Reference Material

2010.01.14	Experts Added to ASPPA Recordkeeper Program ASPPA announces the addition of Chris L. Stroud and Richard N. Carpenter to support CEFEX's ASPPA Recordkeeper certification program. View the News Release from ASPPA
2009.10.02	CEFEX ASPPA Recordkeeper program expanded The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) announces the addition of Laura S. Moskwa to the CEFEX Registration Committee, and the addition of 3 Analyst firms qualified to perform the ASPPA Recordkeeper assessments for certification. View the News Release from ASPPA
2009.09.10	Picking Up the Pieces The mutual fund scandals of 2003 may be fading from memory, but fresh developments in other segments of the financial market have opened old wounds. How does the fund industry regain public trust? Read this article in Boomer magazine which includes a description of how CEFEX serves as a tool for investors. View the article in Boomer Magazine
2009.07.25	Confidence Games After so many high-profile scandals, how can managers maintain clients’ trust? CEFEX General Manager Carlos Panksep is quoted on how the CEFEX certification program provides verification of adherence to a fiduciary standard. The article appeared in the July-August edition of CFA Magazine. (The article may only be viewed by CFA members, magazine subscribers, or by purchasing access to the article.) View the article in CFA Magazine
2009.06.10	CEFEX celebrates 3 years! June 2009 marks 3 years since the CEFEX certification program was first introduced. CEFEX certification is recognized as a representation of the highest standard of operation for fiduciary organizations and firms that support fiduciaries. CEFEX acknowledges the 63 firms who have achieved this distinction to date. View the News Release
2009.04.28	Do we Really Need to Clip the Hedge? An article by Roger Levy, LLM, AIFA, CEFEX Analyst distributed at the Institutional Investor Alpha Hedge Conference in San Fransisco on April 27, 2009. Roger suggests that existing fiduciary standards and certification should be leveraged to increase trust in the hedge fund industry, thereby reducing the need for new regulation. View the article
2009.03.31	Towards an Accountable Capitalism A Global Corporate Governance Forum article co-authored by Jon Lukomnik, offers suggestions on how to address the global credit crisis. Included is a reference to the CEFEX certification program as a non-governmental initiative which increases market vigilance. View the article
2009.01.27	New CEFEX Registration Program CEFEX certifies Securian Retirement: the first registration in a new certification program for Service Providers. View the news release
2009.01.16	The Role of CEFEX in Today's Retirement Plan System Carlos Panksep and Blaine Aikin describe how the CEFEX certification program serves retirement plan participants. View the article
2009.01.16	Pension Risk Management: Derivatives, Fiduciary Duty and Process A survey of 162 executives on why and how Plan Sponsors employ derivative instruments, by Dr. Susan Mangiero in conjunction with the Society of Actuaries. View the survey
2009.01.16	Update on Service Provider Disclosure Under 408(b)(2) The January 12, 2009 newsletter from Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen describes the continued relevance of the requirements tabled by the DOL, particularily as best practices amongst fiduciaries and service providers. View the newsletter
2008.08.20	Professional Liability Insurance Premium Discounts Premium discounts of up to 25% are available to CEFEX-certified firms from the North American Professional Liability Insurance Agency. View the program summary
2008.08.20	Why CEFEX Certification is Critical to the Industry The Zero Alpha Group highlights emerging trends that will help clear up investor confusion, mistrust about definition of fiduciaries, investment advisors. View the News Release
2008.06.25	CEFEX News Release CEFEX enhances its Investment Advisor certification program to render a legal opinion on adherence to ERISA. View the News Release
2008.06.15	A Warning Light for Fiduciaries Blaine Aikin, CEO of fi360 summarizes how to mitigate fiduciary risk in his column for Investment News magazine. View the article
2008.03.01	Fortifying fiduciary practices, oversight Jack Gardner, managing director of Thornburg Investment Management Inc. writes about the changing fiduciary landscape, referring to fi360 training and CEFEX certification. View the article at pionline.com
2008.03.01	Are you certifiable? Glenn Kautt, CEO of The Monitor Group, writes about the importance of fi360's Fiduciary Practices and CEFEX Certification, as regulators turn up the heat on the planning industry. View the article at financial-planning.com
2008.03.01	Plan sponsors are avoiding a safe harbor Blaine Aikin, CEO of fi360 explains that by shunning plan reviews, sponsors are making themselves vulnerable to litigation. View the article at investmentnews.com
2008.03.01	How You Are Paying What You Don’t Know: A Primer on Indirect Mutual Fund Payments Fred Reish provides a detailed description of how indirect payments within mutual fund investments can be identified. Invaluable information for pending fee disclosure requirements. View the article
2008.01.16	C. Frederick Reish Joins CEFEX Advisory Council Fred Reish is well-known throughout the retirement industry as a leading visionary on legal and regulatory matters. View the News Release
2008.01.16	EI of an ERISA Fiduciary Wayne H. Miller, CEO of Denali Fiduciary Management and a CEFEX Technical Expert, provides a thought-provoking article on the theory of "Emotional Intelligence" and how it applies to fiduciaries. View the article
2007.10.24	CEFEX and ASPPA introduce Recordkeeper Certification This program is based on a Standard of Practice developed by an industry task force led by CEFEX and ASPPA. The Standard, modelled after the Prudent Practice series of Fiduciary 360, describes the practices required of a Recordkeeper to serve a Steward (Plan Sponsor) in conjunction with Advisors or Managers, in fulfilling their fiduciary obligations. View the News Release
2007.10.17	CEFEX and fi360 comment on CFA Institute Code CEFEX and Fiduciary360 provide comments to the CFA Institute's recently drafted "Code of Conduct for Members of a Pension Scheme Governing Body". View the submission
2007.10.11	Leadership Council Formed to Promote Fiduciary Excellence The Investment Fiduciary Leadership Council ("IFLC") is comprised of firms that have earned CEFEX certifications, and will work together to promote fiduciary excellence within the corporate, public pension and university endowment communities. View this article
2007.09.20	Are Pension Funds Hazardous to Your Health? Article by Dr. Susan Mangiero, which appeared in the Aug '07 "Mann on the Street" publication. A description of how fiduciary issues may impact more than just the acknowleged fiduciaries to a pension plan. View a PDF of this article
2007.05.16	Helping Fee-Only Advisors Follow PPA Provisions for ‘Fiduciary Adviser’ Standard Leading Financial Service Organizations To Help Fee-Only Advisors Follow PPA Provisions for ‘Fiduciary Adviser’ Standard View a PDF of this article
2007.04.26	CEFEX Announces New Certification New Certification for Fiduciary Advisers and Eligible Investment Advice Arrangements View a PDF of this article
2007.04.12	Call for independent certification Alex Fowler, CEO of Strategic Asset Management, the recipient of the first CEFEX Certification in New Zealand, talks about the benefits of Certification in this financialalert magazine article. View a PDF of this article
2007.04.02	The Implications of Vacating the Broker-Dealer Exemption Fiduciary 360,Pittsburgh--A federal appeals court has struck down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s broker-dealer exemption, stating that the SEC lacked the authority to grant brokers broad exceptions to rules that apply to investment advisors. View this article
2007.01.30	Response to Department of Labour Responses to 4 questions regarding fee disclosure as requested by the US Department of Labour Employee Benefits Security Administration in relation to the 2006 Pension Protection Act. Submitted by CEFEX and 7 industry experts. View the submission
2007.01.22	CEFEX Advertisement Advertisement appearing in the January 22, 2007 issue of Pensions & Investments. View