Speaker Profiles

Over his 30-year career, Robert Arnott has endeavored to bridge two disparate worlds; the theoretical academy and the practical marketplace. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world's most provocative and respected financial analysts. Several unconventional portfolio strategies now in wide application figure among Mr. Arnott's pioneering innovations: tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index® approach to indexation, among others.

An intrepid entrepreneur, Mr. Arnott started up and managed two important asset management firms before founding Research Affiliates. In 2002, he established Research Affiliates as a research intensive asset management firm that focuses on innovative products that add value for the global investment community. Innovations are constantly pursued, as the firm explores novel approaches to active asset allocation, optimal portfolio construction, and innovative indexation. Research Affiliates distributes investment products globally in partnership with leading financial institutions wherever possible.

A widely published financial thinker, Mr. Arnott has been a frequent contributor to leading financial journals and books. He has published more than 100 refereed journal articles in the Financial Analysts Journal, the Journal of Portfolio Management and the Harvard Business Review, to name a few. He served as editor in chief at the Financial Analysts Journal from 2002 through 2006, and on their Advisory Council for several years after he stepped down as editor in chief. In recognition of his achievements as a financial writer, Mr. Arnott has received five Graham and Dodd Scrolls, awarded annually by the CFA Institute for best articles of the year. He has received two Bernstein-Fabozzi/Jacobs-Levy awards from the Journal of Portfolio Management and Institutional Investor magazine. Mr. Arnott lectures frequently, has served as a visiting professor at UCLA, and has served on the product advisory board of the Chicago Board Options Exchange and two other exchanges.

Mr. Arnott is the former chairman of First Quadrant, LP, where he developed quantitative asset management products. He also served as global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup), the president of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic), and as a vice president at The Boston Company (now PanAgora).

Mr. Arnott graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1977 in economics, applied mathematics and computer science. He is the author of The Fundamental Index® - A Better Way to Invest (Wiley 2008).

Christopher Blunt is executive vice president in charge of Retirement Income Security (RIS), which encompasses New York Life's income annuities, investment annuities, long-term care insurance, and the distribution of mutual funds. RIS is dedicated to providing solutions to consumers in both the accumulation and income phases of retirement. Mr. Blunt is responsible for establishing the overall strategic direction for these businesses. He is also a member of New York Life's Executive Management Committee, which is comprised of New York Life's senior executive leadership and assists the CEO in setting policy for the company.

Mr. Blunt joined the company in 2004 as executive vice president at New York Life Investments and was responsible for setting and executing New York Life Investments' Retail Investments strategy, with particular emphasis on growing New York Life Investments' sales of mutual funds and separate account wrap through all of its distribution partners. In March 2007 he was elected senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Life and Annuity department of New York Life Insurance Company, and in 2008 was appointed senior vice president. He was named head of Retirement Income Security in November 2008 and elected an executive vice president in February 2009.

Prior to joining New York Life Investments, Mr. Blunt was chairman and chief executive officer of GivingCapital, Inc., a wealth management solutions provider serving the financial institutions marketplace, and before that spent 14 years in a variety of senior marketing and distribution roles in the investment management industry. Mr. Blunt was the chief marketing officer – Americas, for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, and president of Mercury Funds Distributors. Before working with Merrill Lynch, he was a managing director with Goldman Sachs & Co., and the national sales manager for Goldman Sachs Funds.

Mr. Blunt holds an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School and a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan. He is a trustee of The American College, and serves as the Chair of the Advisory Council of Comfort Zone Camps.

Erin Botsford began her financial planning career in 1989. She is the founder of The Botsford Group, specializing in risk management, asset protection and lifestyle investment strategies.

Ms. Botsford's rise from a life of poverty and misfortune to become one of the top financial planners in the country is a story that has been featured in numerous articles and publications, including Barron's “Top 100 Women Financial Advisers” and “Top 100 Independent Financial Advisers”, Financial Advisor's “The Great Protector”, Kemper's “Success Stories”, Investment News, The Dallas Business Journal and Real Woman's “From Broke to Bountiful .” Ms. Botsford has been listed as one of the “Best Financial Planners in Dallas” by D Magazine (Dec 2002, Dec 2004, Jan 2009) and has been nationally televised as a guest on CNBC's "Power Lunch."

