Our Focus and mission
We’re focused on helping to empower and better protect the sponsors and trustees of 401(k), 403(b), and other defined contribution plans, especially in their investment-related decision making. If you are a plan sponsor and/or trustee, you may not realize just how much you need that help.
The recent and continually growing class-action lawsuits against plan sponsors and trustees are now increasingly focusing on chronically poor performing investment choices within the plans, and these claims are often the largest, by far. And with fiduciary liability insurance premiums skyrocketing, coverage falling, and deductibles increasing, many are finding it more difficult than ever to feel safe from this increasing and very real risk.
Worse yet is the fact that courts have held that plan sponsors and trustees cannot rely on the advice of a single investment advisor to defend against such claims . . . you must have some means to ensure that your reliance on the advice of your investment consultant is reasonably justified. But how can this be done if you just have one?
We believe the answer lies in having a protective review of the investment choices within your plan performed by a qualified, independent investment advisor, using state of the art decision-assistance technology. We’ve named this brand new service the “Investment Choices Protective ReviewTM” / “iCPRTM.” It will enable you, as a plan sponsor and/or trustee to not just objectively see for yourself how the investment choices within your plan compare to alternatives you could have selected.
This review can be performed in your presence and with you able to also participate in it. It’s a powerful experience, uniquely different from any you’ve ever experienced . . . certainly far different than an essentially blind reliance on the advice of a single consultant that you have no ability to independently, vet.
Our Mission is to help match plan sponsors and trustees with investment advisors who can perform such protective reviews. Moreover, we wish to be a trusted source of otherwise often difficult to find information that will further enlighten and empower you to become the possible best plan sponsors and trustees.
Yours is a tremendously important role that can dramatically impact the lives of the plans participants who are relying on you for their retirement security. Welcome to TEPI and to true trustee empowerment.
Advisory Board
David A. Hildebrandt is a member of the firm’s Corporate section. He has more than 35 years of experience in the design, implementation, administration, and government regulation of domestic and international employee benefit programs, qualified and non-qualified private retirement plans, deferred compensation programs, insurance programs, and other cash and stock-based compensation and benefits programs.
Primary clients in the U.S. are Fortune 200 companies and the financial and insurance companies, which are the service providers to the benefit plan industry. Internationally, Mr. Hildebrandt represents companies based in the U.S., EU, Mexico, India, and China (PRC and Taiwan). He advises Ministries in China (PRC) on the benefits programs incident to the privatization of State Owned Enterprises.
Mr. Hildebrandt is a Certified Public Accountant and has been admitted to the practice of law in the U.S. Supreme Court, the District of Columbia Federal Court of Appeals, and several states. He is a charter fellow of the American Bar Association College of Employee Benefits Counsel.
Jeffrey D. Mamorsky is Co-Chair of the Labor & Employment Practice’s ERISA & Employee Benefits Litigation group. He concentrates his practice in the areas of compensation and employee benefits law. He has served as employee benefits counsel to large multinational corporations, financial institutions, insurance companies, closely held businesses, large not-for-profit organizations, governmental agencies, Big Four accounting firms, leading employee benefits consulting firms, large multiple employer plans and major multi-employer pension and welfare funds.
