TOWSON, MD (March 22, 2012) – Greenspring is pleased to announce that Joshua P. Itzoe, CFP®, AIF® was recently honored as one of three finalists from more than eighty nominees in the United States for the prestigious 2012 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award sponsored by Morningstar and the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA). The award went to Chicago-based Plan Sponsor Advisors during a session of the 11th annual ASPPA 401(k) SUMMIT in New Orleans, La. James Phillips and Patrick McGinn, President and Vice President (respectively) of Retirement Resources Investment Corp., in Peabody, Massachusetts, were also finalists.
The 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award recognizes a leading financial advisor or team for contributions that exemplify leadership, experience, and expertise in the retirement plan industry. Sponsored by Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent investment research, and ASPPA, the leader in retirement education and advocacy—the award reflects the multi-faceted efforts of advisors to serve their clients (plan sponsor and participants), act as mentors, maintain high ethical standards, and innovate in the retirement industry. Within these criteria, finalists were also judged on employing this expertise to help working Americans build their retirement future through employer-based retirement plans.
“While I certainly would have loved to have been the 2012 recipient of the 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award, I am thoroughly honored to be one of the final three advisors in the United States to be considered. Morningstar, ASPPA, and the Selection Committee should be commended for their efforts in creating and promoting this exceptional award,” said Itzoe. “I would also like to congratulate Don Stone and his team at Plan Sponsor Advisors, who is well-deserving of this honor. I’ve had the chance to get to know Don throughout this process, and I have been very impressed by their approach and commitment to driving successful participant outcomes and reducing fiduciary risk for their clients.”
The three finalists also participated as part of a panel discussion on trends in the retirement industry. Itzoe highlighted trends shaping the future of the industry and what advisors must do to meet the expanding and complex needs of plan sponsors and plan participants.
“Josh Itzoe and Greenspring Wealth Management are one of the best of breed advisors that are pushing their client’s interests above all else. The ASPPA Morningstar 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award is awarded to those firms that reflect the utmost in integrity and leadership in the retirement plan business,” said Will Marquis, defined contribution and retirement product manager for Morningstar and a member of the selection committee. “As a finalist for this award, Josh and Greenspring have shown that they are among the best advisors in the industry. Their singular focus on their clients is something all advisors should strive to emulate.”
Itzoe is respected as an industry expert, commentator, and thought leader on retirement security, fiduciary responsibility, and defined contribution plans. He has authored numerous whitepapers and written about fiduciary responsibility for Benefits & Compensation Digest and was nominated in 2012 for the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Defined Contribution” and “Top 500 Most Influential Advisors in Defined Contribution” surveys by 401kWire. He is also the author of one of the retirement industry’s most well-known books on fiduciary responsibility for defined contribution plans. Fixing the 401(k): What Fiduciaries Must Know (And Do) Help Employees Retire Successfully.
A frequent industry speaker, Itzoe has presented at conferences for the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), Fiduciary360, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Employee Benefits News’ Benefits Forum and Expo.
Greenspring Wealth Management was founded in 2004 as a “fee-only” wealth management and retirement plan consulting firm with Towson, Md. and Athens, Ga. Consistently ranked as one of the leading independent advisory firms in the United States, Greenspring currently advises over 150 individual and more than 40 institutional clients. Greenspring’s Private Client Group primarily provides wealth management services to individuals and families with a net worth of $2 million and above. The Institutional Client Group provides independent retirement plan consulting services to committees for publicly traded, privately-held, and not-for-profit organizations and investment consulting services to investment committees of corporations, non-profits, and endowments. Greenspring was ranked as the 7th fastest growing firm in the U.S. in 2008 and the 18th fastest growing firm in 2010 by Financial Advisor magazine.
