Topic: How Complacency Can Kill a Great 401k Plan – Case Studies and Best Practices for Finance Professionals

Employers have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure the fees paid by their 401(k) plan participants are “reasonable” and not subject to unnecessarily excessive fees on a continuing basis in addition to monitoring the investment options as part of their due diligence process. In many cases failures on part of the plan sponsor have resulted in a large number of lawsuits against many of the larger corporations and non-profits in the United States. 

Individuals that serve as plan fiduciaries fail to appreciate that they can be held personally liable for a breach of fiduciary duty, even when the breach is unintentional. 

The presentation will cover what small to mid-size companies can learn from ongoing lawsuits against 401k plan sponsors and individually named fiduciaries to address shortfalls in their own plans. 

The presentation will also briefly cover recent changes in legislation impacting retirement plans as well. 

Speakers: Ryan Verdery, AIF© and Brendan Rodden 

 

Ryan Verdery, AIF©, is the son of a retired military officer and has referred to much of the U.S. as home. Following in a noble family tradition, Ryan followed with a military career of his own, serving in the U.S. Army as a member of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf ’s Command Staff while stationed with the 24th Infantry Division (Mech) during the 1980’s and is the proud recipient of The Army Commendation Medal. Since leaving the military, Ryan and his wife settled in Cary, NC, where they reside with their two sons.

Ryan began his career in the financial services industry in 1997 and began to narrow his focus on retirement plans the following year. He is committed to his role as a co-fiduciary and has received the AIF® (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) designation. Ryan is responsible for consulting employers with respect to fiduciary best practices, plan design assistance and employee education. The leadership skills Ryan obtained from serving with General Schwarzkopf are applied with the same rigorous amount of discipline to the employer sponsored retirement plan fiduciary processes.

Ryan studied Managerial Economics at Carnegie Mellon University. An outdoorsman at heart, he enjoys various aspects of extended wilderness treks. Through much experience Ryan has become a proficient marksman and skilled scuba diver.

Brendan Rodden, CFP©, CRPS©, served for more than 20 years as a United States Marine Corps officer and as a financial advisor with Raymond James. In combat, he commanded a tank company in Iraq in 2003, and served as executive officer of more than 1,200 personnel in a task force in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011. He was also an instructor at Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One, the United States Marine Corps equivalent of the U.S. Navy’s "Top Gun" school for naval aviators.

Before retiring from the Marine Corps, Brendan was accepted into the Wall Street Warfighters Foundation program, which was chaired by the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace (Retired), enabling him to receive training at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Industry Institute at Wharton. Brendan earned his bachelor’s degree from Towson University, has a certificate in Financial Planning from Boston University and is a Certified Financial Planner with the CFP® certification. He is also a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist CRPS®

Born in Denver, Colorado, raised in Maryland, and having served around the country and world with the United States Marine Corps, Brendan now lives in Raleigh with his wife Kelly, and their two children, Bryan and Hailey. He is actively involved in veteran’s issues, and he previously helped to establish and sit on the board of a 501(c)3 charity for veterans in South Carolina. Additionally, supports the Marine Corps Reserve program Toys for Tots in the Raleigh area, and other veteran initiatives. He is an active member in the Triangle Chapter of Military Officers Association of America.