Raised in Retirement Plans
“I’m an intense guy from New Jersey, so I speak very quickly,” Brian Hartstein notes before launching into his retirement plan business background.
We’ve featured many experienced TAPO advisors, most with track records going back decades, but Hartstein, Director of Corporate Development with Bayntree Wealth Advisors, is unique. A third-generation pension practitioner, he was raised in the industry, starting in the seventh grade.
“It’s a good thing I like what I do because I wasn’t trained for much else,” Hartstein explains. “My father, grandfather, and one of my uncles had a TPA they started in New Jersey before ERISA. We sold that company in the late 1970s. My dad took a partnership in another TPA in Arizona, so we moved here, and I started working at the firm part-time.”
Yes, he’s a fast-talking east coast transplant now in Scottdale, but his demeanor reflects a genuine enthusiasm and excitement for what he does, which is to ensure successful retirement outcomes for the plan sponsors and advisors with whom he works.
Specifically, the firm prides itself on the quality and effectiveness of its participant communication. Comprehensive doesn’t begin to describe it; client-centric videos, face-to-face meetings, email campaigns, webinars, custom videos, and everything from offering basic financial planning services to debt management.
He emphasizes that Bayntree is “platform agnostic” and says technology is employed both for scale and to help participants reach personal milestones.
“We have one large group that are all contract employees,” Hartstein says. “They won’t allow company time for education. Therefore, we have to find ways to get it done outside of the work environment. It can be tricky because it’s at night or on their own time. That’s why videos are great, and they can access them on-demand.”
It’s cliché to says what gets measured gets managed, but it’s particularly relevant to Hartstein and the Bayntree team.
“We want specific and customized goals for retirement readiness. We measure both the number of participants who set a goal and the number who are on track to reach that goal. We can then determine if we’re making an impact.”
They drill down to the number of interactions monthly with employees and, importantly, how they’re interacting with each, which provides better insight to committees (and Bayntree) about how future programs should be tailored. Absent tracking of this type, most employees won’t have the needed income to maintain their retirement lifestyle, Hartstein adds matter-of-factly.
“The financial advisor industry isn’t interested in servicing people below a certain net worth or income level. Those are the people who need help the most.”
Aside from Social Security, the 401(k) will be the largest asset many will have in retirement.
“In the end, that’s who we’re helping, and unless you’re doing these things or something similar, you’re not really helping the people these plans are designed to help,” he notes.
It’s going that extra mile, willing to do what others won’t, and knowing what works and what doesn’t that’s earned Bayntree the respect of even the most seasoned—and at times cynical—CFOs.
“I asked a plan sponsor for a recommendation on a large plan prospect,” he concludes. “They said no other advisor was willing to go to the lengths we did. The CFO mentioned that, for the first time in 20 years, every employee said it was a wonderful experience. It’s not rocket science. It’s just willing to take that extra step; that face-to-face, one-on-one communication with the employees that’s so critical to success.”
Brian Hartstein, MSFS, CLU, ChFC is Director of Corporate Development with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Bayntree Wealth Advisors.