PLANADVISER - Summer 2023 - 2

Publisher's Note //
publisher: Alison Cooke Mintzer
Alison.Mintzer@issmediasolutions.com
Why the Winners
I
n May, we hosted our second annual PLANADVISER
Industry Leader Awards; it was an evening honoring
people across the industry who really make a difference
in improving savings and retirement outcomes for
American workers. We gave out Retirement Plan Adviser
of the Year awards in six categories: Plan Sponsor
Service; Plan Participant Service; Closing the Coverage
Gap; Efforts in DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion];
Mentorship; and Community Impact and Giving Back.
Employing the categories mentioned above, and not just picking the " best "
from a group lumped together according to the size of the practice, enabled
us to focus more on the things that both truly differentiate advisory practices
and work to propel the industry forward. There is also now a clear methodology,
across most of our different categories, for determining what made
someone remarkable.
But, as people are continually asking, what does it take to get to be a finalist
or the winner in a set category, I thought it might be helpful to explain, in
simple terms, what each category looks for.
The Plan Sponsor Service and Plan Participant Service categories are the ones
most like our previous awards. For Plan Sponsor Service, we found advisers who
really dedicate themselves to fulfilling the role their clients need them to when it
comes to plan governance-answering the question: " How do you help your plan
sponsors be better fiduciaries? " For the Plan Participant category, we examine
how advisers are serving participants in what we all know is a very challenging
environment, with regulations as well as concerns about conflicts of interest,
while still finding effective ways to provide education and, in some cases, advice.
Our categories of Mentorship and DEI recognize and confront challenges
our industry faces, notably an aging adviser population and the fact that it has
traditionally been dominated by white men. For the Mentorship category, we
look for people who support professional and personal opportunities for growth
within their team and practice, as well as actively participate to educate others
about the industry to help them grow their career in it. For DEI, we look for
those individuals addressing the financial services industry's clear and present
diversity problem, with a particular focus on the importance of encouraging
more to pursue roles in the financial advisory industry and creating equitable
and fair workplaces, especially for women and people of color.
If we embrace the fact that success in saving for retirement begins with
having access to a retirement plan, then expanding coverage is vital. The idea
for the Closing the Coverage Gap category emphasizes those advisers who
aren't just serving plans already in existence but creating new plans-especially
multiple employer plans and pooled employer plans-to provide for those
who have not traditionally had access.
Our last category is one we don't have an ideal benchmark for. In the area
of Community Impact and Giving Back, for two years we've had an amazing
group of entrants who are creating positive change through philanthropy and
service. Their applications and interviews are humbling and awe-inspiring,
and in both years we struggled with how to select a " winner " from among
the people serving and supporting, in such varied ways, the local, regional,
national and global communities in which they operate. Because of this, the
judges have discussed revamping the category for next year. Stay tuned for
more on that evolution.
I know you'll enjoy reading about this year's award winners. And I encourage
you to nominate peers for next year's awards when the nomination process
opens again, this fall. -Alison Mintzer, Publisher
creative director: SooJin Buzelli
SooJin.Buzelli@issmediasolutions.com
editor, planadviser print: Judy Faust Hartnett
JudyFaustHartnett@issmediasolutions.com
editorial staff: Natalie Lin, Paul Mulholland,
Alex Ortolani, Remy Samuels, Karen Wittwer,
Jonathan Yardley, Noah Zuss
contributors: Rebecca Hourihan, Judy Ward
surveys & research: Garrett Cox, Kimberley
Gonzalez-Quiles
design & production: Donna Bien-Aimé,
Alanna Jacobs, Maria Kofman, Samantha Yu
design contributor: Cherese Rambaldi
art contributors: Chris Buzelli, Anthony Collins,
Matt Kalinowski, Kiki Ljung, Alex Eben Meyer,
Dan Page, Valeria Petrone, Brian Scagnelli,
Anja Sušanj
strategy & operations: Michelle Lamison;
Melissa Groccia, Rebecca Moore
commercial director: Rob Reif
Robert.Reif@issmediasolutions.com
advertising sales: Katie Bacon, John Bennett,
Christopher Janos, Bill Murray
conferences: Carol Popkins; Katie Campbell,
Rebecca Fahey, Lucille Velander
accounting operations: Mayrillane Bahi,
Ruth Fissaha, Ricky Kostik
technology operations: Darrell Cheng, Bhakti Patel,
Jigar Patel, Dexter Reaves
PLANADVISER is owned by
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS)
president and chief executive officer: Gary Retelny
chief financial officer: Allen Heery
PLANADVISER (ISSN 1935-9098) is published
quarterly (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) by
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (1177
Avenue of the Americas, 14th Floor, New York,
NY 10036). Standard rate postage paid at New
York, NY, and at additional mailing rate.
postmaster: Send address changes to:
PLANADVISER, P.O. Box 493,
Lincolnshire, IL 60093
reproduction policy planadviser, Volume 18,
Issue 2. No part of this publication may be
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©2023. Entire contents copyrighted.
2 planadviser.com | Summer 2023 | Awards & Innovation Photography by Matt Kalinowski
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PLANADVISER - Summer 2023

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