PLANADVISER -May/June 2022 - 14

Industry Leaders
Awards2022
Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year
Plan Sponsor Service
Matthew Compton
Brio Benefit Consulting, Inc.
New York, New York
PLANADVISER: How did you get into advising retirement
plans?
Matthew Compton: Early in my career, in 2008, I was given
an opportunity to interview with Principal Financial Group
in the New York metro region. The hiring manager took a
shot with me, as I didn't meet the experience requirement.
For the next 12 years, I represented Principal in a number of
roles-from director of business development to director of
sales, for plans ranging up to $250 million in assets.
There, I got to work with some of the brightest retirement
plan advisers in the country. I also got the opportunity
to become an expert in plan types including defined contribution,
defined benefit, nonqualified deferred compensation
plans and employee stock ownership plans. But I also recognized
that many of the advisers lacked specialization-and
saw an opportunity to take what I'd learned to lead my own
advisory practice.
I met my two partners at Brio Benefit Consulting in 2008.
They were an Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Company
and were looking to really expand their retirement practice.
In 2019, Brio presented the perfect opportunity to start
having a greater impact on clients and plan participants.
PA: How is your team/process/structure unique and how
has it evolved?
Compton: My experience on the plan provider side gives
me an understanding of the retirement plan business: the
roles and responsibilities of our provider partners and the
approach they take to drive revenue. I believe we're wellpositioned
to leverage the tools and resources available to
employers and plan participants.
For instance, we've built out our fiduciary process using
Fi360's Firm Plus software. Additionally, we offer customized
participant education materials and make ourselves
available for one-on-one education meetings. We've guided
our clients on plan design best practices that will lead to
greater retirement readiness outcomes.
Plan Sponsor Service Finalists
* Brady Dall, OneDigital, Salt Lake City, Utah
* Shannon Maloney, Strategic Retirement Partners,
Northville, Michigan
* Robert Massa, Qualified Plan Advisors, Houston, Texas
* Michael Paris, Paris International, Great Neck, New York
PA: What challenges do you think the retirement plan
industry faces, and what role do you have in addressing
those challenges?
Compton: I fear the consolidation in the recordkeeper
industry will result in a reduced service model with
providers trying to maximize their margins. If this
happens, then it should only further promote our service
model. We position ourselves to be the primary contact
for our employers and plan participants. We believe that,
by doing this, we can lead to quicker resolutions for our
clients, which enhances our value.
PA: Why is it important to work with plan sponsors and
companies offering retirement benefits to their people?
Compton: Studies show that increasingly today's workforce
values employee and lifestyle benefits above traditional
compensation.
The sooner one starts planning for retirement, the greater
the outcome. I take pride in doing whatever I can to help as
many people achieve as comfortable a retirement as possible.
Often, this begins by taking a strong stance with investment
committees when it comes to plan design recommendations.
We're in a unique position in partnership with our sponsor
clients to positively affect their participants' savings rates.
For years, it was easy for sponsors and advisers to shy
away from the tough questions about automatic enrollment
and automatic increases. The excuse of " we can't do that-it's
up to the employee to sign up for the plan " is no longer valid.
Employees and participants still must decide do they want
to participate in the plan? The difference is, by using autofeatures,
we can take the work out of the equation for them.
PA: What are the most important issues your plan clients
face, and how do you help them overcome those issues?
Compton: I find our newest clients engage us because they
recognize that retirement isn't their expertise. They feel
more comfortable partnering with an outside expert that can
help mitigate their fiduciary risks, improve the participant
experience and ease their administrative burden.
We do everything we can to make sure they know we've
got this covered. We strive to make their plans airtight from
a fiduciary process standpoint, but also by engaging them on
the participant education strategies and technology integration
with the payroll and benefit administration systems.
The more we can help them make their systems speak to one
another, the easier it makes their everyday work lives.
14 | planadviser.com May-June 2022
http://www.planadviser.com
PLANADVISER -May/June 2022

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