Veratis Advisors, Inc. – Reputation Is Earned

Firm Overview

Veratis Advisors is an independent and established boutique advisory firm specializing in two retirement practice areas - Corporate Retirement Plans and Personal Wealth. The firm was established in 2001 and has become known for a level of quality, progressiveness and client involvement that is unique in the retirement advisory industry.

“The firm’s client-focused culture is the
foundation of everything we do.”

Steve Simpson,
Managing Partner

Firm Culture

In the retirement industry, there are far too many examples of firms saying the right things in sales meetings, but then illustrating over time that their top priorities are misaligned with the best interests of clients.

Compensation is a powerful driver of behavior in our industry.

At Veratis, we run a business, but our “why” is broader than driving up firm revenue and profits, which is the reason we place such an emphasis on the factors that add the most value for our clients. A greater focus on selling might benefit the firm over the short term, but maintaining our focus on clients will benefit us both over the long term.

Practice Areas

We understand that clients are optimally served by specialists who think and work collaboratively. As a result, the advisors in our two practice areas are fully dedicated to either corporate retirement plans or individual wealth clients, but our teams work closely together when innovating and solving problems for clients. In fact, it has been the more complete perspective achieved through the interaction of our teams that has helped us create some the firm’s strongest and most unique solutions. For more information, click one of the options to the right.

Practice Areas

We understand that clients are optimally served by specialists who think and work collaboratively. As a result, the advisors in our two practice areas are fully dedicated to either corporate retirement plans or individual wealth clients, but our teams work closely together when innovating and solving problems for clients. In fact, it has been the more complete perspective achieved through the interaction of our teams that has helped us create some the firm’s strongest and most unique solutions. For more information, click one of the options below.

Corporate Retirement Plans

Veratis is redefining what it means to be a retirement plan advisor. In fact, this title is used far too loosely by investment or plan design consultants who change their titles to broaden their appeal, which is misleading.

Our retirement plan advisory team has breadth of knowledge and practical experience with each component of retirement plans. In other words, we are a full-scope firm, but we achieve this with stronger than average consultants instead of piecing together teams with siloed individuals whose collective billing rates will increase revenue for the firm.

Our approach is more efficient and effective, and it leads to better outcomes for plan sponsors who have a passion for maximizing the quality of this important benefit for their team members.

Corporate Retirement Plans

Veratis is redefining what it means to be a retirement plan advisor. In fact, this title is used far too loosely by investment or plan design consultants who change their titles to broaden their appeal, which is misleading.

Our retirement plan advisory team has breadth of knowledge and practical experience with each component of retirement plans. In other words, we are a full-scope firm, but we achieve this with stronger than average consultants instead of piecing together teams with siloed individuals whose collective billing rates will increase revenue for the firm.

Our approach is more efficient and effective, and it leads to better outcomes for plan sponsors who have a passion for maximizing the quality of this important benefit for their team members.

Personal Wealth

It can be difficult for clients to initially differentiate wealth advisors or the companies they work for. However, with additional due diligence, the significant differences that exist in firm structures, people, and solutions become more apparent. Examples include 1) the degree to which firm and client priorities align, 2) the technical knowledge of advisors, 3) the quality of work in each phase of the wealth planning process, and 4) the impact of the firm and fee structure on advice and performance.

Our wealth advisors have extensive financial planning knowledge, but they also serve on the Veratis Investment Committee responsible for selecting and monitoring investments used with both personal wealth and large corporate clients. This structure is unique since wealth advisors rarely have deep knowledge in both financial planning and institutional investing.

Our goal is to deliver this uncommon strength to personal clients who are a good fit - at a fee that is below industry norms.

Asset Allocation Solutions

As a firm, we recognize that allocation has the largest influence on investment returns. For this reason, we devote a significant amount of time and resources to our custom asset allocation strategies, and we consistently receive feedback from clients and industry professionals that we are unique in this area.

For corporate clients, we create custom target date or target risk portfolios, and the structure of these solutions 1) helps to offset the “cons” of fund company solutions, 2) increases participant suitability, 3) improves retirement outcomes, and 4) reduces fiduciary liability. For our personal wealth clients, we have developed a highly innovative strategy that helps to reduce investor anxiety and improve allocation accuracy before and after retirement.

Institutional Investment Process

At Veratis, the investment success we have achieved for corporate and personal clients over the years is a result of an intentional focus on people, process and mindset. Specifically, our Investment Committee includes talented people who work well collaboratively. Our process is highly fundamental, thorough and built to guide our Committee toward better decisions. And last, our team is patient, disciplined and consistently aware of the emotional influences that often lead to reactive decisions and less favorable outcomes.