Concentrations
- Virtually all aspects of employee benefits and compensation law
- Creator of the Fiduciary Audit® Protection Program to assist plan sponsors avoid Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and ERISA liability
- Creator of the Fiduciary Audit® Privileged Process Review to determine whether robust procedures are in place for the monitoring of plan investment options and “reasonableness” of service provider direct and indirect compensation and that those procedures are followed and documented. The Review provides a first line of defense for employers and plan fiduciaries in the event of ERISA “excessive fee” litigation alleging breach of fiduciary and prohibited transaction claims for lack of governance control and failure to monitor the reasonableness of fees
- Compliance with IRS’ Employee Plans Compliance Resolution Program
- Design and drafting of qualified and non-qualified employee benefits programs
- Representation of plan fiduciaries in governmental and adversarial proceedings
- Protection of plan fiduciaries from Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) liability, including review and analysis of appropriate fiduciary and IRS liability insurance coverage
- Protection of the tax-deferred retirement benefits of public sector employees with the Fiduciary Audit® Operational Compliance Program for Governmental Retirement Plans that helps governmental entities achieve IRS tax qualified status for their retirement plans and avoid immediate taxation of participant vested benefits
- Employee benefit aspects of mergers and acquisitions
- Welfare benefit plan documentation and compliance with all applicable laws
- Evaluation of health care plan compliance with all applicable laws, including review of managed care and related service provider agreements
- Employee benefit plan compliance with federal and state laws relating to employment discrimination
- Analysis of retirement and health legislation and regulations
Chairman, Founder, and Managing Partner of the New York City-based law firm, Pitta LLP, Mr. Pitta has concentrated his practice for over forty years in labor and management relations in the private and public sectors, representing clients in the hotel, restaurant, sports, entertainment, health care, securities, trucking, construction, real estate, facilities management, cleaning and maintenance, moving and storage, airline parts manufacturing, sanitation, law enforcement, fire safety, mass transportation, utility and higher education industries and professions.
The firm provides advice and counsel and related litigation services in labor, employment, employee benefits, regulatory compliance, election campaign finance compliance, real estate, construction and affordable housing law matters.
Mr. Pitta is also the founding and managing member of Pitta Bishop & Del Giorno LLC which provides advice, counsel and related services in government relations, lobbying and legislative representation, strategic planning, private and public sector business expansion, community relations, crisis management, fire safety, disaster preparedness and response matters, as well as internal/external communication, media and public relations services and counsel.
Mr. Pitta practiced law with Shea & Gould in 1980 to 1994, where he was a partner and chairman of the firm’s labor practice group and co-chairman of its government relations practice group from 1989 to 1994. After the dissolution of Shea & Gould, Mr. Pitta was a partner of Richards & O’Neill LLP from 1994 to 1998 (the firm merged into what is now Bingham McCutcheon LLP). He was a partner of Herrick, Feinstein LLP from 1998 to 2003; Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn LLP from 2004 to 2006; and Pitta & Dreier LLP from 2006 to 2008.
Mr. Pitta is a member of the Bar of the State of New York, and he is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a Life Patron Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
He is pro-bono counsel to numerous charitable, civic and professional organizations and he serves on the Boards of Trustees of Samaritan Daytop Village, Inc., the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., the Peggy Browning Foundation, the Police Athletic League, Inc. and on the Board of Directors of the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance.
Mr. Pitta received a B.A. from St. Francis College in 1972 and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1978.
Marcia S. Wagner is the founder of The Wagner Law Group, a certified woman-owned and operated business and one of the nation’s largest and most highly regarded boutique law firms, specializing in ERISA, employee benefits, executive compensation, employment, labor, human resources, personal law (estate planning and family) and investment management law. Ms. Wagner has been practicing employee benefits law for approximately 35 years. She founded The Wagner Law Group approximately 25 years ago and is the Firm’s Managing Partner. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
Ms. Wagner is an authority on employee benefits matters, including qualified and non-qualified plans, fiduciary issues, deferred compensation, and welfare benefit
arrangements. Her experience in employee benefits includes plan design, drafting and preparation, compliance, tax planning and consultation on all aspects of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. She consults with law firms, employee benefits organizations, and corporate and public plan sponsors, and serves as an expert witness in ERISA litigation.
She counsels plan sponsors on qualified plans, 403(b) and 457 plans, multiple employer plans (MEPs), pooled employer plans (PEPs), IRAs, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), executive compensation arrangements and retiree medical benefits in matters involving plan operation and maintenance, plan terminations, mergers and acquisitions, tax treatment of plan participants, use of life insurance and annuities, and derisking of pension liabilities.
