Speaking
Book Russell McNorton to speak
Russell has worked with retirement plans since 1997. He is the founder and CEO of Admin316 and the author of Who Is Your Named Fiduciary? He talks to business owners, CPAs, advisors and HR teams about who is actually responsible for a 401(k) plan, where plans get into trouble, and what to do about it before the DOL or the IRS asks.
Request Russell for your eventTalks
Each talk can be shortened for a lunch or expanded into a working session. Russell will tailor the examples to your audience and your region.
Business owners, CFOs, HR
Who is your named fiduciary?
Most owners assume their advisor or recordkeeper carries the fiduciary risk for the plan. Usually the plan document names the company, and that means the people in the room.
- Reading your plan document and Form 5500 for who holds which role
- Late deposits, missed enrollments and other common operational errors
- What the ERISA §402(a) and §3(16) roles cover, and how to hand them off in writing
- Why appointing a fiduciary still leaves you with the duty to monitor them
Based on Russell's book Who Is Your Named Fiduciary?
CPA firms and CPA society chapters
Protect the client, protect the firm
CPAs often see the first signs of a plan problem at tax time. This session covers what to look for and how to raise it without stepping into a role your firm doesn't want.
- Form 5500 red flags you can spot in fifteen minutes
- Late deposits, controlled groups and testing failures that reach the owner's return
- Independence for firms that audit employee benefit plans
- How to refer a plan in trouble without picking up liability
From Russell's upcoming book for CPAs.
Retirement plan advisors and study groups
The fiduciary advantage
A practical session for active plan advisors on winning plans and keeping them, especially when the sponsor's administration starts to slip.
- Where §3(16), §3(21) and §3(38) responsibilities begin and end
- Using public Form 5500 data to prospect and to prepare for a meeting
- Fee benchmarking from Admin316's study of 48,944 plan filings
- Takeovers, and what to do when a service provider drops the ball
- Bringing more assets under advisement: plans paying above-benchmark fees, cash balance add-ons for high-income owners, and plans whose current provider has let things slide
From Russell's upcoming book for advisors.
IMOs, broker-dealers and field marketing organizations
More plan assets for your advisors
Most advisors in a field organization write a retirement plan or two and stop. The plan work feels risky, and the follow-through lands on them. This session shows your advisors how to bring in more plan assets without taking on more back-office work.
- Finding plans in each advisor's market with public Form 5500 data
- Opening the meeting with a fee benchmark drawn from 48,944 plan filings
- Profit-sharing and cash balance add-ons that raise owner contributions and plan assets
- Handing the §3(16) administration and named-fiduciary role to Admin316, so the advisor keeps the client and the assets
Works as a webinar for your whole advisor network or a session at your annual meeting.
Formats and audiences
Formats
- Keynote, 30 to 60 minutes
- Lunch-and-learn for a leadership or HR team
- Half-day workshop with real Form 5500 examples
- Webinar or virtual session
Groups Russell speaks to
- State CPA society chapters and CPA firms
- Advisor study groups, IMOs and broker-dealer meetings
- SHRM chapters, chambers of commerce and trade associations
- Company owners and leadership teams
- Podcasts and webinars for plan sponsors
Speaking fees depend on the format, the date and travel. Association, chapter and nonprofit events are often available at little or no cost. Tell us about your event and we'll come back to you with options.
More from Russell
Russell hosts The Admin316 Fiduciary Briefing, a short weekly podcast for plan sponsors and their advisors, and led Admin316's national 401(k) administrative cost study of 2024 Form 5500 filings. His books Who Is Your Named Fiduciary? and We've Got Your Back Office are available on Amazon.
Admin316 is an independent retirement plan fiduciary. It accepts written appointment as a plan's ERISA §402(a) Named Fiduciary and §3(16) Plan Administrator and works alongside the plan's existing advisor, recordkeeper and TPA. Talks are general education, not legal, tax or investment advice.
Request Russell for your event
A few details help us check the date and suggest the right talk. We reply within one business day.
Prefer to call? (361) 271-1211.
