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Growth stocks—and more recently a relatively small group of mega-cap technology companies—have dominated market attention for much of the past decade. But shifting market conditions are putting a renewed spotlight on diversification, valuations and the role value investing can play in retirement plan portfolios. Invesco U.S. Senior Client Portfolio Manager Sergio Marcheli joins 401(k) Specialist Editor-in-Chief Brian Anderson to discuss the current environment for value investing, where opportunities may be emerging, and how retirement plan advisors and sponsors can evaluate whether their 401(k) investment lineups have appropriate value exposure. For Institutional Investor Use Only. This should not be considered a recommendation to purchase any investment product. As with all investments there are associated inherent risks. This does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy for a particular investor. The opinions expressed herein are based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice. These opinions may differ from those of other Invesco investment professionals.  Invesco is not affiliated with 401(k) Specialist. Invesco Advisers, Inc. is an investment adviser; it provides investment advisory services to individual and institutional clients and does not sell securities.

Fiduciary responsibility has always been a core part of running a retirement plan, but with continued litigation, an evolving investment landscape and changing regulatory expectations, staying on top of those responsibilities isn’t getting any easier. So how can retirement plan advisors make fiduciary support an ongoing strategy rather than a one-time box to check? And what kind of support do they need to help their plan sponsor clients navigate that responsibility? Nathan Voris, head of go-to-market, sales and marketing for Morningstar Investment Management’s retirement group, joins the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast to explain how outsourced fiduciary support helps retirement plan advisors and sponsors manage risk, customize investment lineups and improve transparency.

It’s been a little more than a year since President Trump signed an executive order seeking to expand access to alternative assets in 401(k) plans, clearing a path for private equity, private credit and other alternatives to become part of the defined contribution plan equation. But creating the products may be the easy part. Broader adoption still requires addressing key operational and fiduciary challenges around liquidity, valuation, fees and oversight—and preparing advisors and investment committees to evaluate these investments. In this episode, Todd Cassler, Chief Revenue Officer at alternative and multi-asset investment solutions provider Wilshire, joins 401(k) Specialist Editor-in-Chief Brian Anderson to discuss what needs to happen before private markets can realistically scale in 401(k)s, why advisor education will be critical, and one particularly provocative question for firms advocating for private markets in DC plans: Are they putting these investments in their own employees’ retirement plans?

As market volatility, concentration risk and evolving retirement income needs reshape the defined contribution landscape, plan sponsors are taking a fresh look at the role of active management in participant portfolios. That is the subject of 401(k) Specialist’s latest “Deep Dive,” and it’s what we’re talking about with MFS Investment Management Lead Retirement Strategist Jeri Savage in this episode of the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast. We’ll discuss why active management is back in the conversation, where it can add the most value alongside passive strategies, and how fiduciaries should think about portfolio construction as retirement plans continue to evolve. We’ll also touch on retirement income solutions, the potential impact of private market investments, and what the typical 401(k) investment lineup might look like in 5 years. SEE ALSO: 401(k) Specialist Deep Dive: Active Management in Uncertain Markets, Part 1 and Part 2

SWAY | LIVE, the retirement industry’s most unique annual conference—and the only one focused on helping retirement industry professionals build their personal brand—is coming to Boulder, Colorado Aug. 2-4. Event founder and organizer Sheri Fitts, the speaker, creator and catalyst at Sheri Fitts & Co., returns to the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast to tell us what makes the event so unique, and explain the value behind maintaining a strong personal brand. She also talks about the importance of developing storytelling skills, and why it’s such a key skill to have in the retirement industry. Professionals interested in attending SWAY | LIVE can register here. The event’s registration deadline is Friday, July 24. SEE ALSO: • Sheri Fitts’ SWAY | LIVE Brings Personal Branding to Boulder in Early August

