that two-thirds (69%) said they would—or might—increase their overall contribution rate if they had access to an ESG options. 

The certificate course is a 3-hour online self-paced course broken into three interactive modules covering the fundamentals of ESG, the process for evaluating these options, and how to share that information with plan sponsors, participants, and prospects. 

“While ESG has been slow to catch on with defined contribution plans like 401(k)s, there have been some significant regulatory and legislative changes in the past few months—and a growing sense that these options are of increasing importance to retirement plan savers”, noted Brian Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association and Executive Director of NAPA.  “We are pleased to be able to bring some additional clarity and appreciation for the importance of a prudent assessment of these options to the retirement plan marketplace.”

The program is available at no cost to NAPA advisor members thanks to the generous support of our education program sponsors; AllianceBernstein, Amundi Pioneer, Blackrock, Calvert, Dimensional, Leafhouse Financial, Lord Abbett, MFS, Natixis Investment Managers, and Voya Financial.  Additional information is available at https://napaesgk.org/.

About the National Association of Plan Advisors

The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors. NAPA is part of the American Retirement Association, based in the Washington, D.C. area. More information about NAPA is available at napa-net.org.

Media Contact:
Nevin E. Adams, JD
(703)-516-9300 Ext 114
[email protected]

NAPA Names Nation’s Top DC Advisor Teams


National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | March 19, 2021

ARLINGTON, VA — The National Association of Plan Advisors has published its list of the nation’s top defined contribution (DC) Advisor Teams.

Unlike other lists, this focuses on individual firms, or what may, in a wirehouse environment, be referred to as a team, or office, and the assets under advisement related to their defined contribution (DC) practice, specifically in a single physical location.  The inaugural list was published in 2017.   

“Since their inception, NAPA’s various industry lists have been a valuable Who’s Who of who matters in the world of retirement plans and retirement plan advisors,” noted Nevin Adams, Chief Content Officer of the American Retirement Association, and Editor-in-Chief of NAPA-Net, the nation’s leading online resource for retirement plan advisors.  “This latest chapter – the NAPA Top DC Advisor Teams, ranked by self-reported DC assets under advisement – presents a compelling case for the positive impact on the nation’s private retirement system”.

The list, which highlights teams with at least $100 million in AUA, this year represents more than $1.3 trillion in DC assets under advisement – the retirement savings of some 30 million working Americans.  Significantly, those teams include nearly 1,600 advisors – and many more support personnel – working to help Americans prepare for a financially satisfying retirement in 40 states and Washington, D.C.  “As the nation’s leading voice for retirement plan advisors, we are once again pleased to highlight the contributions and commitment of these teams,” noted Adams.

The list of NAPA’s Top DC Advisor Teams, which will be published in the Spring issue of NAPA Net, the Magazine, is available online at http://bit.ly/20NAPATeams.

 

About the National Association of Plan Advisors

The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors. NAPA is part of the American Retirement Association, based in the Washington, D.C. area. More information about NAPA is available at napa-net.org.

 

Media Contact:
Nevin E. Adams, JD
(703)-516-9300 Ext 114
[email protected]

NAPA Unveils the 2021 Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40
National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | December 10, 2020

ARLINGTON, VA.  The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) is pleased to announce NAPA’s 2021 Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40.

Established in 2014, this year the list is drawn from an incredible pool of nearly 700 nominations provided by NAPA broker-dealer/RIA Firm Partners, vetted by a panel of senior advisor industry experts based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative data submitted by the nominees.

These “Aces” are widely seen as the future – and in a growing number of cases, current – leaders of the retirement plan advisor industry.

“In a vibrant and growing industry, this ’next generation’ of retirement plan advisors has already made significant contributions”, observes Nevin Adams, NAPA’s Chief Content Officer, and editor-in-chief of NAPA-Net.  “We are pleased to be able to acknowledge their contributions, as well as the firms that support their efforts.”

These Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40 will be featured in a future issue of NAPA Net the Magazine and acknowledged at the 2021 NAPA 401(k) Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, September 12-14.

You can find the list of Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40 at https://www.napa-net.org/2021-aces-top-100-retirement-plan-advisors-under-40

About NAPA:

The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors, and is part of the American Retirement Association.

The American Retirement Association, based in the Washington, D.C. area, is a non-profit professional organization established to empower retirement plan professionals who are dedicated to building a better retirement for Americans. More information about NAPA is available at napa-net.org.  Additional information about the NAPA 401(k) Summit is available at www.napasummit.org.