Ms. Wagner also specializes in Title I of ERISA, and has obtained advisory opinions, information letters and prohibited transaction exemptions from the U.S. Department of Labor. She handles fiduciary matters impacting plan sponsors, investment and other
fiduciary committees, investment managers and advisors, recordkeepers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial services firms. Ms. Wagner advises clients on the avoidance and rectification of prohibited transactions, the development of compliance programs, and investment policies. She is a renowned expert in issues concerning pension plan investments and fiduciary issues, and her opinion has been sought by noted authorities in the employee benefits area, including governmental agencies.
Ms. Wagner works on Department of Labor, IRS and PBGC audits of plans as well as of financial institutions that service plans, and has negotiated numerous favorable closing agreements.
She was appointed Chair of the Employee Plans subcommittee of the IRS Tax Exempt & Government Entities Advisory Committee and received that agency’s highest honor. She is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and is the recipient of more than 50 professional honors.
Finally, Ms. Wagner has written hundreds of articles and 25 books. She is a highly sought after lecturer, and is widely quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Pension & Investments. She has been a guest on Fox, CNN, Bloomberg, and NBC.
Mr. Schappert has spent almost 50 years in the investment management industry. His formative years were spent at heritage J.P. Morgan where, over a 30-year career, he rose from a fixed income specialist to become the a member of the bank’s senior management and President and CEO of J.P. Morgan Investment, a firm at the time which managed over $340 billion in assets, with 13 offices worldwide and over 2,400 employees. Assets managed included money market, both domestic and international fixed income and equities, private placements, real estate, oil and gas, private equities and hedge funds.
Most significant was the importance and influence of the then recently passed ERISA legislation which made clear the fiduciary responsibility of the plan sponsor and investment advisor. Morgan at the time was the largest manager of qualified pension plan funds, overseeing much of the assets of the top 100 corporate plans in the country. Mr. Schappert has been a strong advocate of the benefit and need for always acting in the clients’ best interests including, especially, the best interests of retirement plan sponsors, trustees, and participants.
Mr. Schappert’s experiences at J.P. Morgan served him well, after leaving J.P. Morgan upon its sale to Chase Bank. Mr. Schappert went on to become President and CEO of the Federated Investment Advisory Companies, a firm with $220 billion under management in 136 mutual and closed end funds where he worked to institutionalize the business by building a stronger and more disciplined investment process. Returning to New York, he joined Credit Suisse as the Vice Chairman of the Americas for Asset Management where he focused on the strategic options for the business which led to the sale of the institutional and retail business to Aberdeen Investors.
Mr. Schappert has served as a a director of the $140 billion Met Life Series Trust, director of Trilogy Global Advisors, a board member of the Smithfield Trust Company, a director of Calamos Investment Management, a trustee of the Commonfund for Endowments and Foundation and continues as Chair of the Board of the Mirae Asset Management Discovery Funds and as a director of Angel Oak Capital Advisors Series Trust.
He continues to offer advice under Schappert Consulting LLC, focusing on all facets of the investment management industry with special focus on the need for building a strong infrastructure and a commitment to serving client needs. He has acted as an expert witness in numerous cases most often being asked to explain the responsibilities of advisors when managing client assets. Mr. Schappert graduated from Harvard College Cum Laude General Studies, where he was President of the Pi ETA- Speakers Club, lettered in football and baseball and was a participant in the 1973 College World Series.
The Team
Eric S. Smith is Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Decision Technologies Corporation (“DTC”) and is co-inventor of DTC’s patented decision-assistance technology, along with Joseph Simko, DTC’s Chief Technology Officer and a co-founder of DTC. This is the technology that powers DTC’s “Professional RapidReview Tool” (“ProRRT”), for professional investment advisors (and other advisory professionals) and its “Retail Investment Tracking ApplicationTM” (“RITATM”) for individual investors. In a financial services marketplace in which there is a bewildering and increasing number of investment choices and too much information about them, making comprehensive comparative evaluations virtually impossible for both professional advisors and individuals investors, DTC’s technology offerings empower both groups to answer this increasingly important question: “Of all available choices, which ones are best for our clients or for me?”
