PLANADVISER - Winter 2023 - 17

to deliver financial education, spotlight the career opportunities
in our industry and reinforce the impact we make in
people's lives. But we can't stop there-we need to create
opportunities through career readiness training, internships,
mentoring and scholarships for students.
For existing talent of diverse backgrounds already
working in the industry, we need to continue creating career
development and advancement opportunities, whether
that's through formal programs and processes or simply
giving someone the chance to increase their visibility
among leadership through stretch projects.
To truly be effective in diversifying our industry,
everyone must play a role. It can't just be the responsibility
of certain leaders or departments. While the direction
and tone need to be set at the top, the greatest impact is
felt when the entirety of an organization feels empowered
and comfortable to voice their opinions, provide customercentric
solutions and lead initiatives that advance diversity,
equity, inclusion and belonging.
Merger and Acquisition Activity
Peter Campagna, partner, Wise Rhino
Group, Incline Village, Nevada: Merger
and acquisition activity in the plan
adviser world was strong this year, and
we expect it to remain that way in 2024.
The thesis of private equity-backed insurance
brokerage powerhouses cross-selling
plans to their employee benefit and property and casualty
clients is as valid as ever, and their millions of corporate
insurance clients are still largely untapped. On top of that,
you have 10s of millions of plan participants to engage with
individual wealth services, and that is attractive to both
insurance and wealth aggregators. Acquiring firms have
started to put some very well-constructed retirement and
wealth platforms together, and it is creating efficiencies as
they integrate these practices. What they need more than
anything is talent and scale, and they typically don't have
the inclination to grow through training new hires, so this
bodes well for M&A activity.
The dramatic rise in the cost of capital definitely had an
effect on M&A the past few years. The highly leveraged firms
stopped acquiring, and the firms that continued buying have
been a little pickier with their offers, but they have not slowed
down much. Our clients might not get six offers like they did
in previous years, but they still have three to four offers to
choose from, and the multiples remain very attractive.
The fact that interest rates seem to have stabilized has
given acquirers that have lowered their leverage ratios the
confidence to start ramping up their activity. Again, this is
a great situation for talented advisers looking to get stronger
with a dynamic partner and monetize their life's work. M&A
will continue to be a big part of the plan adviser world in
2024 and beyond.
SECURE 2.0
Amelia Dunlap, vice president of retirement
solutions marketing, Nationwide,
Columbus, Ohio: While many assume
student loans
affect
only
younger
workers, a new Nationwide Retirement
Institute study revealed that over one in
10 employees ages 45 and older-or about 17
million Americans-also have student loan debt, and 61%
of them say repayment will negatively affect their financial
stability and planning. We also typically see a natural
reduction in retirement plan contributions at the end of
the year, leading us to believe the impact of student loan
repayment will really be felt by workers and retirement plan
providers in early 2024.
It is therefore important for plan sponsors and advisers to
work with their recordkeeping providers to understand the
plan design needs required to implement the provisions from
SECURE 2.0, including Section 110 enabling employers to
provide matching retirement contributions based on workers'
student loan repayments. This is a great benefit for both
younger and older workers that will allow them to continue
saving for retirement while also paying back their loans.
Brad Campbell, partner, Faegre Drinker,
Washington, D.C.: The biggest nearterm
project for plan advisers next
year will be implementing SECURE
2.0-assuming we get some timely guidance.
Plan fiduciaries need help in understanding
and evaluating the impact of the
new options, and advisers will need to touch
base regularly with nearly every plan client to stay in front
of the changing situation.
2024 will also be a great year for advisers serving startup
The fact that interest rates seem to
have stabilized has given acquirers
that have lowered their leverage
ratios the confidence to start
ramping up their activity.
Plan Management | Winter 2023 | planadviser.com 17
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PLANADVISER - Winter 2023

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