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NWPS News

From the Desk of the President: A Time of Reflection…

In a business that often moves glacially and at other times, very swiftly, we are constantly taking stock, adjusting the sails, fine tuning our course. However, the start of a new year seems a particularly appropriate time to reflect on the past and consider what’s ahead. First and foremost, our thoughts turn towards those who have made our success possible: our associates, our advisor-partners, our clients and participants and our business partners. NWPS has welcomed more than 80 new clients in 2022 representing tens of thousands of new participants and millions of retirement savings dollars. We sincerely thank all of those who have put their trust and faith in NWPS. We will not let you down. Looking forward, 2023 promises to be an exciting, dynamic time for NWPS. We have made several additions to senior staff. Our reach and industry visibility are on the rise. We are working hard on new initiatives, including a variety of new managed account solutions, PEP launches, in-plan retirement income protection and SECURE 2.0 compliance and opportunities. It will be a busy year indeed. Our ownership by Raymond James continues to pay dividends. With their investment, we have increased staff, further strengthened our cybersecurity protection and enhanced our

NWPS Sponsors Wealth@wor(k) Conference in Las Vegas

NWPS recently sponsored the Advisor2x Wealth@wor(k) conference in Las Vegas, NV. After months of preparation and planning, Bryant Lester, Meg Swoboda, and the event production team of Advisor2x were instrumental in helping us attain one of the most high-profile sponsorships for NWPS in 2022. After a COVID-related pause, the event was enthusiastically attended and drew over 500 attendees. In an industry where professional gatherings continue to elevate content value and networking opportunities, Wealth@Work has become a must-stop destination on the conference trail. A true industry mixer, the crowd was comprised of financial advisors, recordkeepers, fund companies, and a myriad of other actors seen on the retirement plan stage.Wealth@wor(k) kicked off their three-day summit with a Sunday evening reception. NWPS was proud to sponsor refreshments, and graciously, the Advisor2x Team went out of their way to showcase our firm. With our logo in lights during the party, and the Vegas strip fountains as our backdrop, the event exemplified our commitment to growth and our strong partnership with Advisor2x. As a result of the heightened visibility, the NWPS team spent the week fielding questions and continuing conversations about who we are, what we do, and most importantly, why advisors consistently trust us

NWPS Co-Sponsors the 2022 Broadridge Fi360 Solutions Conference!

Several hundred retirement plan industry professionals gathered in Austin, Texas last week to discuss the latest trends and important topics impacting the retirement plan market today. Industry giants such as ERISA attorney Fred Reish, Editor-in-Chief of 401(k)Specialist, John Sullivan and sales & marketing brand sage, Sheri Fitts shared their perspectives on everything from ESG investing, in-plan annuities, cryptocurrency, to SECURE 2.0 and so much more. The agenda was robust, relevant, and timely. The headliner was none other than Daymond John of NBC’s Shark Tank who reminded the audience that “responsibility must be taken, not given.” The “Retireholics” (have you seen these guys?) were also on hand providing their usual brand of levity and raucousness. NWPS co-sponsored the event and conducted a highly informative session on Demystifying 3(16) Services. Scores of questions were posed to the panel by audience members. Contact us to receive a copy of the presentation. Equally important to the agenda was the opportunity to visit with retirement plan veterans from every major discipline in the industry: advisors, custodians, recordkeepers, DCIOs, ERISA attorneys, middleware FinTechs, insurance companies, and brand consultants. So many professionals gathering to further the noble effort to provide plan sponsors and their participants the very

From the Desk of the President

It has been 6 months since NWPS officially became part of the Raymond James family of companies, and consistent with our initial messaging, it has been business as usual. NWPS continues to welcome new clients monthly, continues to adhere to our "no solicitation" policy of either plan sponsors or participants and has no plans to introduce Raymond James products or advisors to our clients. We have not changed our service model nor reduced staff. On the contrary, we have increased headcount over the last 6 months. We are also in the midst of an IT transition which will further enhance our cybersecurity capabilities and add more layers of protection for our clients and their participants. More visibly, we have rolled out and (already) enhanced a new retirement readiness tool on the participant website called iJoin. We're getting great feedback from participants. We have found that once a participant goes through the experience, they often return multiple times to review and tweak their retirement strategy —- which is exactly what we like to see. We've also added nearly two dozen short, BrainShark-like videos on everything from The Power of Compounding to The Cost of Waiting. Take a preview here. More enhancements in

NWPS Hires Shanley Johndrow as Vice President of Client Services

July 13, 2020 - SEATTLE, WA. (BUSINESS WIRE)—NWPS announced today that Shanley Johndrow has been hired as Vice President of Client Services for the Mill Creek, WA office. Johndrow will be responsible for developing and leading a team of dedicated retirement plan professionals who work directly with plan sponsors, advisors and attorneys to provide high touch, consultative, reliable service. Johndrow joins NWPS with more than 30 years of retirement plan experience with Standard Retirement Services and predecessor companies. Most recently Johndrow served as AVP, Plan Services for The Standard. “I am excited to welcome Shanley to the team,” said Tim Wulfekuhle, President and CEO of NWPS. “She adds leadership depth to our Mill Creek Office and management team as a whole and brings a wealth of retirement plan, customer relations and management experience to her role at NWPS. Johndrow holds a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Washington and is FINRA licensed.   About NWPS NWPS was founded in 1994 to provide high-quality service to retirement plan sponsors and advisors. Specifically, we provide comprehensive retirement plan administration, recordkeeping, compliance and participant services. We also provide consulting, employee communication and actuarial services to the sponsors of retirement, health and welfare, and financial security programs. For

NWPS COVID-19 Update

First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, and our profound gratitude goes out to the medical first responders and the every-day, hard-working Americans who are delivering our food, stocking the shelves and manning the gas stations. At NWPS, we take our responsibilities to our clients, plan participants, and staff very seriously. During this COVID-19 pandemic, our top priority is keeping everyone on our team healthy so they can continue to perform their jobs while doing our civic duty to help slow the pace of infection. With that in mind, we have implemented a plan that ensures, from your perspective and the perspective of your plan participants, it will be business as usual, and we are committed to keeping the quality of our services and our responsiveness at the level you expect from us. Rest assured that contributions are being processed, phones are being answered and distribution checks are being sent. Because of our careful planning, we are confident we have the infrastructure and processes in place to be successful. We will keep you posted as new events develop, but in the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out to us if