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The Fiduciary Focus Blog

A.J. Walker, AIF ®

With over 30 years of experience in the retirement services industry, A.J. founded Guidance Point Retirement Services, LLC to provide truly unbiased retirement plan and investment consulting services. A.J. has worked in nearly all aspects of the retirement services industry and has consulted on a wide range of retirement plan and investment topics across a number of different industry sectors. His primary focus is business development and client consulting to provide comprehensive and integrated trustee, investment, actuarial, defined benefit, defined contribution, and non-qualified retirement plan solutions.
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Recent Posts

6 Reasons Why You Should Hire A Dedicated Retirement Plan Consultant

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 27 August, 2019
Management guru Peter Drucker once said that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” In this analogy we zoom out and look at the business overall to apply his sentiment. It implies that regardless of ...
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Evaluating Plan Assets & TIAA Contracts to Reduce Expenses: A 403(b) Case Study

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 24 July, 2019
Guidance Point Retirement Services conducted a comprehensive fiduciary assessment with this client, resulting in a decrease in overall plan expenses.
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When Should I Consider A Cash Balance Plan?  The Basics, The Pros, and Cons

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 10 April, 2018
I've heard of a 401(k), 403(b) and a Pension Plan. But what's this about a Cash Balance Plan? In this article, we'll dig into defining the Cash Balance Plan basics, the pros and cons of utilizing ...
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Vanguard How America Saves - Top 3 Retirement Plan Trends

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 10 January, 2018
Our research team recently met with our dedicated Vanguard External Sales Representative, Kelly Orr. Kelly shared and discussed with our team Vanguard’s “How America Saves Study”. This report ...
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Fidelity Plan Sponsor Attitudes Survey: 5 Key Takeaways

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 08 December, 2017
Our research team recently met with our dedicated Defined Contribution Investment Only (DCIO) Fidelity Institutional Asset Management representative, Mike Manosh. Mike shared and discussed with our ...
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Strengthen Your Governance with a 403b Fiduciary Governance Checklist

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 22 February, 2017
Frequently when retirement plans are established, the ongoing governance of plan operation is not sufficiently spelled out. Failure to articulate the fiduciary governance and appropriate delegations ...
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How Much Does a 401k Plan Cost?

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 15 February, 2017
One of the first questions that companies want to know when they call one of our consultants is: "How Much Does a 401k Plan Cost?" This question poses two important realizations to senior managers of ...
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IRS 403(b) Plan Audits: Top Areas of Focus

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 02 February, 2017
Organizations that sponsor a 403(b) plan intend to manage the plan in a compliant manner, but due to the level of complexity of today's retirement plan it can be an overwhelming feat to do so. In ...
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Guidance Point Retirement Services named to Pensions & Investments 2016 Top Pension Consultants List

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 04 January, 2017
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Improving Plan Operation, Cost, & Investment Structure: A 401(k) Case Study

A.J. Walker, AIF ® 07 December, 2016
The Challenge This client had been using the services of an insurance company bundled retirement plan product for over ten years with no service or fee benchmarking over that time frame. The client ...
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