The recently released 2026 Social Security Trustees Report once again shortened the timeline for when the trust funds paying out benefits to more than 75 million Americans will become insolvent unless lawmakers finally step in and do something about it. To find out what the new report really means for workplace retirement plan participants, 401(k) Specialist Editor-in-Chief Brian Anderson talks with Jason Fichtner, Ph.D., executive director of the LIMRA Retirement Income Institute and a former acting deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Fichtner talks us through the underlying issues regarding the program’s looming insolvency, how it impacts what 401(k) participants need to be thinking about along with the increasing need for in-plan guaranteed income solutions, and concludes with thoughts about possible SECURE 3.0 retirement legislation in the not-too-distant future. SEE ALSO: • 2026 Social Security Trustees Report Moves Insolvency to 2032

When retirement policymakers sought to incentivize small businesses to begin offering retirement plans in an effort to help close the coverage gap, they did so in part by creating greatly expanded federal tax credits that would offset their cost in providing those plans. But research has found fewer than 6% of eligible employers are properly claiming the tax credit—and that’s a problem that doesn’t sit well with retirement plan advisor Will Hackler, AIF, the “401(k) Fix-It Guy” who is the Managing Partner at Integrated Pension Services. Hackler says there’s a real awareness problem regarding the tax credit, and that advisors need to step in to make sure eligible firms (and their tax-filing CPAs) know about and take advantage of a program intended specifically for them. In this episode, Hackler explains the tax credit, the problem and potential solutions.

As part of 401(k) Specialist’s Q2 Deep Dive on target-date funds, Editor-in-Chief Brian Anderson sits down with Mercer Director of Defined Contribution Strategic Research Teams Preet Prashar to discuss the rapidly evolving TDF landscape—from market concentration and glidepath design to passive investing, fiduciary concerns, lifetime income solutions, and private assets. Drawing from Mercer’s recent white paper, “Target Date Landscape: The Evolution of Target Date Strategies and Future Considerations,” Prashar shares key insights plan sponsors and advisors should consider as target-date funds continue to dominate the defined contribution marketplace. SEE ALSO: • $4.8 Trillion and Growing: Why Traditional TDFs are Still Key to 401(k) Success • Executive Q&A: Refining Accumulation Strategies Through TDFs with MFS’ Jeri Savage

In this episode, Jessica Porter and Hayley Porter, financial planners at BPG Wealth Management, speak to 401(k) Specialist about the 401(k) Girls, a financial education platform aiming to make financial wellness accessible and exciting for professionals and their clients.   Jessica and Hayley, who were featured in 401(k) Specialist’s Profiles in Participant Outcomes in 2025, started the 401k Girls in January last year after noticing a need to make retirement and financial planning more approachable to clients online. The duo—who are not sisters—use social media outlets like LinkedIn and Instagram to provide quick tips and insights on financial savings. There’s #FactorFictionFriday, where the 401k Girls will poll scrollers on common financial misconceptions at the end of the week, or “Porter’s Pennies,” where the two offer simple tips that can strengthen planning. Jessica and Hayley also speak more about engaging younger workers in financial planning, and what the financial services industry has left to learn about meeting women clients where they’re at.

Advisor Insights Winning the Finalist Presentation: How offering a "Hope-based" engagement model like GigMatch differentiates you from advisors stuck in "Fear-based" messagingReducing Financial Stress for Sponsors: Leveraging the $5/month subscription model as a low-cost, high-impact benefit recommendation for advisors.The "Lifetime Income" Complement: How to use the gig economy to supplement Social Security and 401(k) distributions when the math doesn't quite add up.Strategic Partnerships: Insights into the Tom Kmak (Fiduciary Decisions) algorithm and how institutional-grade data is powering these participant matches.In this episode, industry innovator George Fraser introduces GigMatch, a B2B subscription-based platform that 401(k) advisors can offer to plan sponsors to help participants close the retirement savings gap. By replacing 'fear-based' retirement messaging with 'hope-based' supplemental income matching, advisors can differentiate their practice, reduce financial stress, and provide a tangible roadmap for the 90% of participants who have not saved enough to retire comfortably. George Fraser, who was named 401(k) Specialist’s first-ever “Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes” in 2017, is starting a new career chapter with the introduction of GigMatch, an innovative app designed to be a game-changer for the vast majority of Americans who deal with financial stress on a daily basis. GigMatch, making its official debut May 1, is being unveiled on the exhibit hall floor at the NAPA 401(k) Summit in Tampa. On the podcast, Fraser explains how GigMatch, developed with his partner Tom Kmak, will provide hope to people who think they haven’t saved for retirement through individually tailored opportunities to enhance income and lifestyle—both today and in retirement.