As industry insiders, we encourage prospective clients to ask more detailed investment questions when interviewing firms. A common misconception is that larger firms have similar investment processes. In reality, this assumption is meaningfully off target, which is the reason prospective clients should take the time to identify issues up front instead of experiencing the negative outcomes of a weak process down the road.

Firm Leadership

Our firm’s client-focused culture is clearly illustrated in our team building, where we prioritize hiring great people over filling seats. After all, we are a professional service firm, and our people must possess a strong desire to serve others, continue to learn, and work collaboratively with each other and with clients.

Our leadership team plays a vital role in establishing the firm’s strategy and ensuring that we have the team to meet the higher standards Veratis has become known for. Information for each leader is provided below.

Firm Leadership

Our firm’s client-focused culture is clearly illustrated in our team building, where we prioritize hiring great people over filling seats. After all, we are a professional service firm, and our people must possess a strong desire to serve others, continue to learn, and work collaboratively with each other and with clients.

Our leadership team plays a vital role in establishing the firm’s strategy and ensuring that we have the team to meet the higher standards Veratis has become known for. Information for each leader is provided below.

Steve Simpson

Steve Simpson

Managing Partner and Retirement Plan Consultant

Title: Managing Partner, Retirement Plan Consultant

Firm Roles: Member of Veratis’ Investment and Leadership Committees

Area of Focus: Advising corporate retirement plan clients with a focus on investment oversight, governance structures, employee education strategies, provider selection and plan design.

Background: Steve co-founded Veratis in 2001 and has exclusively focused on defined contribution retirement plans since 1999. He received his B.S.B.A. in Finance with a concentration in asset management from East Carolina University.

Peggy Brinn

Peggy Brinn

Partner and Data Management Director

Title: Partner and Data Management Director

Firm Roles: Member of Veratis’ Leadership Committee

Area of Focus: Managing the firm’s investment database and institutional client reporting process.

Background: Peggy co-founded Veratis in 2001 after serving as a data management specialist with a prior advisory firm. Before entering the retirement industry in the 1998, she was a software trainer. Peggy is a graduate of Meredith College and East Carolina University.

Trinette Ray, CEBS, CMS

Trinette Ray, CEBS, CMS

Retirement Plan Consultant

Title: Retirement Plan Consultant

Firm Roles: Member of Veratis’ Leadership Committee

Area of Focus: Advising corporate retirement plan clients with a focus on plan operations, compliance, plan design, and provider selection.

Background: Trinette has over 30 years of industry experience in qualified and nonqualified retirement plans. She has completed the coursework for the Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) designation through ASPPA and is currently working toward the Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA) designation. Trinette has also earned the professional designations of Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) and Compensation Management Specialist (CMS) from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill.

Steve D'Agostino, CFP®

Steve D'Agostino, CFP®

Partner and Wealth Advisor

Title: Partner and Wealth Advisor

Firm Roles: Member of Veratis’ Investment and Leadership Committees

Area of Focus: Advising personal wealth clients with more complex situations that require in-depth investment, tax, retirement, and estate planning.

Background: Steve received his B.S.B.A. in Finance from UNC Wilmington and completed Wake Forest University’s CFP® program in 2018. He has been in the retirement industry since 2003 and led the firm’s investment research efforts prior to transitioning to a wealth advisory role in 2015.

Jason W. Carter, CFP®

Jason W. Carter, CFP®

Partner and Wealth Advisor

Title: Partner and Wealth Advisor

Firm Roles: Member of Veratis’ Investment and Leadership Committees

Area of Focus: Advising personal wealth clients with more complex situations that require in-depth investment, tax, retirement, and estate planning.

Background: Jason received his B.A. in Spanish Literature and Economics from Wake Forest University and completed Duke University’s Executive CFP® program in 2010. He is also an active program participant in CFA Institute’s CFA program.

Bryce Kain

Bryce Kain

Partner and Investment Research Director

Title: Partner and Investment Research Director

Firm Roles: Member of Veratis’ Investment and Leadership Committees

Area of Focus: Overseeing the firm’s investment research processes for fund selection and portfolio construction.

Background: Bryce received his B.S.B.A. in Finance from North Carolina State University. He joined Veratis in 2011 as an investment analyst and was promoted to his current role as the firm’s Investment Research Director in 2015.

Steve Simpson