Mark Bruno is the director of online content and programming at InvestmentNews. He is an award-winning journalist who has served as a both reporter and editor for a number of financial publications over the last decade, including InvestmentNews, Financial Week and Pensions & Investments. Mr. Bruno has been recognized with multiple accolades for his writing and reporting, including the American Business Media's prestigious Jesse H. Neal awards, and has also received awards from The Society of American Business Editors and Writers for his breaking news coverage and analysis of the financial services industry.

Mr. Bruno is the author of Save Now or Die Trying: Achieving Long-Term Wealth In Your 20s and 30s, one of the top-selling retirement planning books of 2007. He also been featured frequently on television and radio as an expert on investing and retirement, and has also been quoted in numerous newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Daily News, The Chicago Tribune and Investors Business Daily.

Peng Chen, Ph.D., CFA is president of Ibbotson Associates, a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. Entrusted to create asset allocation models for many of the largest companies in the finance and investment industries, Ibbotson Associates is a leading provider of retirement advice programs and investment consulting services to institutions.

Mr. Chen joined Ibbotson in 1997, and is one of the foremost authorities on asset allocation. He has played a key role in the development of Ibbotson's investment consulting and 401(k) advice/managed retirement account services. Prior to Morningstar's acquisition in March 2006, Mr. Chen served as managing director and chief investment officer for Ibbotson.

A respected researcher, Mr. Chen has expertise in asset allocation, portfolio risk measurement, nontraditional assets, and global financial markets. His writings have appeared in the Financial Analysts Journal, Journal of Portfolio Management, Journal of Investing, Journal of Financial Planning, Bank Securities Journal, the American Association of Individual Investors Journal, Consumer Interest Annual, and the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning. He received the “Articles of Excellence” award from the Certified Financial Planner Board in 1996 and Graham and Dodd Scroll award in 2003 and 2007 from the Financial Analysts Journal.

Mr. Chen holds a bachelor's degree in industrial management engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology and a master's degree and doctorate degree in consumer economics from Ohio State University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Natalie Choate is an attorney with the Boston law firm of Nutter, McClennen & Fish. Her practice is limited to estate planning for retirement benefits. Her two books, Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits and The QPRT Manual, are leading resources for estate planning professionals.

Ms. Choate is the founder and former chair of the Boston Bar Estate Planning Committee; a former chair of the Boston Bar Employee Benefits Committee; and a member and former officer of the Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum. She is a fellow and former Regent of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and former chairman of its Employee Benefits Committee. Named “Estate Planner of the Year” by the Boston Estate Planning Council, Ms. Choate is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. The National Association of Estate Planners and Councils has awarded Natalie the “Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner” designation.

Her articles on estate planning topics have been published in ACTEC Notes, Estate Planning, Trusts and Estates, Tax Practitioners Journal and Tax Management. She is a contributing author and co-editor of the book Drafting Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc., and an editorial advisor for Trusts and Estates magazine. She writes a monthly web column and “podcast” for MorningstarAdvisor.com.

Ms. Choate has taught professional-level courses in estate planning in 45 states, and has spoken at the Heckerling, Notre Dame, Heart of America, New England, Southern California, Mississippi, Tennessee, Washington State and Southern Federal Tax Institutes. Her comments on estate and retirement planning have been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Money, Bloomberg Wealth Manager, Newsweek, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Forbes, Financial Planning and Financial World.

A Boston native, Ms. Choate is a graduate of Radcliffe College and Harvard Law School.

Evan Cooper is Deputy Editor of InvestmentNews. Called the “Jon Stewart of online financial journalism” by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, Mr. Cooper's weekly column, OpINion Online, won SABEW's 2009 “Best in Business” award. Before coming to Crain, Mr. Cooper was Director of Wealth Management News at Thomson Financial and Editor-in-Chief of its On Wall Street and Bank Investment Consultant magazines. He also served as Assistant Managing Editor of Institutional Investor magazine, where he was in charge of the annual “All-America Research Team” coverage. He began his career as a reporter at Fairchild Publications and The Miami Herald, and has contributed to Advertising Age, Entrepreneur of the Year and Financial Planning. In addition to having held senior public relations positions at the Securities Industry Association and the New York Stock Exchange, Mr. Cooper is co-author of Attract and Retain the Affluent Investor: Winning Tactics for Today's Financial Advisor, published by Kaplan Publishing. He holds a BBA degree from Baruch College of the City University of New York and an MS in Journalism from The Medill School of Northwestern University.