Additionally, Mr. Smith is President of Trustee Empowerment & Protection, Inc. (“TEPI”), an SEC-registered internet-only investment adviser, focused on linking 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plan sponsors and trustees with investment advisors licensed to use DTC’s ProRRT to provide protective reviews of the investment choice lineups within such plans.
Mr. Smith is an attorney with over 22 years of private practice experience in corporate, business transactions, ERISA, and estate planning law. As such, he brings a uniquely different, client-centric perspective to the financial services marketplace. In an otherwise vendor-dominated financial services world, Mr. Smith is leading the creation and introduction of unique “buy-side” business models aimed at helping empower individual investors and their advisors, effectively transferring the balance of power away from the vendors and distributors of investment products and into the hands of investors and their advisors, where he believes it has always belonged . . . empowering both to make better informed investment selection / “buy” decisions.
Within the investment world, Mr. Smith has been a speaker at various regional, national, and international conferences for institutional trustees in a wide variety of settings: public pension plans, Taft-Hartley (union) plans, 401(k) plans, endowments, and family offices. His topics have ranged from fundamental flaws in the financial services marketplace and traditional investment advisory process, the ineffectiveness of regulatory approaches to systemic abuses, to issues of fiduciary responsibility and decision making in the investment of retirement plan assets.
Mr. Smith graduated cum laude in General Studies from Harvard University, with an A.B. degree and concentration in Economics. He received his J.D. degree, with high distinction, from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he served as Notes Editor of the Kentucky Law Journal and became a member of the Order of the Coif. Mr. Smith thereafter served as a law clerk to the Kentucky Supreme Court and has practiced law in both Michigan and Kentucky. Mr. Smith is an accomplished martial artist, having achieved the rank of Elder Master (equivalent of 8th degree black belt) within the Shaolin System of Chinese martial arts. He is a serious, long-time student of world religions and philosophical systems and their practical application in both business and daily life.
Jack Findley is Decision Technologies Corporation’s (“DTC”) Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and is also the COO and CFO of Trustee Empowerment & Protection, Inc. (“TEPI”).
Mr. Findley is a finance and operations veteran with over 25 years of experience in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, sales, accounting, and technology within various industries including automotive, advertising, computer hardware, software, publishing, construction, telecommunications, and professional services. He has served as the Director of Operations and Finance for Rypplzz, Inc. and as CFO for Tier One Services, LLC, and is the COO/CFO of Nirvvana Business Ventures, LLC.
At DTC, Mr. Findley is responsible for website development for and launching of both the ProRRT and RITATM applications of DTC’s patented decision-assistance technology, and also the development and launch of TEPI’s online referral platform.
Mr. Findley graduated from Michigan State University receiving a B.A. degree with concentrations in Public Relations, Economics, and Accounting. He is a dedicated single father of four children and is a real estate developer in his spare time.
Joseph S. Simko, Jr. is Chief Technology Officer, Director, and Co-Founder of Decision Technologies Corporation (“DTC”). He has worked with Mr. Smith in the creation, design and coding of the decision methodologies and supporting technologies for which DTC has multiple patents, both domestic and foreign. He is the co-inventor, with Mr. Smith, of DTC’s patented decision-assistance technology.
Mr. Simkio has a wide range of experience in all areas of technology and he has provided technology solutions within the metro Detroit area since 1980. In 1998, he contracted with the Ford Design Institute of Ford Motor Company to develop the State of Michigan funded Design of Experiments interactive training course. That contract was extended to design and development work for the FDI On-Line Test Center. This web-based test center was offered in both German and English and was used worldwide by over 20,000 engineers for certification in all the technical training programs offered by FDI.
Mr. Simko also worked for the Detroit Medical Center for 12 years, where he applied technology solutions to automate the administrative operations of Harper Hospitals’ Division of Cardiology. He has served as a technology consultant on multiple cardiac research studies and has been published three times in the Medical Imaging volumes of SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering.
