Nearly 300 Attend ExpertPlan's 2011 Annual Conference

EAST WINDSOR, N.J., July 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ExpertPlan, Inc., one of the nation's leading retirement plan services providers, hosted its annual conference in Scottsdale, AZ from June 22-24. The theme of the conference - "On the Edge of Change" - highlighted that 2011 is a year of revolutionary change in the retirement plan services industry.

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The shift includes recent legislative changes in full fee disclosure, fiduciary responsibility, independent advice and review by Congress of plan types and possibly pre-tax deductibility. This year's conference not only provided more insight into these topics, but enabled ExpertPlan's business partners to learn more about the company's business strategy.

ExpertPlan serves more than 18,000 plans representing more than $5 billion in retirement assets.

This year's conference featured commentary from industry experts, legislative updates, and educational sessions designed as tracks appealing to third-party administrators (TPAs), advisors, asset management firms along with bank and trust partners of ExpertPlan.

ExpertPlan Chairman of the Board and CEO Julian Onorato welcomed the nearly 300 in attendance by noting that the company continues to grow through strategic relationships that provide retirement programs to plan sponsors in partnership with advisors, TPAs, asset managers, CPAs, payroll providers, banking and trust companies, broker/ dealers, insurance companies and other financial professionals.

National sports broadcaster and former National Football League head coach Dick Vermeil delivered the keynote address. Since concluding one of the most distinguished coaching careers in the NFL in 2006, Vermeil teamed up with wine maker Paul Smith, founder of OnThEdge Winery, to produce a selection of fine wines using grapes grown on land in California's Napa Valley that his great-grandfather once owned.  

Other speakers included Craig Hoffman, general counsel and director of regulatory affairs for the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA), who discussed the ever-changing regulatory and legal environment in Washington and Senior Economist Jeffrey Cleveland of the investment management firm Payden & Rygel, who talked about popular misconceptions about the U.S. economy.

"The conference was an excellent opportunity for us to broaden our knowledge about ExpertPlan and to better understand how the company can assist us in continuing to build our turn-key retirement plan offering.  Prudent Retirement Services looks forward to a long and prosperous business relationship with ExpertPlan," said Gary Allen, Principal, Prudent Investor Advisors, LLC.

ExpertPlan's executive management team provided updates on the company's expanded product and service lineup which now includes consulting services and an ETF investment lineup.

"We feel very privileged to be in attendance at the conference this year, and also to work together to market the new Annual Plan Review Book", said Patrick Hannon, Production Manager at McGraw-Hill Financial Communications and key influencer in the development of the Annual Plan Review Book. "Hearing Mike Rizzo (ExpertPlan Chief Technology Officer) speak about the enhancements to the ExpertPlan website, and new fee disclosure solutions for the retirement industry further proved that ExpertPlan is ahead of the curve in anticipating the needs of the marketplace. Attending the conference this year provided us at MHFC with additional excitement about the future of our partnership, and the industry as a whole."

The conference concluded with a series of breakout sessions that included using retirement plan design to generate higher tax deductions for high net-worth clients and new audit issues for 2011.

Post-conference comments to ExpertPlan's executive team included, "Your organization finds itself clearly on the cutting edge of our industry – particularly in light of the recent Department of Labor changes.  I would also like to emphasize that I found the legal resources you provide via both personnel and the web particularly 'calming.'  As it relates to ERISA requirements and the fiduciary role we play as a provider/Investment Advisor on sponsored retirement plans, it's so good to know that we have such a robust team of experts upon whom we may call at any time," noted Patrick S. Jolliffe, CFP®, ChFC, President, Jolliffe Capital, Inc.

Conference attendees, exhibitors and industry experts enjoyed the exchange of ideas and networking.

"The Expert Plan conference was a great mix of fun, education, and networking. I'll be back next year," commented Christopher Van Slyke, Partner, Trovena, LLC.

ExpertPlan, headquartered in East Windsor, New Jersey, is the premier provider of private-labeled recordkeeping solutions for institutional asset managers and other financial professionals.  The company offers a wide variety of service models and plan types, for both start-up and conversion plans, within both the defined contribution and defined benefit markets. There is no plan size, no plan type, nor any service delivery model that ExpertPlan cannot support , including but not limited to traditional 401(k), Profit Sharing, New Comparability, Safe Harbor, Owner-Only Solo(k), 457, 403(b), Money Purchase, Cash Balance plans, and more.  The firm's scalable recordkeeping system can be customized to fully integrate with a client's business and distribution models. ExpertPlan's retirement plan solutions include the resources and technologies that assist our partners in providing value-add services to their clients.  Our flexible approach enables our partners to design precisely the type of retirement plan solution that best fits their business model and distribution process. For more information about ExpertPlan, Inc. visit www.expertplan.com or call our sales team today at 866.929.2525.

SOURCE ExpertPlan, Inc.