Behavioral 401(k): How integrating a behavioral finance perspective in plan design and investment management leads to better retirement outcomes.

Kevin Thelen, Certified Financial Planner from Genovese Burford & Brothers, and John Zollo, employee benefits attorney from Chang Ruthenberg & Long, will discuss cognitive and behavioral biases that lead to poor investment and savings decisions in participant directed retirement plans.  They will describe plan design, compliance and legal considerations in helping participants overcome these problems.

Who should attend?

• HR Managers: to understand how to educate their staff
• Employers and Plan Sponsors: set up the correct plan design
• ERISA attorneys: learn about legal considerations
• Advisors: learn better ways to communicate with employees
• TPAs: assist all the above and how it affects compliance

The reservation deadline for this event is Friday, April 26, 2013.

7:30 to 8:00 a.m. - Registration and continental breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 a.m. - Program and Q&A

Continuing Education:

• 1 hour ERPA (You must have your PTIN when you sign in at the door)
• 1 CPE ASPPA certifications
• 1 CEC NIPA certifications
• 1 hour California CPAs

Free Guest Program for Sacramento Chapter Members:  Members of our chapter may bring one plan sponsor company employee as a guest at no charge to this meeting!  To take advantage of this special offer, click the "Register" button on the left and follow the prompts.  You must complete your registration on or before January 14 to qualify for this program.

Thank you to our 2012-2013 season sponsors:

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About our speakers:

Kevin Thelen, CFP, Financial Advisor and Partner, Genovese Burford & Brothers
Kevin is responsible for the management of our retirement plan clients, the quarterly analysis of our recommended retirement plan investment vehicles, the production of our quarterly fiduciary monitoring reports, and building new client relationships.  He holds the ultimate responsibility of bringing highly technical expertise to our clients and does so through his experience and education as well as his innate ability to simplify the complexities of ERISA law, DOL regulations, and Treasury interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code.  Before joining GBB, Kevin was a financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial, Inc.  He is a CFA Level III candidate, a board member of the Western Pension & Benefits Council, and a member of the CFA Society of Sacramento.  He earned his BA in economics from Seattle University.

John Zollo, Senior Attorney, Chang Ruthenberg & Long PC
John's practice encompasses all areas of employee benefits law including fiduciary representation, corrective compliance, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and DOL and IRS defense matters.  He received the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Pension Law at U.C. Davis where he was an editor of the U.C. Davis Law Review.  Prior to law school, John worked in leadership assessment and organization development at Williams-Sonoma, Inc.  He completed graduate work in industrial-organizational psychology under a doctoral fellowship at Ohio University.  He taught business and psychology, and received a university-wide teaching award.  John is a member of the Western Pension & Benefits Council, the Sacramento Area Human Resources Association, the National Center for Employee Ownership and the ESOP Association He is admitted to practice in California.