NAPA Announces 2020 Top Women Advisors
National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | November 5, 2020

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) is pleased to announce its annual list of Top Women Advisors.

Now in its sixth year, the Top Women Advisors accolade was launched in 2015 to acknowledge the contributions of a growing number of women who are making significant contributions to the retirement industry, as well as bringing excellence to the profession.

“We are pleased and proud to be able to once again acknowledge the fine and important work that these individuals have done to help provide a better retirement for their clients, employers and individual retirement savers alike,” said Nevin E. Adams, Chief Communications Officer of the American Retirement Association, and Editor-in-Chief of NAPA-Net. 

More than 550 nominations were provided by NAPA’s extensive list of broker-dealer and RIA Firm Partners.  Nominees were, in turn asked to respond to a series of quantitative and qualitative questions regarding their experience, education, team structure, accomplishments, and impact.  Those responses were anonymized and then reviewed by a blue-ribbon panel of industry experts who, over the course of several weeks, selected the individuals honored in three separate categories:

All-Stars: Top producers who have their own practice.

Captains: All-stars who happen to be principals, owners or team captains of their organizations.

Rising Stars: Top producers who have less than five years of experience with retirement plans as a financial advisor (some have been working with retirement plans longer, but not as a financial advisor).

The list of 2020 Top Women Advisors is available  at https://www.napa-net.org/news-info/daily-news/announcing-2020-napa-top-women-advisors.

About NAPA:

The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA, part of the American Retirement Association, is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors.   The American Retirement Association, based in the Washington, D.C. area, is a non-profit professional organization established to educate all types of retirement plan professionals, and to preserve and enhance the employer-based retirement plan system as part of the development of a cohesive and coherent national retirement income policy.  More information

Media Contact:  Nevin E. Adams, JD, Chief Content Officer, American Retirement Association
703.516.9300 Ext 114, [email protected]

NAPA Announces the Retirement Industry’s Top DC Wholesalers
National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | September 10, 2020

ARLINGTON, VA (Sept. 10, 2020) – The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) is pleased to announce its list of 100 Top Defined Contribution (DC) Wholesalers, as selected by the nation's leading retirement plan advisors.

Now in its seventh year, those that make the final list have previously been referred to as “Wingmen” because if they are doing their job of supporting the work of advisors, they have their back.  However, while that’s certainly an apt description for the traditional role, the most successful wholesalers today do more – they are true partners, often working side-by-side with advisors – and so, with this year’s “class”, we are acknowledging that expanded role with a new name – Advisor Allies.

More than 16,000 votes were cast in support of nearly 600 professionals, nominated by NAPA Firm Partner recordkeepers and Defined Contribution Investment Only (DCIO) providers, from which the top 100 were selected by a blue-ribbon panel. 

In addition to the Top 100 list, NAPA also released a list of the top 10 DC wholesalers in the recordkeeper and DCIO categories.

Both lists are available at https://www.napa-net.org/industry-intel/accolades/top-dc-wholesalers-2020

The Top DC Wholesalers will be featured in the fall issue of NAPA Net the magazine.

About NAPA:
The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors.

More information about NAPA is available at www.napa-net.org.

Media Contact:

Nevin E. Adams, JD
(703)-516-9300 Ext 114
[email protected]

NAPA Names Nation’s Top DC Advisor Teams


National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | March 9, 2020

ARLINGTON, VA — The National Association of Plan Advisors has published its list of the nation’s top defined contribution (DC) Advisor Teams.

Unlike other lists, this focuses on individual firms, or what may, in a wirehouse environment, be referred to as a team, or office, and the assets under advisement related to their defined contribution (DC) practice specifically. 

“Since their inception, NAPA’s various industry lists have been a valuable Who’s Who of who matters in the world of retirement plans and retirement plan advisors,” noted Nevin Adams, Chief Content Officer of the American Retirement Association, and Editor-in-Chief of NAPA-Net, the nation’s leading online resource for retirement plan advisors.  “This latest chapter – the NAPA Top DC Advisor Teams, ranked by self-reported DC assets under advisement – presents a compelling case for the positive impact on the nation’s private retirement system”.

This year’s list, which focuses on teams with at least $100 million in AUA, represents more than $1 trillion in DC assets under advisement.  Significantly, those teams include more than 1500 advisors – and many more support personnel – working to help Americans prepare for a financially satisfying retirement in 40 states and Puerto Rico.  “As the nation’s leading voice for retirement plan advisors, we are pleased to highlight these contributions,” noted Adams.

