Founder Michele Suriano
Prior to founding the firm in 2006, Michele Suriano served plan sponsors as a retirement plan adviser for Ceridian (2002-2006) and retail investors as an investment adviser with T. Rowe Price, Inc. (1999-2002). Between 1994 and 1999 she worked in the mortgage industry holding several positions including Executive Branch Manager for Transamerica Financial Services, Inc. in Colorado Springs, CO and Advanta Finance, Inc. in Vienna, VA.
Her qualifications and designations include:
Passed the following FINRA examinations:
- Series 6 (Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representatives)
- Series 7 (General Securities Representative)
- Series 63 (Uniform Securities State Law)
- Series 66 (Uniform Combined State Law).
- Passed the Colorado state insurance exams for life, health and variable annuities.
Earned the following additional designations:
- Tax-Exempt & Governmental Plan Consultant (“TGPC”) certification awarded by the American Society of Pension Professional and Actuaries (“ASPPA”).
- Qualified Plan Financial Consultant (“QPFC”) designation awarded by ASPPA
- Accredited Investment Fiduciary™ (“AIF®”) designation awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies
- Global Fiduciary Strategist (“GFS”) designation Certificate in Fiduciary Governance from Thunderbird
- Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Economics from Hofstra University.
- Leadership Development Institute at Glen Eyrie from the Navigators
Public speaking engagements:
- September of 2011, Rocky Mountain Area Conference using plan design to optimize participant outcomes
- September of 2012, Rocky Mountain Area Conference on plan-level and participant-level ERISA notice requirements
- 2010 PLANADVISER National Conference
- 2011 PLANSPONSOR National Conference, https://www.planadviser.com/psnc-2011-small-plans-big-challenges/
- 2013 PLANSPONSOR National Conference, https://www.plansponsor.com/psnc-2013-metric-taking/
- Adviser to two finalists for Plan Sponsor of the Year (2013 and 2017), https://www.plansponsor.com/plansponsors-2013-plan-sponsor-of-the-year-finalists/ and https://www.plansponsor.com/magazine/2017-plan-sponsor-of-the-year-finalists/ ; and
- Quoted in several articles by the retirement benefits industry trade publications, www.plansponsor.com and www.planadvisor.com
Volunteer Work
In addition to her business activities, Michele teaches yoga at https://peaceoutyoga.com/ and serves on the Investment Committee for Disability Law Colorado (“DLC”), a nonprofit organization protecting the human, civil and legal rights of people with disabilities and older people. She served on the Board of Directors for DLC from 2011 – 2017). She served as Crew Leader for Keepers of the Rock, in partnership with the Town’s Teen Court program (2005 – 2018). https://www.crgov.com/2370/Trail-Maintenance-Groups She served on the Board of Directors for the Denver chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council (2007- 2013).