PLANADVISER - March/April 2019 - 37

PLANSPONSOR
Retirement Plan Adviser
of the Year Finalists Large Team
StoneStreet Equity LLC
Cafaro Greenleaf
T
he team at StoneStreet Equity,
in White Plains, New York,
sees two major issues facing plan
sponsors. First, participants are
unsure how to appropriately and
effectively manage their 401(k)
investments. Second, employees
have financial needs that extend
beyond the 401(k) plan.
To address the first issue,
BUSINESS AT A GLANCE*
PLAN ASSETS UNDER ADVISEMENT:
$2 billion
MEDIAN PLAN SIZE, IN ASSETS:
$55 million
PLANS UNDER ADMINISTRATION: 50
PARTICIPANTS: 10,000
StoneStreet has been working with 401(k) providers to
enhance their managed account solutions. " We believe
participants in a managed account will make better investment
and saving decisions, will be more engaged and will
achieve better retirement outcomes, " says Spencer Goldstein,
principal and chief investment officer (CIO) at the firm.
As for the second financial stressor, participants can
find help through StoneStreet's Financial Elements (FE)
financial wellness program. Through FE, participants can
take advantage of a financial wellness website that provides
guidance on topics including budgeting, credit card debt,
student loans and retirement income planning. They also
have the chance to speak with an FE mentor, who can help
them set financial goals.
" Outbound calling, goal-setting and follow-up calls are
key differentiators that help participants overcome inertia, "
Goldstein says.
StoneStreet has also focused on fiduciary outsourcing,
moving from providing 3(21) services to 3(38) services for
many of its defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit
(DB) clients. Further, it has transitioned Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA) 3(16) duties from several DC and
DB clients to an independent third-party administrator (TPA).
" We view our role, first and foremost, as advocates for
our plan sponsors and their employees, " Goldstein says. " As
we work with recordkeepers and plan providers, we are
constantly pursuing enhanced services and promoting best
practices. " -Corie Hengst
" C
afaro Greenleaf is constantly
evolving our comprehensive
service model to
reflect where the industry is
going, not where it is today, " says
Jamie Greenleaf, lead adviser
and principal with the firm.
" As advisers, our role is to
push the industry out of its
comfort zone and to collaborate
with our clients to find new solutions and embrace evolution, "
she says.
Since its founding in 1981, Cafaro Greenleaf, in Red
BUSINESS AT A GLANCE*
PLAN ASSETS UNDER ADVISEMENT:
$4.3 billion
MEDIAN PLAN SIZE, IN ASSETS:
$20 million
PLANS UNDER ADMINISTRATION: 235
PARTICIPANTS: 50,000
Bank, New Jersey, has wanted to be on the forefront of
trends in the retirement planning industry. Its clients
were among the first U.S. plan sponsors to embrace automatic
enrollment, back at that plan feature's beginnings,
and, as a result, participation, deferral rates and balances
in these plans are significantly higher than industry averages,
Greenleaf notes.
" We believe we need to show more value than being a
retirement plan consultant alone, as that's only one part of
the benefit dollar our clients are reviewing. We show that
by designing more targeted, successful benefit packages. "
Last year, Cafaro Greenleaf launched a personal financial
planning division, Greenleaf Financial, which offers
financial wellness instruction, investment management,
insurance strategies and retirement planning for individuals,
through means such as monthly educational webinars.
Recently, the firm began promoting health savings
accounts (HSAs) to its clients, and it believes the next stage
for the retirement planning industry is to develop decumulation
strategies and products.
Greenleaf says these strategies have enabled her firm to
successfully help participants retire by age 67 and reduce
future health care costs and liabilities. " This lets us become a
real partner to our clients. We have always viewed ourselves
as an extension of their organizations. " -Lee Barney
*As of December 31, 2018
StoneStreet photo by Doug Schneider Photography
planadviser.com March-April 2019 | 37
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PLANADVISER - March/April 2019

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