PRESS RELEASE
September 13, 2022
For Immediate Release
Ann Slotwinski
Executive Director, The Cerrado Group
THE CERRADO GROUP HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING – FOCUSES ON FUTURE INITIATIVES
NATIONAL – The Cerrado Group held its annual meeting in San Diego from August 24th to 26th. During their time together the member firms had discussions about future initiatives related to efficiencies, cementing their brand in the marketplace, staff training and new product offerings. A significant amount of was spent discussing their ongoing Cybersecurity initiative. All member firms will undergo an independent audit and meet all DOL/NIST guidelines by the end of 2023.
In addition, they hired Business Health to collect and review data specific to the Cerrado Group member firms. Business Health is a consulting firm based in Australia which specializes in advising smaller, independently owned businesses on how to run a more efficient, profitable and valuable practice. They have a long and valued relationship with the Cerrado Group member firms and are continuing the business partnership to help them position for sustained success in a fast changing and increasingly commoditized marketplace.
“We continue to be impressed by the commitment of the Cerrado Group members to strive for operational excellence” says Rod Bertino, Owner of Business Health. The Cerrado Group is working to understand how their businesses compare to their industry peers and that includes conducting a comprehensive benchmarking analysis for each of the individual firms and by aggregating this data to provide a consolidated summary at the Cerrado Group level. The insights drawn from this initiative have delivered a unique new perspective to the planning process and provided a set of tangible business metrics that can be used to measure business improvement.
As part of their commitment to providing the best possible working environment, each of the Cerrado Group firms recently worked with Business Health to confidentially and anonymously survey all of their staff. Armed with this feedback, the firms are now able to review and enhance their employee value proposition and deliver stronger results for all their staff, the clients, and the business. This continues to be of great importance as the demand for quality employees is at an all-time high.
“We remain passionate about helping TPAs build stronger, profitable and sustainable businesses. We share the Cerrado Groups excitement for the future and we are looking forward to helping the group make truly informed business decisions” says Rod Bertino.
In addition to member firms, there were eleven recordkeeping partners were in attendance to show their continued support of the group and to work with the members on expanding the groups presence and position in the industry. The Cerrado Group had sponsors from the following recordkeeping partners: American Funds/Capital Group, CUNA Mutual Group, John Hancock, Lincoln Financial, Nationwide, Principal, Securian, The Standard, Transamerica, T. Rowe Price, and Voya.
About the Cerrado Group:
The Cerrado Group was founded by Nine of the nation’s preeminent Third Party Administrator (TPA) consulting firms, this member only, 501(c)(6) Trade Association was established to offer an entirely new approach to the highly-specialized work of retirement plan design, reporting, compliance, administration, and industry education. The Cerrado Group members, while remaining independent regional operators, actively combine their vast resources to fully serve the retirement plan industry at large.
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For more information, contact:
Ann Slotwinski, Executive Director of The Cerrado Group
808-209-0301