There’s a lot of increased attention about adding private markets investments to 401(k) plans in the wake of President Trump’s 2025 Executive Order on alternatives, and participants are starting to take notice. Invesco’s recent DC Participant Pulse Survey had some very interesting findings about participant perceptions of private markets, which we explore in this episode with Greg Jenkins, Managing Director, DC Solutions at Invesco. Greg shares insights about participant familiarity with private markets, which types are most interested, and even which words and phrases resonate best with participants. Check out the research at this link: 2026 DC Pulse Survey: Exploring participant views on AI and private markets

Much of the technology infrastructure that powers the workplace retirement plan industry could use an update to improve on old legacy systems to better serve the needs of today’s 401(k) participants. To learn more about how and why it needs to evolve, we talk with techno-business leader Mahesh Natarajan, Chief Revenue Officer at Congruent Solutions, which has been a specialist technology solutions and outsourced plan administration provider to the retirement industry since 2004. We’ll talk about how he sees value in a modular approach to innovation instead of a full technology overhaul, the concept of “invisible AI,” how recordkeepers need to evolve into “retirement orchestrators,” and more.

In this special edition of the 401(k) Specialist Podcast—part of our Deep Dive series on “How Not to Get Sued”—Editor-in-Chief Brian Anderson sits down with legendary ERISA attorney Fred Reish to examine how fiduciary risk is evolving in today’s regulatory and litigation environment. Now serving as Director of Fiduciary and ERISA Practice at Prime Capital Retirement, Reish shares insights on the shifting landscape of ERISA litigation, emerging concerns around private assets in 401(k) plans, and the Department of Labor’s evolving posture under the second Trump administration. The conversation also explores artificial intelligence, pooled employer plans, in-plan lifetime income solutions, and what fiduciaries should be watching next for fiduciary risk. For advisors and plan sponsors focused on protecting participants—and protecting themselves—this is essential listening.

Eric Dyson, Executive Director of 90 North Consulting and one of the retirement industry’s more active ERISA expert witnesses, joins the 401(k) Specialist Podcast for a practical conversation on how plan sponsors and advisors can reduce fiduciary risk—and be better prepared if the Department of Labor comes calling. Drawing on his experience testifying in more than a dozen ERISA cases, Dyson shares the most common mistakes he sees in litigation and investigations, why a DOL audit may be a bigger risk than a lawsuit for most plans, and what courts actually expect from fiduciaries. He tackles pressing questions around paying advisors and TPAs with plan assets, properly documenting QDIA selections to secure safe harbor protection, conducting RFPs and benchmarking at “reasonable intervals,” and crafting committee meeting minutes that protect rather than expose. Dyson also provides clear, actionable steps sponsors can take before their next committee meeting to strengthen governance, document prudence, and stay off the litigation radar, and reduce fiduciary risk. EDITOR’S NOTE: This podcast episode is part of our new “Deep Dive” special content package for Q1 2026 titled, “How Not to Get Sued.” You can find additional coverage in the links below, and more focused content will be available in the coming days. SEE ALSO: How Not to Get Sued in 2026: Part 1How Not to Get Sued 2026: Part 2

As retirement planning strives to become more personalized, plan sponsors are under increasing pressure to offer solutions that meet participants where they are—not just by age or account balance, but by considering their full financial picture. That’s where workplace managed accounts can really make a difference. Lorianne Pannozzo, Senior Vice President, Personalized Planning & Advice at Fidelity Investments and leader of the firm’s workplace managed accounts program, joins us to explain the increasing demand for managed accounts, and also to dig into new Fidelity research on what participants value most about them and what that means for retirement plan advisors and plan sponsors. To check out an executive summary of the new research discussed in the podcast, click here: Unlocking the Value of Workplace Managed Accounts, or check out the entire paper at this link: More than an investment portfolio: Participant insights on the value and impact they receive from workplace managed accounts.