Argent Retirement Plan Advisors is honored to announce its Investor Advisor Certification from the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence, LLC (CEFEX). The certification, which can be viewed at www.cefex.org, is granted by CEFEX only to investment advisory firms and financial service providers that demonstrate conformity to a recognized global standard of fiduciary excellence.
To earn CEFEX certification, Argent underwent a rigorous, multi-month audit and certification process guided by “Prudent Practices® for Investment Advisors,” an industry-recognized handbook grounded in law, regulation and professional best practices. The standard describes how an investment advisor assumes the responsibility for managing a client’s overall investment management process, which includes the selection, monitoring, and removal of funds, as well as developing processes to implement investment strategies and fiduciary processes.
“CEFEX is pleased to add Argent Retirement Plan Advisors to an elite group of investment advisors who have demonstrated adherence to professional practices that define a standard of fiduciary excellence,” said CEFEX Managing Director Carlos Panksep. “They have earned the right to use the CEFEX Mark which indicates the firm’s established practices are aligned with investors’ interests and worthy of trust and confidence.”
“In serving our client base, Argent Retirement Plan Advisor’s mission has focused on providing clients a suite of services to aid the sponsorship and governance of their retirement benefits using unbiased guidance and transparency,” said Chris Shankle, managing director of Argent Retirement Plan Advisors. “We applied for CEFEX certification because our retirement plan clients deserve proof of fiduciary process and transparency about the quality of their investments. It’s also necessary in today’s world, as ‘fiduciary’ can be a confusing word. Passing this strict audit certifies that we work in their best interest as prudent plan fiduciaries and provide effective stewardship of their assets.”
CEFEX certification standards are substantiated by legislation, case law and regulatory opinion letters from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA), the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) and the Uniform Management of Public Employee Retirement Systems Act (UMPERSA) in the U.S. A full copy of the standard can be downloaded from CEFEX at www.cefex.org and the certificate and assessment results can be viewed by clicking on the “Registration” tab and searching for Argent Retirement Plan Advisors.
About CEFEX®
CEFEX®, Centre for Fiduciary Excellence, LLC, a Fi360® company, is an independent certification organization. CEFEX works closely with industry experts to provide comprehensive assessment programs to improve the fiduciary practices of investment stewards, advisors, recordkeepers, administrators and managers. CEFEX is based in Pittsburgh, PA. Learn more at www.cefex.org via Twitter or on LinkedIn.
About Argent Retirement Plan Advisors
Argent Retirement Plan Advisors, part of the Argent Financial Group family of companies, offers investment and fiduciary services exclusively to sponsors of retirement plans. Since 2008, Argent has been providing plan sponsors with unbiased advice and transparency with the goal of improving participant outcomes. For more information, visit www.argent401k.com.
About Argent Financial Group
Argent Financial Group (AFG) is a leading independent fiduciary wealth management firm. Responsible for more than $21 billion in client assets, AFG provides individuals, families, institutions and businesses with a broad range of wealth management services including trust administration and related services, investment management, family office services, retirement plan and charitable organization administration, mineral (oil and gas) management, and financial, retirement and estate planning. The company was also recently named for the second year in a row to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. AFG is the only financial services company in Louisiana to make the prestigious list. For more information, visit www.argentcares.com.
