Pension Plans & 401(k) Plans: A 2012 Perspective

Sarah A. Holden, PhD is Senior Director of Retirement and Investor Research at the Investment Company Institute (ICI). At the Institute, Ms. Holden conducts and oversees research on the U.S. retirement market, retirement and tax policy, and investor demographics and behavior. She is responsible for analysis of 401(k) plan participant activity using data collected in a collaborative effort with the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), known as the EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project. In addition, she analyzes the role of mutual funds in the retirement marketplace including defined contribution plan and IRA markets. She oversees The IRA Investor Database™, which contains data on more than 10 million IRA investors and allows analysis of IRA investors’ contribution, rollover, and withdrawal activity, and asset allocation. She is also responsible for managing household survey research on a range of topics relevant to the fund industry and policy formation. Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Holden worked as a staff economist in the Flow of Funds Section of the Research Division at the Federal Reserve Board. Ms. Holden graduated from Smith College, cum laude, and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.

Sarah Lowe focuses her practice on employee benefits, with an emphasis in the areas of qualified plans, related ERISA fiduciary issues and pension plan investments. She regularly reviews and negotiates provisions of pension plan investments on behalf of large pension funds, including hedge funds and other alternative investments. She also routinely assists structuring private investment funds and their portfolio investments so that they avoid being subject to ERISA fiduciary rules. As part of her practice, she regularly advises clients on compliance with ERISA’s rules regarding fiduciary duties and prohibited transactions. Ms. Lowe has provided counsel to and negotiated on behalf of clients regarding employee benefit issues in connection with mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and other business transactions. She has also researched and advised public and private employer clients regarding issues related to design, preparation, communication, administration and operation of qualified plans and the related funding vehicles, including pension and profit sharing plans, 401(k) plans, rabbi trusts, and cafeteria plans.

Professional Experience Bertha has 15 years of experience in public accounting and serves as chair of Moss Adams’ Employee Benefit Plan Group. She has extensive experience directing all phases of audits for a variety of benefit plans including 401(k), pension, employee stock ownership, health and welfare benefit plans. She has also worked with a number of 11(k) clients. Her ERISA expertise includes the specialized knowledge required for audits, Form 5500s and related filings. Bertha provides various consulting services related to the ERISA industry nationwide and dedicates her time to staying on top of the Department of Labor requirements while they are still in proposal and discussion stage. Bertha serves on the AICPA’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center Executive Committee. She was named by the Business Journal as one of the “2008 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley.” She has chaired the annual national AICPA Benefit Plan conference for several years and serves on the AICPA’s Technical Standards Subcommittee, which assists with the Department of Labor’s review of ERISA audits and auditors. She is frequently called upon to speak at local and national organization events dedicated to the Benefit Plan Audit specialty and her acumen is widely recognized by many of the third party administrators, trustees and investment custodians utilized by companies in Silicon Valley and beyond. In addition, Bertha currently serves on the Board of Directors of Project HIRED, a non-profit organization.

Professional Affiliations and Certifications
– American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
– California Society of Certified Public Accountants

Education
– Marist College, New York

Elena Barone Chism is Associate Counsel – Pension Regulation for the Investment Company Institute. Her responsibilities include advocating for the Institute’s membership on retirement security issues and assisting members and Institute staff in understanding tax and ERISA rules that affect defined contribution plans, IRAs, and similar savings vehicles.

Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Chism was in private practice at the Groom Law Group, where she advised clients on the design and operation of tax-qualified retirement plans and executive compensation arrangements. She also assisted employers with defined benefit plan funding challenges, employee benefits issues arising from corporate acquisitions and divestitures, and qualified domestic relations orders.

Ms. Chism received her J.D. with honors from the George Washington University Law School, where she was Articles Editor of The Environmental Lawyer. She received a B.A., with distinction, from Duke University.

Caren Bianco is the Director of Investments with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP overseeing pension and savings plan assets totaling $7 billion. In this role, she is responsible for monitoring external managers, including direct and fund of fund hedge funds. She is responsible for PwC’s 401(k) Plan investment line-up, including six custom target date fund strategies. She recommends new pension and savings plan investments and helps develop asset allocation strategy for the defined benefit plan. She monitors the plans’ funded status and investment risk for PwC’s plan as well as for PwC clients.

Prior to 2006, Ms. Bianco served as Director, Asset Management for a large chemical manufacturer. She was responsible for over $3 billion of global retirement plan investments. Prior to that, Ms. Bianco was a consulting pension actuary with Towers Perrin (now Towers Watson), and prior to that, William M. Mercer, Inc., specializing in the design, funding and expensing strategies for large corporate defined benefit pension plans.

Ms. Bianco holds a BS, magna cum laude, in Actuarial Science from The College of Insurance (now a part of St. John’s University). She is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.