The coincident publication of the Top Multi-Office DC Firms highlights more than $2 trillion in AUA, nearly 125,000 plans supported, and nearly 24 million participants supported by the actions of these firms.

The list of NAPA’s Top DC Advisor Teams, which will be published in the Spring issue of NAPA Net, the Magazine, is available online at https://www.napa-net.org/industry-intel/accolades/top-dc-advisor-teams.  The list of NAPA’s Top DC Multi-Office Firms is available online at https://www.napa-net.org/industry-intel/accolades/top-dc-advisor-firms   

About the National Association of Plan Advisors

The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors. NAPA is part of the American Retirement Association, based in the Washington, D.C. area. More information about NAPA is available at napa-net.org.

Media Contact: Nevin E. Adams, JD, Chief Content Officer, 703.516.9300 Ext. 114, [email protected]

NAPA Welcomes Stout as President
National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | May 6, 2019

Arlington, VA – The National Association of Plan Advisors officially welcomed Jania Stout as its 2019-2020 President at the opening session of the 2019 NAPA 401(k) Summit.

Stout is Practice Leader and co-founder (in 2014) of Fiduciary Plan Advisors at Hightower, in Owings Mills, MD. Previously she founded the Fiduciary Consulting Group at PSA, growing the practice from $300 million to nearly $3 billion from 2009 to 2014. She began her career at ADP’s Retirement Solutions Division, and has also served as a senior account executive at Fidelity Investments.

She has served on the NAPA Leadership Council since 2014. Stout’s team was honored with NAPA’s 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award in 2013, and she has been named to NAPA’s Top Women Advisors list in multiple years. She is also a board member of the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland and serves as the commissioner of the LTRC Lacrosse league in Maryland.

Stout acknowledged the contributions and accomplishments of Jeff Acheson, NAPA’s 2018-2019 President, presenting her predecessor with a special award thanking him for guiding the organization through its seventh year.

Other changes on the NAPA Leadership Council for 2019-2020 include:

Last year’s Vice President, Pat Wenzel, Managing Director–Wealth Management, Merrill Lynch, in Houston, TX, is this year’s President-Elect.

Alex Assaley, Principal, AFS 401(k) Retirement Services in Bethesda, MD, replaces Wenzel as Vice President.

Jeff Acheson replaces his predecessor, 2017-2018 President Paul D’Aiutolo, as an ex officio member.

 Kevin Mahoney of Raymond James replaces Assaley as an at-large member.

Brendan McCarthy of Nuveen joins the LC as a Firm Partner representative, replacing Yaqub Ahmed of Franklin Templeton.

About NAPA:
The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors.

More information about NAPA is available at www.napa-net.org.

NAPA Unveils the Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40
National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) | January 3, 2019

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) is pleased to announce NAPA’s 2018 Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40.

Established in 2014, this year the list is drawn from an incredible pool of nearly 600 nominations provided by NAPA broker-dealer/RIA Firm Partners, vetted by a panel of senior advisor industry experts based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative data submitted by the nominees.

These “Young Guns” are widely seen as the future – and in a growing number of cases current – leaders of the retirement plan advisor industry.

While each year’s nominations contain an inspiring pool of potential candidates, due to both the size and quantity of qualifying advisors this year, we have expanded this list to include 100 advisors.

“In a vibrant and growing industry, this ’next generation’ of retirement plan advisors has already made significant contributions”, observes Nevin Adams, NAPA’s Chief Content Officer, and editor-in-chief of NAPA-Net. “We are pleased to be able to acknowledge their contributions, as well as the firms that support their efforts.”

These Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40 will be featured in a future issue of NAPA Net the Magazine and acknowledged at the 2019 NAPA 401(k) Summit in Las Vegas, April 7-9. You can find the list of Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40 at https://www.napa-net.org/industrylists/young-guns/

About the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA)

The National Association of Plan Advisors was created by and for retirement plan advisors. Membership is also open to other retirement industry professionals who support the interests of plan advisors. NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors, and is part of the American Retirement Association. The American Retirement Association, based in the Washington, D.C. area, is a non-profit professional organization established to empower retirement plan professionals who are dedicated to building a better retirement for Americans. More information about NAPA is available at napa-net.org. Additional information about the NAPA 401(k) Summit is available at www.napasummit.org.

Media Contact: Nevin E. Adams, JD, Chief Content Officer, American Retirement Association, 703.516.9300 Ext. 114, [email protected]

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