PLANADVISER - January/February 2020 - 21

it is not just large publicly traded companies. Increasingly,
smaller companies, including advisory firms, are realizing
the value of integrating some sort of corporate social responsibility
(CSR) program into their organization.
PLANADVISER discussed this topic with three previous
winners of the PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser of
the Year Award: Christopher D. Kulick Jr., of CAPTRUST in
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, who won in 2018 in the individual
category; Devyn Duex, who, with the rest of the team
at Pensionmark Retirement Group in Santa Barbara, California,
won in 2013 in the Multioffice Team category (she
now advises for the Santa Barbara office of CAPTRUST, a
strategic partner of Pensionmark since 2015); and Jason
Chepenik, whose practice Chepenik Financial, in Orlando,
Florida, won in 2019 in the Small Team category.
PLANADVISER: How do you define corporate social
responsibility? What does CSR mean to you?
Jason Chepenik: I'll start at the end, with the word responsibility.
When I bifurcate the word responsibility, I think
that it is the ability to respond, which means CSR is the
ability to respond to corporate and social issues. I believe
that it is the responsibility of small-business owners to
play an active role in our communities.
It's how I was raised: to be part of something bigger than
ourselves. But in my parents' time it was buying a table or
sponsoring an event, and now it is an evolved ecosystem
where it's more about the action. I think the attention CSR
is getting and its normalization is showing that giving back
should be a normal part of our daily lives. It makes me
2013 PLANSPONSOR Retirement
Plan Adviser Multioffice Team of the Year
Devyn Duex, formerly vice president,
client relations, Pensionmark.
Duex is now an adviser at CAPTRUST; she
founded the CAPTRUST Women's Initiative
and served as co-president of the CAPTRUST
Community Foundation.
2018 PLANSPONSOR Retirement
Plan Adviser of the Year
Christopher D. Kulick Jr., senior vice
president, financial advisor, CAPTRUST.
Kulick is an active member of Cradles to
Crayons, a nonprofit organization that provides
school supplies and clothing to homeless and
low-income children.
2019 PLANSPONSOR Retirement
Plan Adviser Large Team of the Year
Jason Chepenik, managing partner,
Chepenik Financial.
Chepenik founded the Smarter Tomorrow
Foundation and the 4.01k Race for Financial
Fitness to " support the financial literacy
programs that put kids on the right track. "
feel good, and you make great friends, and you become a
happier person. It's wellness for the community.
When you walk into charitable organizations and you
realize you can help somebody, it is such connective tissue
that you want to do more of it and you want to tell people
about it. Being socially responsible allows us to feel grounded
and step away from the long days that are part and parcel
of the service business-where you are focused on talking
about the right product or service or investment option.
Christopher Kulick: It's our mission " to enrich the lives of
our clients, colleagues and communities. " In that way, CSR
is part of the CAPTRUST firm from the ground up. From
the first day that you join the firm, you're told, " We are
looking for our employees to participate not only through
the CAPTRUST Community Foundation, but on their own
in their communities. "
The foundation supports organizations that specifically
help children with physical disabilities, illnesses, abuse,
poverty, absence of a parent, and more. Over 10 years, the
foundation has given away over $1 million with that goal in
mind. " We feel very fortunate in the work we do and believe
giving back to others is critical. "
PA: How has your firm embraced corporate social
responsibility principles in its own operation?
Kulick: CAPTRUST's CSR approach is varied across the
company and the employee side. We want to be a strong
leader in the industry professionally and in what we do for
retirement and individual financial planning, but we also
want to leave a mark on the next generation. We put a lot of
passion into leaving communities in a better place.
Also, every employee gets 16 paid hours for community
service to be able to support their local community. For
example, in my home area of Philadelphia, I am active in an
organization called Cradles to Crayons that supports children.
I spend time there giving back and I make a donation,
which the foundation will match.
Devyn Duex: It is a holistic vision at the firm to be championing
causes. This past year, I served as co-president of our
foundation and was able to provide direction and momentum.
The foundation here at CAPTRUST has a large infrastructure,
and it's growing.
There's a great team of committee members and board
members that make it all happen, and hundreds of employees
donate directly to the foundation. The majority of the funds
that we distribute to grant recipients come from employee
deferrals and the company match.
Last year, 85 charities across the country received grants
ranging in size in terms of the dollar amount, but they benefited
51 communities. Nearly $1,000,000 went out the door on
community action under the foundation. The company has
said, collectively the goal is $10,000,000 in 10 years, and we're
on our way and really excited about that. This is in addition
to the various offices that are doing their own thing.
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PLANADVISER - January/February 2020

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