Jeffrey G. Cribbs CFP® is a managing principal with Chicago Wealth Management, Inc. and a portfolio manager of The CWM Fund, LP. He has over 20 years experience providing investment and wealth management advice to individuals and institutions. Chicago Wealth Management focuses on building portfolios to allow for long-term sustainable distributions. Mr. Cribbs recently co-authored an article that was published in the February 2010 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning. The article shows how using a simple quantitative tactical allocation method produces higher safe distribution rates and higher terminal values than statically allocated balanced portfolios. Mr. Cribbs has been quoted in several national publications including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Mr. Cribbs holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University Graduate School of Business and a BA from Johns Hopkins University.

Robert DeChellis is president of Allianz Life Financial Services, LLC, a division of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. He is responsible for sales and distribution of Allianz products, including variable and fixed annuities through broker/dealers and other financial institutions.

Prior to joining Allianz, Mr. DeChellis was executive vice president of Travelers Life & Annuity's Retail Annuities Division. He was responsible for expanding the company's retail annuity distribution network. Mr. DeChellis also was executive vice president and national sales manager for Jackson National Life Distributors, Inc. Before that, he managed sales for a broad range of product lines and distribution channels at Goldman Sachs. He was also a regional manager for Lord Abbett and Co., a pension consultant with Transamerica Pension Plan Services, and an account manager for Aetna Capital Management.

Mr. DeChellis received his undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Colorado.

Don Ezra is co-chairman, global consulting for Russell Investments worldwide, and director, investment strategy for its Americas institutional division. Mr. Ezra was given these wide-ranging roles to reflect the focus that investors everywhere need on “big picture” issues. He provides expert insight on specific governance and financial strategy issues working with both individual clients and Russell teams serving clients, and helps to coordinate the advice of Russell consultants around the world. In addition, Mr. Ezra is a member of Russell's global leadership forum. Don is located in Russell's New York office.

Mr. Ezra joined Russell in 1984 as the first president of Russell's Canadian office. In 1989, he moved to Russell's head office in Tacoma, where he was successively managing director of consulting and managing director of Russell's investment policy and research. He was seconded to the London office in 1997 as director of European consulting.

Before joining Russell, Mr. Ezra worked as a life insurance actuary in England and as a pension investment consultant in Canada, and he served as vice president of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Mr. Ezra is a widely published author in the pension fund industry. In addition to numerous articles and papers, his books include Understanding Pension Fund Finance and Investment (1979), The Struggle for Pension Fund Wealth (1983), Pension Fund Excellence (1998) and The Retirement Plan Solution: the Reinvention of Defined Contribution (2009).

He has won a Graham and Dodd Award from the Financial Analysts Journal and the Roger Murray Prize from the Q Group in the U.S. In 2004, he was given the Lillywhite Award of the Employee Benefit Research Institute “for extraordinary life contributions to Americans' economic security.” Mr. Ezra was an appointed delegate to the National Summit on Retirement Savings in both 2002 and 2006, and an at-large delegate from New York State to the White House Conference on Aging in 2006. He now serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Financial Analysts Journal and as Research Committee Chairman of the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Charles J. Farrell, J.D., LL.M. is a principal with Northstar Investment Advisors, LLC in Denver, Colorado. As an investment advisor, he focuses primarily on retirement income portfolio management and investment tax planning. His research has been widely cited in industry publications including The Wall Street Journal, Smart Money Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Newsweek, Journal of Financial Planning and Money Magazine. He also writes the Retirement Roadmap column for CBS MoneyWatch and is a columnist for InvestmentNews. Mr. Farrell is also the author of the book Your Money Ratios: 8 Simple Tools for Financial Security, and the developer of the Farrell-Northstar Retirement Income Index. He has a law degree from the American University Washington College of Law and an LL.M. in taxation from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Mary Beth Franklin is a senior editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and editor of the Kiplinger's annual Retirement Planning Guide. An award-winning journalist, Ms. Franklin covers retirement planning, tax planning, Social Security issues and long-term-care insurance. Previously, she was co-editor of Kiplinger's Retirement Report.

