Improving employee retirement readiness begins with helping workers make informed financial decisions today. When employees understand how their choices around saving, debt, and spending impact their long-term security, participation and contribution rates rise. Plan sponsors play a critical role by offering education, tools, and programs—like automatic enrollment, financial wellness resources, and one-on-one guidance—that make saving easier and more consistent.
At the conclusion of a recent program at North Carolina State University, Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU) and 401kTV, spoke with J. Andy Ingram, adjunct lecturer for TPSU and founder of Sollinda Capital Management, a Virginia-based RIA firm managing approximately $2 billion in retirement assets nationwide.
Ingram explained that his goal as a TPSU instructor is to help plan sponsors recognize the value of working with certified 401(k) professionals and the measurable benefits of partnering with specialist advisors. These experts, he noted, bring deep expertise in plan design, governance, compliance, and participant engagement—areas that directly strengthen fiduciary oversight and improve employee outcomes.
As Ingram emphasized, improving financial wellness and participant outcomes remains a top priority, yet a significant service gap persists: while more than 70% of employees want help with financial planning, only about 25% of employers currently provide it. Plan sponsors don’t need to be financial experts themselves, he added—they simply need to ensure that qualified advisors are in place to deliver the right education and support.
Read the Full Transcript Here:
Fred Barstein:
Greetings. This is Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of TPSU and 401k TV. I’m here on the beautiful campus of North Carolina State in Raleigh, with our esteemed TPSU adjunct lecturer, Andy Ingram. Welcome, Andy.
J. Andy Ingram:
Thank you. It’s been excellent. Appreciate it.
Fred Barstein:
Okay if we ask you a few questions?
J. Andy Ingram:
Absolutely.
Fred Barstein:
Before we do, tell us a little bit about yourself and your firm.
J. Andy Ingram:
Well, so, um, I’m based in Virginia, so my RIA, Sollinda Capital Management, is a nationwide IRA. We do 338 management for plan sponsors and plans across the country, and we manage about two billion in assets. So one of our focuses here is to become a certified 401k professional, and give those good services to the plan sponsors that attend these events.
Fred Barstein:
Great. So your presentation, you talked about, it was about the role of the advisor, which is so critical. What do you think the most critical, or what’s resonating with plan sponsors today?
J. Andy Ingram:
Well, I think to, on the heels of both last year’s and this year’s Fidelity survey was that participant outcomes were the number one thing that people were focused on. And so, to piggyback onto that is, how do you get them to that successful outcome? And part of that is the wellness and then the planning that goes into it. And so, one of the statistics that I saw was that 70 plus percent of participants in plans want that service, but only 25% are giving it. And so, being able to present to the folks here that the critical component of wellness, and it can be customized to their participants, and the labor group that they have.
Fred Barstein:
Right. And we had a question today I thought was interesting, was the plan sponsors. Like, “Well, am I responsible for the advice that the advisor is giving to the participant?” How would you answer that question?
J. Andy Ingram:
Yes and no. I mean, they still have to monitor what’s happening, they have to be aware of what information’s being presented to their participants. But to have the service, and put that person in that position, yes.
Fred Barstein:
Yeah. And just to make sure they’re qualified, and they’re doing their job.
J. Andy Ingram:
Correct.
Fred Barstein:
They don’t have to be in every conversation.
J. Andy Ingram:
Correct. Yeah.
Fred Barstein:
Right, to do that.
J. Andy Ingram:
As long as they verify, and are documenting that.
Fred Barstein:
So this was your first TPSU, it was our first one in Raleigh-
J. Andy Ingram:
Yeah.
Fred Barstein:
… actually, ever. Why should a plan sponsor attend? What’s the number one thing they’re going to learn here?
J. Andy Ingram:
I would say, I wouldn’t say there’s number one thing. They really just learn what they don’t know.
Fred Barstein:
Right.
J. Andy Ingram:
Out there, there’s so many components to a plan, and we went over what a specialist advisor has over the top of a generalist advisor. And there’s six, seven, eight components that a specialist advisor gives to a plan sponsor, or helps them with in the form of organization, compliance.
Fred Barstein:
Right.
J. Andy Ingram:
Governance, those type things. Plan design seems to be one of the things that continues to pop up.
Fred Barstein:
Right. Yeah. And I think, as you see, they like to talk to each other.
J. Andy Ingram:
Yeah.
Fred Barstein:
They don’t get a chance. One of the plan sponsors I was interviewing one time said, “I was just so glad to know I’m not the only one who’s screwed.” You know, because they’re thrown into this like ERISA liability, and all these different rules and regulations, and they’re overwhelmed.
J. Andy Ingram:
Yeah, for sure.
Fred Barstein:
So it’s good to know. And it’s good to have a good advisor, as you say.
J. Andy Ingram:
Yep.
Fred Barstein:
Well, thanks for your time.
J. Andy Ingram:
Totally.
Fred Barstein:
Thanks for being an adjunct lecturer, and thank you for watching 401k TV. Hope to see you at a program, a TPSU program near you, soon.
