PLANSPONSOR Announces Winners of Retirement Plan Adviser and Adviser Team of the Year

STAMFORD, Conn., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- At the PLANSPONSOR and PLANADVISER 2010 Awards for Excellence dinner in New York Thursday:

• Rick Wedge of Novato, California-based Northgate Benefits, an NRP member firm, was named 2010 PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year

• The Prince Group of Indianapolis, Indiana was named 2010 PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser Team of the Year.

Wedge and The Prince Group were selected from a pool of more than 425 nominations.  

"The retirement security of millions of Americans depends on 401(k) and other employer-sponsored programs, and most plans today rely on the skills and presence of a financial adviser," said Nevin Adams, Editor-in-Chief of PLANSPONSOR. "These awards recognize the contributions of the nation's best financial advisers, who help make retirement security a reality for workers across the nation."

As an individual adviser, Wedge is distinguished by his passion for delivering investment education to 401(k) participants. He offers general education to new participants and more customized education sessions targeted to specific employee audiences. He also provides one-on-one education, and delivers personalized investment advice to those who request it.

Other finalists for the 2010 Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year included:

• Timothy Black, Mosse & Mosse Associates, Marlborough, Massachusetts

• L. Rita Fiumara, UBS Financial Services, Inc., Chicago, Illinois

• Jennifer San Fillippo, La Bri Group, First Allied Securities, Brookfield, Wisconsin

• Attila Toth, Portfolio Evaluations, Inc., Warren, New Jersey

The Prince Group and its members (Douglas Prince, Brea Dantin, Deana Harmon, Jillian Grimm, Joe Copeland, Ben Donathen, and Sue Platt) seek to provide plans with a comprehensive range of services. According to the sponsor of a mid-size plan that has worked with The Prince Group for more than five years, the company has had a significant impact on its program. "Our employees now see this as a great benefit. Doug Prince and his team are always going the extra mile, and they help prod our organization to be better today than we were yesterday."

Other finalists for the 2010 Retirement Plan Adviser Team of the Year were:

• The Dallas Office of Lockton Financial Advisors/Lockton Investment Advisors (David W. Altimont, Lucas M. Barton, Courtney Stroope, Erika Chavez, Kim Pacheco), Dallas, Texas

• Michael M. Kane and Associates , an NRP member firm, (Michael Kane, Mary Kane, Ashley Black, David Robinson), Alpharetta, Georgia

• Plan Sponsor Advisors (Jennifer Flodin, Don Stone), Chicago, Illinois

• Precept RPS (Linda Bright, Doug Igel), Irvine, California

Launched in 2005, the PLANSPONSOR awards recognize the contributions of the nation's best financial advisers in helping make retirement security a reality for workers across the nation. Nominations were solicited online from retirement plan advisers, their employers and/or broker/dealers, and plan sponsors, as well as from working partners of these advisers, including investment vendors, accountants and attorneys, and pension administrators (advisers who have attained the PLANSPONSOR Retirement Professional (PRP) designation receive an automatic nomination).

In addition to Adams, the judge's panel for the awards included Steff Chalk, CEO, Fiduciary Consulting Group and Alison Cooke Mintzer, Executive Editor, PLANADVISER. The rest of the panel for the Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year were John Barry, Registered Principal, JMB Wealth Management, Inc. (2008 PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year) and Steven Dimitriou, Managing Partner, Mayflower Advisors, LLC (2009 PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year). The other members of the Retirement Plan Adviser Team of the Year judging panel were Barbara Delaney, Principal, StoneStreet Equity, a Member Firm of National Retirement Partners (representing FFoA, the 2008 PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser Team of the Year) and Michael Goss, Executive Vice President, Fiduciary Investment Advisors, LLC (representing Fiduciary Investment Advisors, LLC, the 2009 PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser Team of the Year).

About PLANSPONSOR

PLANSPONSOR magazine is the nation's leading authority on retirement issues and benefits programs. PLANSPONSOR.com provides comprehensive news and commerce services dedicated solely to helping employers and financial advisers navigate the complex world of retirement plans and benefit programs on behalf of their employees or clients. For more information, see www.plansponsor.com.

About Asset International

Asset International is a privately held publisher and information provider to global pension funds, asset managers, financial advisers, banking service providers, and other financial institutions in the private and public sector. Asset International produces and distributes print and digital publications, conferences, research and data resources via its industry-leading brands PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, Global Custodian, ai5000, Strategic Insight and The Trade. The company was acquired in January 2009 by Austin Ventures and has offices in New York, London, and Stamford, Connecticut.

SOURCE PLANSPONSOR