Before joining the Kiplinger staff in 1998, Ms. Franklin was a syndicated columnist specializing in personal finance and health issues for older Americans. Her weekly personal-finance column for Third Age Media appeared in more than 200 newspapers nationwide. She also served as the money expert on the Third Age Media Web site, answering financial questions and hosting live chats. She has written feature articles for the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and several magazines.

Ms. Franklin also covered congressional tax and budget issues for United Press International. She has appeared on NBC's Today show and Meet the Press, the CBS Early Show, CNN and a variety of local television and radio programs.

Ms. Franklin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from American University, in Washington, D.C. and serves as a professional mentor to graduate students in AU's journalism program.

David C. John is a Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a prominent Washington think tank. A 31-year veteran of Washington policy debates, Mr. John serves as Heritage's lead analyst on issues relating to pensions, financial institutions, asset building, and Social Security reform.

In addition to his Heritage Foundation activities, Mr. John also serves as the Managing Director of the Retirement Security Project, a joint project of Georgetown University and the Brookings Institution. The RSP focuses on improving retirement savings in the United States, especially among moderate and low income workers.

Since coming to Heritage, Mr. John has written and lectured extensively on the importance of reforming the nation's retirement programs. He is the co-author along with J. Mark Iwry of the Automatic IRA, a small business retirement savings program for firms that do not sponsor any other form of retirement savings or pension plan. The Automatic IRA was endorsed by both the 2008 campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama, and is part of the Obama budget proposal. It has also received favorable attention from publications as diverse as the New York Times, National Review and many others.

He is also a co-author with Bill Gale, Mark Iwry and Lina Walker of a proposal to include trial annuities as the default withdrawal choice in 401(k)-type plans, and has spoken on this idea at a number of conferences and web seminars. Mr. John is also the co-author of a study of national retirement savings plans in the United Kingdom, Chile, Australia and New Zealand.

Mr. John has been published and quoted extensively in the press, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He has also appeared on CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, the Fox News Channel, BBC radio, and a number of other national and syndicated radio and television shows. He is also a co-editor of the 2009 book, Automatic: Changing the Way that America Saves.

Mr. John earned a bachelor's degree in journalism, an MBA in finance, and a master's degree in economics from the University of Georgia in Athens.

Dr. Andrew Lo is the Harris & Harris Group Professor of Finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, and the founder and chief investment strategist of AlphaSimplex Group, LLC.

In addition to his work at MIT and AlphaSimplex, Dr. Lo is also a former governor of the Boston Stock Exchange, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a member of the FINRA's Economic Advisory Board. Dr. Lo has published numerous articles in finance and economics journals, and is a co-author of The Econometrics of Financial Markets, A Non-Random Walk Down Wall Street and Hedge Funds: An Analytic Perspective.

Before developing Wealthtrack, Consuelo Mack has had a long and distinguished career working in business journalism including over a decade at The Wall Street Journal as the Anchor and Managing Editor of its weekly syndicated business program "The Wall Street Journal Report", as a Senior Correspondent on CNBC as well as anchor on Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street Week.

Ms. Mack played a critical role in CNBC's strategic alliance with Dow Jones. As Senior Correspondent of CNBC she provided viewers with a daily "Strategy Session" during the business day as well as a series of VIP interviews including investment legends such as Sir John Templeton, Vanguard's Jack Bogle, Pimco's Bill Gross and Legg Mason's Bill Miller.

She also anchored Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street in its final months on both CNBC and PBS, covering the week's top market news.

Ms. Mack's international experience includes being the Anchor and Editor of "The Asian Wall Street Journal Report", a weekly business program syndicated throughout Asia, and hosting the 1996 PBS documentary series "Emerging Powers" and the 1994 PBS special "Pacific Rift".

