Stuart A. Paris, CIMA®, is the founder and President of Paris International Corporation, an Employee Benefits Consulting Firm, a Principal of Granite Retirement Services, LLC and the creator of The EZ 401(k) Solution. Mr. Paris received his BA in politics from Brandeis University and holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation from the University of Pennsylvania Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School. He has been a Regional Group Manager for The Prudential Insurance Company of America, a General Agent for The Travelers Insurance Company, and is currently a Registered Representative, a Registered Principal and an Investment Adviser Representative with NPC of America. Mr. Paris is also a member of the NPC Presidents’ Advisory Council. Mr. Paris has received numerous industry awards including the General Agent of the Year from the Travelers Insurance Company and the prestigious Quality of Life Award for service to company, industry, community and to humankind. He was a nominee for the 2007 Charles Schwab Impact Award.
Warren Simon is the owner and President of Associated Pension Consultants, Inc. and Associated Payroll Consultants, Inc. and a Principal of Granite Retirement Services, LLC. Mr. Simon started Associated Pension in June of 1995 and Associated Payroll in January of 2004. Both companies combined have approximately 1500 corporate clients and 30 employees. Associated Pension/Payroll Consultants, Inc. has its corporate headquarters in Syosset, New York and a branch office in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Simon has over 18 years of pension consulting expertise. He began his career with Price Waterhouse in 1988 and has worked for several consulting firms prior to starting Associated Pension. He holds his BA in Mathematics/Economics from Colgate University and his MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business.
Ron Butt, CFP® is President and Managing Partner of ARGI Financial Group. He is a Registered Principal and an Investment Adviser Representative of National Planning Corporation, a Registered Investment Adviser and member FINRA/SIPC. He was also named to the University of Louisville Board of Trustees. In 2005 he was appointed to the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority. In addition, he was selected by Medical Economics Magazine in 1999 and 2000 as one of the Top 120 Financial Advisors for Doctors because of his experience, education, and planning techniques. Ron has written articles or been quoted by many national and local publications including: Business Week Magazine, The Courier Journal newspaper, Senior Life Magazine, Financial Planning News and Source One magazine. Ron’s qualifications include Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Finance from LaSalle University. He is a Certified Financial Planner™ a certification granted by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards and Practices in Denver, Colorado.
Patrick K. Carroll, CFP® is CEO of Wealth Strategies Group, Inc. He is an Investment Advisor Representative with National Planning Corporation, a licensed Certified Financial Planner, and a Registered Principal with National Planning Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC. Patrick earned a Master’s degree in Financial Services from the America College. He is also a Certified Renaissance Advisor in Charitable Remainder Trusts. From 1996 to 1998, Patrick was named the #1 producing financial planner in the United States within Modern America Corporation.
Dan Carlson is Avatar Associates' Managing Director of Marketing and Product Development. Dan leads Avatar’s institutional sales efforts targeting corporate defined benefit plans, public plans, endowments and foundations, annuity platforms and defined contribution plan providers. Previously, he was a Vice President at Delaware Investments where he led the successful entry into the college savings plan (529) market and generated $750+ million in AUM in combined sales through the development, launch and management of other offerings for advisor-sold markets and institutional, direct-sold markets. Dan served as Delaware's principal product manager for the firm's retirement products/services representing $16 billion in AUM through IRAs, 150 investment-only plans, and thousands of full-service plans. From 1983 to 1995, Dan held a variety of positions at Buck Consultants, Inc. where he served as Principal and Benefit Consultant directing and leading consulting engagements with major corporate clients. Dan launched his career at Harris Trust and Savings Bank, specializing and launching the bank's record keeping business to the defined contribution plans. Dan graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in Accountancy in 1977, passed the Illinois CPA examination, and is NASD Series 7, 63, 52, and 53 certified.
Theodore M. Theodore, CFA®. As President and Chief Investment Officer, Ted Theodore leads Avatar's investment process and research team, manages the firm’s asset allocation models, and is Chief Editor of the firm’s monthly market commentary, the Avatar Advisor. Prior to joining the firm in 1989, Ted was co-founder of Prospect Advisors, a boutique institutional asset management firm. Previously, Mr. Theodore served as Strategist/Portfolio Manager at Morgan Stanley Asset Management, and as Director of Equity Strategy at Citibank, N.A. Ted regularly appears as a featured speaker at leading educational conferences and seminars, and has authored numerous articles about quantitative techniques and derivative instruments to manage institutional portfolios. Mr. Theodore earned his M.B.A in Finance and B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan. A Chartered Financial Analyst, Mr. Theodore is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR).
J. Gibson Watson, III, CIMA®, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Prima Capital Holding, Inc. In his role, Mr. Watson directs Prima’s business strategy, oversees strategic marketing and product development initiatives, and consults with clients. Before joining Prima, Mr. Watson served as National Managing Director for the Investment Advisory Services practice for KPMG LLP. Prior to his work there, he was Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Private Client Services at Portfolio Management Consultants. Previous to those roles, Mr. Gibson served as Vice President of the Wealth Management division and the Denver Executive Financial Counseling office for the Asset Management Group. He is active in the industry as a member of the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA) Standards of Practice Committee, and has earned the Association’s CIMA designation. Mr. Watson is a regular columnist for “On Wall Street” magazine, and is frequently quoted in industry publications, including “Investment Advisor”, “Wealth Manager”, and “Investment News”. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Dividend Capital as an Independent Trustee.
Stewart Cohune, President, MG Advisory Services. In addition to providing a platform for the delivery of an Individually Managed Account (IMA) option to 401(k) plan participants through various strategies, Mr. Cohune’s work at MG Advisory Services helps provide TPAs and advisors with the support and tools necessary for a successful sales process using the Matrix open-architecture platform. Mr. Cohune has over 19 years experience in the 401(k) business. Prior to joining MG Advisory Services, LLC, he was the President of Pen-Cal Administrators, a regional TPA firm, and was responsible for 401(k) business. In that capacity he led the development, infrastructure and systems for the company’s daily valuation recordkeeping system for both qualified and non-qualified plans.