Tag: Retirement Plans

The Rise of Climate-Friendly 401(k) Investment Options with Alex Wright-Gladstein (Ep. 26)

The Rise of Climate-Friendly 401(k) Investment Options with Alex Wright-Gladstein (Ep. 26)

In this episode, we speak with Alex Wright-Gladstein, the founder of Sphere, an asset management company that offers a climate-friendly mutual fund and index option for retirement plans. She shares her journey of discovering the lack of sustainable investment options in 2017 and her mission to provide a low-fee, planet-voting alternative to the traditional S&P 500.

Alex discusses:

  • The holistic approach to corporate governance and retirement plans
  • Where the $1.5 trillion invested in the fossil fuel industry from 401(k)s are going
  • The risk of climate change is not just an advisor opportunity but a global mission
  • How young people are driving progress through initiatives like the Green New Deal
  • What her company Sphere is doing as a climate-friendly alternative to the S&P 500
  • And more

Resources:

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About Alex Wright-Gladstein:

Alex Wright-Gladstein is the founder and CEO of Sphere. Over 80% of Americans are worried about climate change, but 99% of Americans with retirement savings don’t have the option to make climate-friendly investments. Sphere makes climate-friendly investing available to those who would not otherwise have that option, by making it easy to offer climate-friendly options in 401(k) retirement plans. Prior to founding Sphere, Alex was founding CEO of Ayar Labs, an MIT technology spinout company that has raised over $200M in venture funding and makes data centers and supercomputers faster and more energy efficient by using light to move data between chips. She has also been the energy entrepreneurship practice leader at MIT and an energy efficiency program manager and energy markets specialist at smart grid company EnerNOC (now Enel X). She received an MBA from MIT and a BA in Political Science and Economics from Tufts University.

Diversifying Your Marketing Strategy With Mike Kane (Ep. 15)

Diversifying Your Marketing Strategy With Mike Kane (Ep. 15)

When marketing your business, it’s important to have a diverse strategy so you can reach as many of the right plan sponsors as possible.

In this episode, Rebecca Hourihan speaks with retirement plan advisor legend, Mike Kane of Plan Sponsor Consultants. Mike discusses the importance of advisors using a variety of marketing tactics in their business’ tool kit to reach the largest audience.

Mike discusses:

  • The evolution of Plan Sponsor Consultants marketing tactics over the years to get in front of prospective clients
  • The current marketing strategy Mike and his team use to win retirement plan business
  • The three topics plan sponsors are most interested in
  • Advice for financial advisors and ways they could implement marketing strategies into their practices
  • What the retirement plan industry might look like in 10 years
  • And more

Resources

Connect With Mike Kane:

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About Our Guest:

Michael Kane serves as Managing Director of Plan Sponsor Consultants. He is a member of Retirement Partners Group (RPG), a network of advisors associated with LPL Financial who are among the 401(k) plan distribution leaders in terms of number of retirement plan advisors, plans, participants and assets under advisement. He is also a member of GRP Advisor Alliance, an independent network of retirement plan focused advisors. GRP Advisor Alliance is not affiliated with or endorsed by LPL Financial. Mike is also a member of the prestigious national Retirement Advisor Council (RAC), where he serves on 2 committees. Mike also serves on various committees of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA), a division of the American Retirement Association. Mike also serves on the Retirement Advisor Leadership Committee of LPL Retirement Partners. He is a member of the Centre For Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX) and the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

Mike is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst (AIFA). AIFA’s have completed a rigorous specialized program on investment fiduciary standards of care at the Center for Fiduciary Studies, in association with the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. He also is a Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor through the National Association of Plan Advisors.

 

10. Marketing Secret Weapons

10. Marketing Secret Weapons

All retirement plan professionals want to stay top of mind for clients and prospective clients. Efficient and strategic marketing is key to making this a reality.

In this episode, 401(k) Marketing’s marketing manager, Sasha Cibrian, discusses how to market yourself and your company efficiently and effectively. She shares tips for marketing automation and tools you can use to increase your presence to get time back in your day.

Sasha discusses:

  • How to utilize automated marketing
  • Ways to get around spam filters
  • Digital tools to leverage
  • How to start using the right tools for marketing
  • And more

Resources:

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