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Consent to Nomination for SPARK Advisor AwardWe are pleased to inform you that the following has been nominated for the SPARK Institute Advisor Award Program.[INSERT NAME OF NOMINEE] (“Nominee”)The SPARK Award Program recognizes leadership and innovation in the plan advisor community. The award winner will be announced in November at the SPARK Forum. The SPARK Advisor Award Program is composed of two awards:SPARK Award in Investment Innovation – for advisors who demonstrate leadership in designing, developing and delivering investments within defined contribution plans that foster investment diversification, manage fees, and drive better participant outcomes, whether in the accumulation or withdrawal phases of retirement planning.SPARK Award in Plan Design and Administration Innovation – for advisors who demonstrate leadership in designing plans and administrative processes that improve participant outcomes while managing plan costs.All nominees must have the approval of his or her firm to participate in the Award Program, and must agree to accept the award if selected as the winner.Each Advisor Award comes with the following benefits:The winner will become part of an advisor board that will provide perspectives of the advisor community to the SPARK organization.The winner will receive free conference registration in perpetuity to the SPARK Forum (and, if allowed by the advisor’s firm, may receive a free hotel room for the year of the award or the year of the winner’s presentation). If more than one advisor from a winning team attends the Forum, SPARK may offer free conference registration to more than one member of the winning team.The winner along with the nominating firm will lead a general session at the Forum the year after the winners are announced. The session may be designed by nominating firm and the advisor. The winner will have an interview that will be printed in the SPARK Journal in the first edition after the winners are announced.The winner will have a profile published on the SPARK Institute website for the entire year until the next winner is announced.The winner will receive a plaque commemorating the award.The winner will be asked to participate in planning advisor-centric topics for upcoming SPARK events. The winner will have the opportunity to serve as the host for an advisor dinner at the next SPARK conference.LEGAL CONSIDERATIONSNominees and their firms should take into consideration the following:The SPARK Institute does not believe that the receipt of the benefits of the Advisor Award Program will violate FINRA’s compensation and gift rules, and the relevant provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as long as such receipt conforms to any compliance policies and procedures in place at an advisor’s broker-dealer or investment adviser firm (“Firm”). Nonetheless, as a matter of good compliance, the SPARK Institute believes:Any award granted to an advisor should be made with the full consent of the award recipient’s Firm. This will allow the Firm to review any award under its policies and procedures and allow for proper recordkeeping prior to the grant of any such award. Any written material prepared by or distributed by an advisor in connection with an advisor’s appearance at the SPARK Forum, should be reviewed and approved by that advisor’s Firm prior to use. Likewise, the advisor’s profile that is published on SPARK’s website should be reviewed and approved by the advisor’s Firm prior to any such publication. The SPARK Institute will work with the winner and his/her Firm to accommodate reasonable requests.For those advisors that serve as fiduciaries to ERISA-governed plans, the SPARK Institute believes that receipt of the award, and its associated benefits, will not violate ERISA. Upon request, the SPARK Institute will provide winners with information regarding the value of the benefits of the award. Winners and their firms should consider whether, as best practice, it may be appropriate to disclose these benefits to ERISA clients for purposes of Schedule C of Form 5500 and/or Department of Labor rules under ERISA section 408(b)(2). Note: While the SPARK Institute’s counsel has reviewed the foregoing, nominees and their Firms should come to an independent conclusion in consultation with counsel.CONSENT OF NOMINEEBy signing this consent, the undersigned Nominee agrees as follows:I am in good standing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and/or state securities and insurance regulators, as applicable, and have no pending disciplinary actions with such regulators.I will accept the SPARK Institute Advisor Award if I am the winner.I have the consent of my firm to accept the award.I have not relied on the SPARK Institute regarding the implications of accepting the award under any federal or state law, including but not limited to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code, or the rules of FINRA.NOMINEE (if team has been nominated, please provide signature for each team member):__________________________________________________NomineeDateCONSENT OF NOMINEE’S FIRMBy signing this consent, the undersigned Nominee’s firm (“Firm”) agrees as follows:The Nominee has the Firm’s consent to accept the award.To the knowledge of the Firm, the Nominee is in good standing with the SEC, FINRA, and/or state securities and insurance regulators, as applicable, and has no pending disciplinary actions with such regulators.The Firm has not relied on the SPARK Institute regarding the implications of accepting the award under any federal or state law, including but not limited to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code, or the rules of FINRA.The acceptance of the award, the benefits provided thereby, is consistent with the Firm’s policies and procedures. The Firm will alert the SPARK Institute regarding any benefit of the award that cannot be accepted under those procedures.__________________________________________________SignatureDate__________________________________________________TitleFirm Name ................
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