Ms. Mack is a pioneer in business television. She was one of the founding partners of "Today's Business", where she was Anchor and Executive Editor of television's first daily, nationally syndicated business news program. She was founding news editor and co-anchor of Business Times, the first national morning business program. In its first year Business Times won the ACE award, cable television's highest honor. Early in her television career she was a contributing reporter to NBC's Today Show.

Prior to her television career, Ms. Mack worked for several prominent research and money management firms including Mitchell Hutchins and Merrill Lynch. She is a member of the Economics Club of New York, the Council on Foreign Relations and The Women's Forum.

She has received several honors including the first Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Print and Electronic Financial Journalism awarded by the Women's Economic Roundtable. Ms. Mack graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a bachelor's degree in English Literature, History and Political Science.

Skip Massengill brings over 28 years of experience to RW BAIRD & Co. He has lectured to many groups including: FFIEC, NAFCU, CPA- Alliance , SIA-Securities Industry Association, Source Media conferences, FMS -The Financial Managers Society and The Sendero Institute. Mr. Massengill has written various articles in journals, including American Banker and Bank Accounting & Finance.

Mr. Massengill graduated from Villanova University and is currently a member of the Philadelphia Estate Planning Ethics Committee. He also had earned the IMCA designation of Certified Investment Management Analyst at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

Mark R. Meiners, Ph.D., is a Professor of Health Administration and Policy in the College of Health and Human Services at George Mason University. Dr. Meiners specializes in the areas of aging and health with emphasis on financing and reimbursement issues. He is nationally recognized as one of the leading experts on financing and program development in long-term care. Among his noteworthy recent accomplishments is his leadership of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Medicare/Medicaid Integration Program, an initiative designed to help states develop new systems of care that better coordinate acute and long-term care.

In addition, Dr. Meiners has led the RWJF Partnership for Long-Term Care, an innovative state-based long-term care insurance program, since its beginning in 1987. His path-breaking research on long-term care insurance has been a major catalyst to the current interest in this topic and his work on Medicare/Medicaid integration has helped advance chronic care improvement strategies for all aged and disabled populations. Dr. Meiners holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from Georgetown University and a B.A. in economics with distinction from the University of Wisconsin.

Stephen Mitchell is a member of the Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA) Board of Directors and Chief Operating Officer, focusing on the coordination of RIIA's operations, including various committees, ranging from education, methodologies, communications, membership, etc.

In addition to his part-time responsibilities with RIIA, Mr. Mitchell provides consulting services to the retirement industry. He recently collaborated with the Financial Research Corporation (FRC) on an important new retirement study they've just released, Making Sense of Investor Needs in the Retirement Income Market, that uncovers the financial and psychological experiences of retirees and breaks down their experiences by wealth, age, retirement status, gender, and other key metrics—including more than 200 exhibits. Findings are based on an in-depth FRC consumer survey of nearly 1,500 baby boomers and current retirees with greater than $100,000 in investable assets.

Prior to joining RIIA, Mr. Mitchell was Director of Participant Communications, Investor Education, Planning and Advice Services for the Retirement Group at Merrill Lynch, including responsibility for the Merrill Lynch Advice Access and Merrill Lynch Retirement Income Services. Additionally, he led the development of The Merrill Lynch New Retirement Studies: The 2005 Study– A Perspective From The Baby Boomer Generation and The 2006 Study - A Perspective from Individuals and Employers. Merrill Lynch was a founding member of RIIA and Steve also served as the primary Merrill Lynch representative.

He has over 30 years of broad based experience in the retirement and investment field (retail and institutional), including business strategy, marketing product development, benefits consulting and client service management. Over the past several years he has focused extensively on investor education, developing investor education guides, seminars and planning tools for retirement, college and estate planning.

A graduate of the University of Southern Maine, Mr. Mitchell is a frequent speaker at client and industry events and a regular media spokesperson on a wide range of retirement and investing topics.

Emilio Jack Morrone is the co-founder of NothelferMorrone. There is a passion about Mr. Morrone's work that has been evident in the feedback he has received from his clients since 1984 when he embarked on his path as a financial service professional. Many clients have described the benefits they feel they have seen from his gift at helping them more clearly understand their situation and the realistic options that are available.

