Kelly, Compass Financial Partners Win 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award

The advisory team at Compass Financial Partners in Greensboro, NC, represented by Kathleen A. Kelly, CRPS®, AIFA®, has won the 2014 NAPA 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award. Kelly, a Founding and Managing Partner of Compass, received the award on behalf of the team during a session of the NAPA 401(k) Summit in New Orleans on March 24.

Now in its seventh year, the 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award recognizes a leading financial advisor or team for contributions that exemplify leadership, experience, and expertise in the retirement plan industry. The award reflects the multi-faceted efforts of advisors to serve their clients (plan sponsors and participants), act as a mentor, maintain high ethical standards, and consistently improve their practices and services in the retirement industry.

Kelly and her team are no strangers to the spotlight. Since 2002, they have been featured in more than 15 nationally recognized publications and honors, including 401kWire’s 2011 300 Most Influential Advisors in Defined Contribution* , PLANADVISER’s 2013 and 2014 Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisers**, Pension & Investments 2013 Top Consultants listing***, and were a semi-finalist for last year’s Leadership Award.

In 2013 Kelly and her team began implementing “Worksite Financial Solutions”, (“WFS”) a revolutionary new way to provide individualized financial guidance to participants. The program allows Compass to have unique conversations with plan sponsors that differentiate their practice and showcase the way they can work with participants holistically to improve retirement readiness. Today, Compass is in the process of implementing WFS throughout their book of business where available, as well as launching participant programs that focus on maximizing participant outcomes

Kelly commented, “We are both honored and humbled to receive this recognition. We regard this Award from NAPA as an honor that demonstrates our leadership in the retirement plan industry, and are proud that so many companies have selected to partner with us as their independent retirement plan consultant. We believe that this is a critical time for Americans in their quest to retire, many of whom need strong financial help and advice now more than ever before. It is a privilege and a responsibility for us as a firm, and as an industry, to provide that help."

About Compass Financial Partners, LLC

Compass Financial Partners provides independent, objective retirement plan consulting and investment advisory services to plan sponsors across the United States. From recordkeeper search and selection and vendor fee benchmarking; to investment due diligence and employee communications, Compass Financial Partners’ process-driven suite of fiduciary services provides the resources necessary to help employers work towards successful retirement plan programs. Founded with a vision to offer high-quality consulting services independent of the service provider, Compass Financial Partners is based in Greensboro, N.C. For more information, visit www.CompassFP.com.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA), is the nation's largest independent broker-dealer (based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2013), a top RIA custodian and an independent consultant to retirement plans. LPL Financial offers proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to more than 13,400 financial advisors and approximately 700 financial institutions. In addition, LPL Financial supports more than 4,600 financial advisors licensed with insurance companies by providing customized clearing, advisory platforms and technology solutions. LPL Financial and its affiliates have approximately 3,000 employees with primary offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego. For more information, please visit www.lpl.com.

About NAPA

The National Association of Plan Advisors is a sister organization of ASPPA created by and for retirement plan advisors. The primary goal is further the interests of retirement plan advisors and those who support them in a number of ways, including advocacy, conferences, education, research and media like NAPA Net, the NAPA Net Daily, and now NAPA Net the Magazine. While the financial services industry is well represented in Washington by a number of trade associations that weigh in on issues affecting advisors, NAPA is the only advocacy group exclusively focused on the issues that matter to retirement plan advisors.

*According to 401kWire, this ranking is based on nominations from across the financial services industry as well as from their editorial staff. The final list was based on more than 120,000 reader votes in 2011 as well as input from distributors working with the advisors, honorees of last year’s 401kWire Top 40 Advisors ranking, and an analysis of objective criteria including statistics about the advisors' practices which was obtained directly from all of the nominated advisors.

**The advisers listed here are taken from entries for the 2013/2014 PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Adviser and Adviser Team of the Year awards. To enter the awards process, nominees must complete a form providing various details of their practice. The PLANADVISER Top 100 is based solely on quantitative factors.

***P&I's consultant survey focuses on firms providing investment management consulting services. The assets under advisement are tracked for total clients worldwide, institutional clients and U.S. institutional, tax-exempt clients, as of June 30. Retainer and non-retainer clients may be counted in the AUA

Worksite Financial Solutions is offered through LPL Financial; Kathleen Kelly is a Registered Representative and Investment Advisor Representative with LPL Financial.

Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC