Retireholics

The 401k Girls are back. Hayley Porter and Jessica Porter return to talk acquisitions, target-date funds, financial literacy, vibe coding, and getting more women into financial services. Plus Fact or Fiction Thursday, a Chat Bar Champion challenge, and the usual chaos.

We dig into the Ascensus and American Trust custodian shakeup and what consolidation means for advisors and TPAs, the wave of public comments on the latest DOL rule, whether private assets belong inside target-date funds, and why retirement should maybe just be boring. The girls break down their approachable take on financial literacy, the rebrand to The 401k Girls, and how authenticity (and the occasional quarter-zip) wins on social media. We also get into AI and vibe coding for plan administration.

0:00 Validate everyone in the chat bar

1:30 Welcoming back The 401k Girls

1:57 Fact or Fiction Thursday

4:50 Ascensus and American Trust custodian shakeup

13:30 Wholesaler relationships and partner reactions

20:50 DOL rule draws 37,000 public comments

23:30 Private assets inside target-date funds

27:20 Chat Bar Champion challenge

29:30 Reading bad financial advice posts

36:30 Making financial literacy approachable

38:40 Rebranding to The 401k Girls

41:30 Authenticity wins on social media

43:50 Vibe coding and AI for plan admin

49:50 Getting more women into financial services

59:00 Setting sales goals and succession planning

1:04:00 Wrap up and shoutouts

Guests: Hayley Porter and Jessica Porter, The 401k Girls

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-401k-girls

Retireholics is a live show for the 401(k) industry. New episodes the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 4:30pm Pacific.

Join the next show live: https://plandesign.zoom.us/w/760355487

More episodes and transcripts: https://retireholics.com

Mesirow's deal to acquire LeafHouse Financial Advisors and Blue Ridge Associates' acquisition of Economic Group Pension Services. QuickBooks and Vestwell integrated 401(k) solution aimed at small and mid-sized businesses. Fred Reish's analysis of the DOL's proposal on alternative assets and how it affects plan investment menu selection, EBSA head Aronowitz's request for industry input on the DOL investment rule, and President Trump's executive order expanding workers' retirement access.

Topics: GUARANTEED INCOME: A DEEP DIVE. Really excited to do a precursor episode to NAPA 401k Summit, the idea here is to take one topic and cover all the angles.

Topics: Rollover tech company Capitalize, is Advisor compensation on a downward trend? Americans and Entrepreneurship, an Advisor Skills Challenge Contest, an update on BidMoni Inc., Tales from Texas, and an extended version of FinTok. Get em' on ice your 401k Freaks!

Special guest Hunter Hopcroft is joining on behalf of Basic Capital. We will dig into Basic Capital's concept they call a Retirement Mortgage where they put in 4 dollars for every 1 dollar the participant puts in.....crazy right? Hoping to ask all the right questions and learn more later today.

Other topics include: Morningstar's new Ai Assistant, a revisit of the whole Gusto x Guideline x Accrue x Vestwell dealio, Financial FOMO, and an update on Crypto in 401k. Fun Segments = FinTok Clips, Tales From Texas, Acrosin, and The 100% Credible and Trustworthy Wheel of Ice.

Topics to include: Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) wants Congress to mandate lifetime income in 401k (really bro?), a deep look at 408b2 & 404a5, Fi360 (now Broadridge) vs RPAG vs Morningstar, How much money are Recordkeepers and Advisors making? a review of PLANADVISER's Adviser Value Survey, Fintok, Texas Tips and more....

Jason Wenk joined as the featured guest on Retireholics.

Topics include: Aaron Schumm and Vestwell raise 365 million, SEC backs new $300 gift limit for Advisors, Fred Barstein thinks 401k plans are an illusion, Altruist's Ai platform Hazel is making big waves in wealth management.

For those that don't know Jason is the real deal... the firm (Altruist) he founded is a disruptor custodian competing with the likes of Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, and Pershing. In 2025 Altruist was valued at approximately 2 Billion dollars!

Topics we pulled from the 401k rags:

We will be breaking down Radish and how it’s reshaping tax advantaged employee incentive plans. Digging into Basic Capital’s $25M raise and what it signals for VC backed recordkeeper disruption. Unpacking leadership changes at Ubiquity with James Hobson stepping in as CEO. We’ll also demystify the NAPA Black Book, what it is and why advisors care. Taking a look at Otto, the new AI assistant debuting at RPAG to support retirement plan advisors. A fast paced episode packed with insights, innovation and industry intel.

Topics we're pulling from the 401k rags:

🔥401GO just locked in a $33M series B what this means for advisors and platforms.💡BNY Mellon is stepping up with contributions to employees’ Trump accounts. 🏆 Proven strategies to ace the finalist presentation and close more 401(k) plans?

Pentegra “boogeyman” settlement finally gets the green light, Trump Accounts roll out with bold promises for newborn savers, and a surprising study suggests retirees may be heading toward a 2.1% withdrawal rate—whether they mean to or not. Plus, fresh data shows investors growing frustrated with disappointing Target Date Funds.