Mr. Morrone is Series 7, 24, 63 and 65 registered. He is also a Certified Public Accountant. He holds a Pennsylvania resident life, health and disability insurance license.

His dual designations of Certified Public Accountant and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional (CFP®) identifies him as an individual who has met the education, examination, experience and ethics standards established by both the State Board of Accountancy and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.

Mr. Morrone is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Financial Planning Association (FPA).

Several non-profit organizations take a prominent place in Mr. Morrone's life. He has served on the board of directors of LifePath and the LifePath Foundation, the Mercy Special Learning Center Parent Alliance Board, the Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley, Lehigh County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Advisory Board, and the Lehigh County Mental Retardation Committee. Each of these organizations has a roll in the life of an individual with developmental disabilities and cognitive impairment. These organizations are important to him because his responsibilities as a parent of two children with special needs.

Previously a senior associate in the Chicago office of the international law firm of Baker & McKenzie, Ben Neiburger left the executive compensation and employee benefits group to start his own legal practice, Neiburger Law, Ltd. in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Mr. Neiburger quickly became a recognized and respected attorney in the areas of Elder Law, Estate Planning and Medicaid Planning, which includes expertise in Long-Term Care Planning, Special Needs Trusts and Tax Planning for families and their elders. In fact, Mr. Neiburger was named a “Super Lawyer” in Elder Law by Law & Politics and the publishers of Chicago magazine. Only 14 other attorneys in the state of Illinois were recognized this way in 2007. He was honored again with this distinction in 2009 and 2010, when he was one of just five elder law attorneys awarded.

Mr. Neiburger is an active member of The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and through frequent speaking engagements and ongoing course work both locally and nationally, is in continuous pursuit of knowledge and insight to the laws and finances that affect our families and senior citizens. He brings this wealth of knowledge, his clear and common sense explanations, his patience, gentle humor and sensitivity to each of his legal consultations.

After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in Finance, Mr. Neiburger added CPA to his name and went on to receive his juris doctor degree from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law where later he was an Adjunct Professor. He taught Employee Benefits Law for four years while simultaneously becoming a top regional instructor for the Becker CPA Review course. Currently, Mr. Neiburger is one of the top-rated speakers and instructors for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) as well as NAELA.

In addition to recently being admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, membership in the DuPage County Estate Planning Council, DuPage County Bar Association, Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce, and Oak Park Senior Citizen's Services Committee, Mr. Neiburger is a frequent speaker and writer in his specialty areas of law to audiences of professionals in legal, financial and healthcare fields as well as individuals seeking information about planning and caring for their own families.

Zachary S. Parker joined Securities America in January 2006. He began his career as a field representative of National Life of Vermont and Equity Services, Inc. In his current role Mr. Parker is responsible for the Annuity and Insurance Business lines and Income Distribution Planning. He has been involved in the development of practical income distribution solution tools for Securities America's advisors and has worked to enhance the Income for Life™ Illustration system and has been involved in the development of many of the NextPhase™ Income Distribution Solutions including the “Capturing the Income Distribution Opportunity” whitepaper and the “ROI* Profile”. Mr. Parker received a Judges Grant from the FPA “Financial Frontiers Awards” program for his Income-Harvesting Strategy: whitepaper. This paper was published in the August 2008 edition of the Journal of Financial Planning. He can also be heard on the “Master Series” podcasts on AdvisorPod.com, the Master Series podcast focuses on providing insight into the business practices of the industry's elite financial advisors. Mr. Parker earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with emphasis in Finance from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and is working towards his Masters in Business Administration at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

Jim Pavia is the editor of InvestmentNews. He joined InvestmentNews in June 2003 from VNU Business Media. Jim was at VNU (formerly Miller-Freeman Publishing) for eight years where he held positions as editor of both Bank Systems &Technology and Leisure Travel News.

His journalism career includes 12 years of daily newspaper experience as a copy desk (sports) editor at the New York Daily News, national editor of the National Sports Daily and reporting and editing positions at the Staten Island Advance. Jim has a BA in journalism from New York University and has served as an adjunct journalism professor at St. John's University.

