For over 20 years, we’ve worked with some of the most sophisticated sponsors and complex plans in the country.
WE’RE ON A MISSION
Plan sponsors face significant challenges today, beyond simply helping participants fund their retirements. Constrained budgets, scrutiny on fiduciary process, scrutiny on costs, widespread litigation – the list goes on.
In two decades of working in institutional retirement, we’d seen how the consulting industry could do better. We built Vergence Partners specifically to overcome those shortcomings and help plan sponsors to meet their challenges head-on.
OUR OBJECTIVES
When we established Vergence Partners, we developed key objectives that would become the basic building blocks of our business.
BRING EXPERIENCE TO BEAR. Sponsors get the benefit of our entire experience in every interaction.
The partners each have over 20 years of direct experience covering virtually every aspect of institutional retirement plans: as an innovative plan sponsor in the treasury group of a major corporation and as a participant educator; as recordkeepers and managed account pioneers; as investment analysts and consultants. This combination of perspective and experience allows us to foresee and avoid potential problems and develop creative, workable solutions.
ELIMINATE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. We’re specialists, without conflict or distraction.
We carefully avoid any activity that could potentially conflict with the interests of plan sponsors. We don’t have overlapping lines of business, like investment management or retail wealth management.
DELIVER TRULY INSTITUTIONAL CAPABILITIES. Running a successful plan is inherently complex. It can’t be made simple. It can be made clear.
The partners have spent the last two decades working with institutional retirement sponsors, including some of the country's largest plans. Our processes, our tools, and the materials we deliver flow from that experience and are designed specifically to meet the demands of sophisticated plan sponsors.
COMMIT TO PERSONAL SERVICE. We get satisfaction from doing what’s right for our clients; it’s why we’re in business.
Every aspect of our service is delivered by the partners, from investment reviews to investment due diligence to coordination with other providers. We don’t depend on junior personnel. We want to be an integral, trusted extension of the investment committees we serve.
CHARGE REASONABLE FEES. You’ve designed your business to be efficient. So have we.
We provide sponsors access to our institutional experience, knowledge, and advice at a reasonable cost. Sponsors select only the services they require and pay for those services through a flat fee expressed in dollar terms.
The Partners
We guide retirement plan sponsors through matters concerning investment manager selection and monitoring, plan design, vendor selection and management, and fiduciary governance. We’re dedicated to providing the support our clients need to design, implement, and monitor competitive retirement plan benefits.
TOM DOUGLAS, AIF® | PARTNER
Over a 20+ year career in institutional retirement and investments, Tom has established specializations in investment research, fiduciary process, and participant behavior.
His early work as a participant educator and representative was formative: Tom spoke with and presented to thousands of plan participants, gaining a unique insight into participant behavior and real-world concerns. Exposure to the needs of average savers drove him to help develop one of the first 401(k) participant advisory services in the country. It also fixed his career’s focus firmly on participant success.
For over a decade, Tom was responsible for investment research and due diligence for one of the largest institutional retirement platforms in the nation. He is fortunate to have built partnerships with incredibly capable and motivated investment committees of all types.
Tom is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® and holds a Series 65 license. He’s also a sailor and fisherman, and he avoids golf like the plague.
JAY YOUNG, CFA®, CMA®, CTP | PARTNER
Jay has worked with some of the largest and most complex plans in the country. He has experience from multiple perspectives, including plan sponsor, recordkeeper, and consultant.
Jay was part of a team that won recognition from Plan Sponsor Magazine and Treasury & Risk Management Magazine for innovative plan design. This design included one of the first participant advice offerings, and Jay later joined the provider to continue to advance the concept of participant advice. His areas of expertise include investment analysis and due diligence, as well as plan design.
Jay is a Chartered Financial Analyst®, Certified Treasury Professional, and Certified Management Accountant. In addition, he holds an MBA and an MS in Financial Planning.
Outside of Vergence Partners, Jay has interests in real estate, college basketball, and fishing.
Important Information
OUR PRIVACY POLICY
How we treat the information which clients entrust to us is critical to our reputation. Our privacy policy is designed to keep that reputation intact.
OUR FEES
To comply with the laws of the State of Massachusetts and in the spirit of transparency, we provide clients and potential clients with a Table of Fees for Services. Note that fees are negotiable and more comprehensive information can be found in our Form ADV Part 2A.
Please contact us with any questions regarding our Code of Ethics or Privacy Policy. We’re also happy to discuss our compliance and disaster recovery policies.