Greenspring is pleased to announce that Matt Cellini, AIF®, Greg Hobson, CFP®, AIF® and Josh Itzoe, CFP®, AIF® have all been
named to the 2017 edition of the Financial Times “401 Top Retirement Plan Advisers.” The list recognizes the top financial advisers who specialize in serving defined contribution (DC) retirement plans. This is the first time Cellini has been named to this prestigious list and multiple times for Hobson and Itzoe. In addition, Greenspring is the only firm in Maryland to have 3 advisors make a list.
“As more and more plan companies recognize the importance of working with advisors who specialize in defined contribution plans, we are proud that Greenspring continues to be recognized as a leader in this area,” said. Itzoe. “As the only Maryland-based firm with 3 different advisors on this list, we believe it speaks to the focus, depth, and experience of our team in being able to meet and support the fiduciary and retirement needs of both plan sponsors and participants.”
This is the third annual FT 401 list, produced independently by the Financial Times in collaboration with Ignites Research (an FT sister company) and Broadridge Financial Solutions, which provided data that helped identify advisers specializing in serving DC plans, including 401(k) pensions and other DC accounts. Applicants were required to advise on at least $50m in DC plan assets and have at least 20 percent of their client assets in DC plans. The qualifying advisers completed a questionnaire about the nature of their practice, and the FT graded advisers based on seven factors to calculate a score for each adviser. The factors were:
- DC assets under management (AUM), which signals experience (DC-plan AUM accounted for about 55 percent of each adviser’s score on average).
- Specialization in the DC business, measured by what percentage of the overall assets managed by the adviser is in DC plans and how that concentration has changed. (About a third of the score is based on the adviser’s overall business concentration in serving DC plans, combined with the growth in the adviser’s DC business.)
- The growth rate in the DC plan business is measured by changes in both DC plan clients and assets. Growth is a proxy for performance and client retention, and the ability to draw new business.
- Years of experience advising DC plans, which indicates the experience of managing DC plan assets in different economic and market environments.
- Industry certifications, which show the technical knowledge that is important in the complicated DC plan industry.
- Participation rate in DC plans is advised, which looks at effectiveness by measuring the portion of employees participating.
- Compliance record because a string of client complaints can signal problems.
Neither advisors nor their firms pay a fee to Financial Times in exchange for inclusion in the FT 401.
To access the full list of FT 401 advisors, please click here.