Mr. Simko began his professional career as a software developer writing educational software for the local school systems, interactive video training for the automotive industry, and developing video games for Atari Soft, Coleco, and Epyx.
Raymond M. Galasso joined Decision Technologies Corporation (“DTC”) shortly after its formation in August of 2015 as a Director, corporate Secretary, and as patent / intellectual property legal counsel.
Mr. Galasso is a specialist in intellectual property and technology law, litigation, licensing, technology commercialization and patent monetization. Mr. Galasso has practiced as an intellectual property attorney before Texas and Michigan state courts and various federal courts. Additionally, he has experience with complex arbitration and litigation proceedings and has first-chaired as well as supervised major technology and commercial litigation in multiple states. He has also rendered legal opinions, served as a trial expert witness, and has over 25 years of technology commercialization experience working with entrepreneurs, technology-focused start-ups, as well as small cap, mid-cap, and large-cap companies.
Prior to co-founding Simon, Galasso & Frantz, PLC and founding Galasso & Associates L.P., Mr. Galasso practiced law at two different Am Law 250 national/international law firms.
As a technology commercialization and patent monetization professional, Mr. Galasso has also marshaled resources (technical, business, legal) from various organizations to lead, participate or broker teams doing strategic IP-involved deals including acquisitions, divestitures, licenses, cross-licenses, enforcement & litigation, and has effectively negotiated with business and legal leaders of third parties for profitable closure of patent monetization deals/engagements.
Some of Mr. Galasso’s technology specialties include: extensive computer hardware/software, wireless & telecommunications technologies, mobile devices, networks & services, communication & data processing, GPS, internet, business method & electronic commerce, user interfaces/electronic displays, circuits, semiconductors, medical devices, and consumer products.
Stewart Frank is a Managing Director of Trustee Empowerment and Protection Incorporated.
Proven Expertise in Public Accounting and Investment Fiduciary Compliance
Stewart Frank is a highly respected professional with a distinguished track record in both public accounting and investment fiduciary compliance. A graduate of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Stewart holds a Michigan CPA license, and the AICPA specialty designation of Personal Financial Specialist (PFS).
Dual Roles: Championing Audit Quality through Innovation
Stewart uses two professional titles in applying his expertise. He serves as the EBPAQC Audit Quality Partner at his CPA firm, Randel & Associates, PLLC, and functions as the CEO and co-founder of Precision Fiduciary Analytics, Inc. (PFA), a pioneering company at the forefront of data-driven fiduciary compliance solutions.
Revolutionizing EBP Audits with Technology and Expertise
Stewart identifies and addresses weaknesses of an EB Plan’s investment controls using a combination of technology tools and his extensive knowledge to analyze an EB Plan’s investment management process and its NOCLAR compliance to improve the overall effectiveness of the audit process. He further contributes by serving as an outside expert on EBP audit teams, providing invaluable guidance in pinpointing and documenting investment management control deficiencies.
Industry Recognition: A Trusted Authority
Stewart’s dedication and deep understanding of fiduciary compliance was recognized by the AICPA’s PFP Executive Committee, when they appointed him the lead consultant on Fiduciary Matters to their Fiduciary Task Force. As their Subject Matter Expert (SME), he played a critical role in the technical review of fi360’s fiduciary handbooks.
Extensive Litigation Experience
Stewart’s expertise makes him a highly sought-after expert witness. He has participated in over 40 litigation consulting and expert witness engagements, demonstrating his ability to explain complex financial matters in federal and numerous state court cases, as well as FINRA arbitrations.
Sharing Knowledge: A Sought-After Speaker
Stewart’s expertise extends beyond his professional roles. He is a highly sought-after speaker on fiduciary compliance matters; his knowledge is valued by diverse audiences including attorneys, CPAs, judges, investment advisors, and retirement plan trustees. He has presented at CPE programs sponsored by prestigious organizations like the AICPA, MICPA, ICLE, SNA, and PFAC.