Kevin Seibert joined the International Foundation for Retirement Education (InFRE) in 2003 and serves as Managing Director. He works closely with retirement plan sponsors, providers and advisors to offer a curriculum that will allow candidates to obtain an InFRE certification. He has more than 25 years of experience in retirement benefits, financial planning and financial education.

Mr. Seibert also continues to create and present customized financial planning and preretirement education programs. He talks extensively to audiences nationwide and is regarded as an informative and motivational speaker.

Prior to InFRE, Mr. Seibert was co-founder of Balance Financial Services, a Chicago area financial planning and consulting firm. Before founding Balance in 1988, he worked as a consultant for William M. Mercer, Inc. and was responsible for the implementation of compensation and employer provided benefit plans. Mr. Seibert was also Director of Marketing for a New Jersey based company specializing in the development and distribution of defined contribution and financial planning programs.

Mr. Seibert is recognized as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and a Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC). He earned his MBA in finance from the University of Wisconsin and received his undergraduate degree in finance from Miami University of Ohio. Serving as Treasurer and Executive Board member for the Greater Chicago Chapter of the International Society of Retirement Planners, Mr. Seibert played an active role in providing on-going retirement planning education to professional and employer members of this organization.

Dennis Stattman, Senior Portfolio Manager, is head of the BlackRock Global Allocation Fund and a member of the Leadership Committee and Central Strategy Group. Mr. Stattman's service with the firm dates back to 1989, including his years with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM), which merged with BlackRock in 2006.

Mr. Stattman joined Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in 1989 as an Associate Portfolio Manager of the Merrill Lynch Global Allocation Fund, and has been a manager of the Fund since its inception. Mr. Stattman was named Senior Portfolio Manager of the Merrill Lynch Global Allocation Fund in September 2002. From September of 1989 through February 1996, he was also Senior Portfolio Manager of the Merrill Lynch Special Value Fund. Prior to joining MLIM, Mr. Stattman served as the Director of Research for Meridian Management Company, and as Pension Investment Officer for the World Bank, supervising the management of U.S. equities in the Bank's Retirement Plan.

Mr. Stattman earned a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia in 1973 and an M.B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago in 1980. He is a CFA Charterholder.

John W. Wheeler, Jr. as Executive Vice President of Water Tower Financial Partners, LLC. With an extensive background in the financial services industry dating back to 1969, he supports the agency through seminars, advanced joint sales work, recruiting and the development of our financial planning endeavor. He is a Certified Financial Planner™, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, Chartered Retirement Planning Consultant, Certified Senior Advisor, and a Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow. Mr. Wheeler has authored a number of continuing education courses that have been approved by the CFP® Board of Standards, the CPA society, and the Illinois Department of Insurance. A well-known speaker in the financial services industry and various Bar Associations, he has been quoted in such publications as Money Magazine, Life Insurance Selling, The National Underwriter, and The Journal of Financial Planning.

From 1995-2002, he was an approved provider for the Long-Term Care Licensing requirement by the Illinois Department of Insurance. He is on the faculty of the College for Financial Planning and has taught various Certification programs including the CRPC® and the CFP®. He is one of five people in the United States to teach the entire CFP® certification program, which he has been teaching since 1985. He was chosen as one of five individuals by the College to serve on the Adjunct Faculty Advisory Board. He has also taught for DePaul University for the Office of Continuing and Professional Education and has been a frequent lecturer for The Insurance Sales Institute at Purdue University.

Mr. Wheeler is a member of the Million Dollar Roundtable and in March of 2003 was inducted into the Country Insurance and Financial Services Hall of Fame. At that time, only 32 individuals had received that honor. He served two terms as President of the DuPage Area Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, has served on the board since 1990, and currently serves as National Committeeman for NAIFA DuPage. In April of 2003, he was named Member of the Year and was inducted into their Hall of Fame. He has been on the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors since its inception and served as President seven times. He served as Director of Professional Standards for the Institute of Certified Financial Planners. He then served as Director of Ethics and Education and Director of Governmental Affairs of the Financial Planning Association of Illinois and currently serves as Director of Community affairs for the organization, as well as on the NAIFA Illinois Board of Directors. In 2007 John was the recipient of the FPA Illinois Chapter Heart of Financial Planning Award.