AFS in the News

What You Need to Know About SECURE 2.0

Kacy Reece

Kacy Reece

Blog Post

It’s finally here! After much back-and-forth, Congress passed the long-awaited SECURE 2.0 just before the close of 2022. This legislation is intended to expand access to retirement plans and increase savings, preserve Americans’ income, and simplify/clarify retirement plan rules. There are over 100 total provisions, so here is a summary of the components you should be aware of:

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How to ‘Crack the Financial Wellness Nut’: Wealth@wor(k) 2022

Alex Assaley, AIF®

Alex Assaley, AIF®

Blog Post

Reposted from 401(k) Specialist by John Sullivan, Editor-In-Chief

Understated isn’t a term generally associated with Alex Assaley, but he managed to pull it off when describing current market conditions.

“It’s been a really interesting year for investors and advisors,” Assaley, Managing Principal with AFS 401(k) Retirement Services, said from the floor of the Wealth@wor(k) conference in Las Vegas.

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Wiley|Wilson and AFS Recognized for Financial Wellness Excellence by the Retirement Advisor Council

Kacy Reece

Kacy Reece

Blog Post

On August 16, 2022, the Retirement Advisor Council recognized Wiley|Wilson, as an honoree of its Financial Wellness Excellence Awards. This recognition was presented at the Retirement Advisor Council’s 2022 Annual Planning Meeting in Des Moines, IA. Connie Burnette of Wiley|Wilson accepted the award on behalf of her team and was recognized for her thoughtful leadership and dedication to providing the best possible employee financial wellness program to her organization.

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Alex Assaley Named a 2022 PLANADVISER Top Retirement Plan Adviser

Kacy Reece

Kacy Reece

Blog Post

AFS 401(k) Retirement Services is thrilled to publicize that our lead adviser, Alex Assaley was named a top retirement plan advisor by PLANADVISOR.

Since 2013, this designation has been awarded to the top 100 retirement plan advisers and teams based on quantitative measures such as the most plans and assets under advisement. This year, PLANADVISER made a significant change, limiting how large a team could be for consideration—eliminating national-type firms that traditionally had met the eligibility for a “Mega Team”.

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What is Your Proudest Moment?

Kacy Reece

Kacy Reece

Blog Post

At this year’s NAPA 401(k) Summit, the nation’s largest and most prestigious conference for retirement plan advisors and industry leaders, our Managing Principal, Alex Assaley took to the stage to give his final Presidential remarks and share a special story of one of his proudest moments as a retirement plan advisor. You can watch the live presentation below or read through the video transcript.

Alex, as the 2021-2022 President of NAPA.

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AFS 401(k) Retirement Services Honored in NAPA’s 2021 Top DC Advisor Teams List

Kacy Reece

Kacy Reece

Blog Post

BETHESDA, MD — AFS 401(k) Retirement Services has been named to the National Association of Plan Advisors’ list of the nation’s top defined contribution (DC) Advisor Teams with Assets under Advisement of $100 Million.

Unlike other lists, this focuses on individual firms, or what may, in a wirehouse environment, be referred to as a team, or office, and the assets under advisement related to their defined contribution (DC) practice, specifically in a single physical location. The inaugural list was published in 2017.  

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The Future for ESG Investing

Kacy Reece

Kacy Reece

Blog Post

Earlier this summer, our team hosted our first virtual “symposium-style” event focused on addressing some of the industry's hot topics and trends, including Financial Wellness in the Workplace; Regulatory and Legislative Initiatives for Retirement and Benefits Plans; and The Future for ESG Investing. While the live event was over six hours long, we have created this series of shorter highlight videos so you can easily digest and use this valuable and informative information within your own organization. 

Our second highlight video series is from the "Understanding ESG Investing" panel moderated by AFS 401(k)'s Managing Principal, Alex Assaley. He sat down with Clarice Avery, VP, Investment Strategist of Natixis Investment Managers, and Katherine Collins, Head of Sustainable Investing of Putnam Investments to talk about ESG investing and what companies should know about ESGs and the future of this investment option. Here are a few of the moments from their session together: 

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Financial Wellness in the Workplace

Kacy Reece

Kacy Reece

Blog Post

Earlier this summer, our team hosted our first virtual “symposium-style” event focused on addressing some of the industry's hot topics and trends, including Financial Wellness in the Workplace; Regulatory and Legislative Initiatives for Retirement and Benefits Plans; and The Future for ESG Investing. While the live event was over six hours long, we have created this series of shorter highlight videos so you can easily digest and use this valuable and informative information within your own organization. 

Our first highlight video series is from the "Financial Wellness in the Workplace" panel, moderated by AFS 401(k) consultant Allison Rosenberg. She sat down with two of the area’s top Human Resources leaders – Maggie Crutchfield, Director of Human Resources of the National Women's Law Center, and Felipe Confiño, Vice President, Human Resources & Organizational Development of Signal Financial Federal Credit Union to discuss the strategies and tools they use to engage with their workforce and enhance company culture. Here's are a few of the moments from their session together: 

 

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Market and Economic Update: Full Steam Ahead

As the U.S. makes progress on the vaccine rollout, our country’s economy is picking up momentum and slowly but steadily returning to normal. Pending any new setbacks, many large businesses are planning on bringing staff back to the office in September, and on the educational front, it appears schools at all levels are looking to reopen for the fall semester, and that momentum doesn’t look like it will be slowing down. Anecdotally, almost everyone we have spoken to over the past few months has told us that he or she is booking flights and getting his or her travel plans in place for the upcoming summer and fall. The main point: People are eager to return to as much normalcy as possible.

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