Tom Bergh
Tom Bergh is a member of the Probate and Trust Law, Taxation, and Business Law sections
of the State Bar of Michigan. He is a member of the Closely-Held Business and Employee
Benefits committees of the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association,
and is also active with the Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section. He is
currently president of the Financial and Estate Planning Council of Detroit. He
is also an adjunct professor of law for the Thomas Cooley Law School at the Oakland
University campus. Bergh graduated with a B.S. in Biology from the University of
Michigan and received his J.D. and a Masters of Law in Taxation from Wayne State
University. Bergh focuses on estate and business planning with particular emphasis
on qualified plan and IRA issues. He has considerable experience in asset protection
planning, ERISA and probate litigation, and business formation, sales, and acquisitions.
Brian Lakkides is president
of Corporate Plan Administrators, a fiduciary consulting and compliance 401(k) and
retirement plan administrator service. An Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF),
Lakkides specializes in design, implementation and administration of open architecture,
defined contribution retirement plans. He has special expertise in the area of fiduciary
responsibilities under ERISA. With the rise of class-action lawsuits against well-known
plan sponsor companies and plan service providers, Lakkides’ insights will
be helpful to financial advisors and CPAs who are dealing with company retirement
plans. Lakkides is also well-versed in recent court actions related to vacating
the Broker-Dealer exemption and its implications for the investment advisor industry.
Ted Lakkides is director of
the Workplace Financial Literacy division of the Michigan Council on Economic Education
(MCEE). MCEE is a non-profit organization that promotes economic and personal financial
literacy. Lakkides is a Certified Financial Planner, Register Investment Advisor
with the Michigan Securities and Exchange Commission, licensed broker/dealer with
the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and a Securities Principal
with Triad Advisors, Inc. He is founder and director of Cygnet Financial Planning,
Inc., an independent company that specializes in comprehensive financial planning.
Lakkides received a degree in Business/Economics from Ohio State University.
Lawrence Raymond is president
of the Alliance Benefit Group of Michigan in Bingham Farms and was recently appointed
President of the Board for the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU).
Alliance Benefit Group of Michigan is a pension administration and consulting firm
that specializes in the design, installing, administering and investing for qualified
and non-qualified retirement plans, primarily for closely held businesses. With
more than 30 years experience, Raymond has won numerous awards, including the 2006
E. H. Meyers Jr. Memorial Award for outstanding service to the Michigan life insurance
industry. Raymond earned a B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Michigan and holds
a number of professional certifications, including Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU),
Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) and Chartered
Financial Consultant (ChFC).
Don Trone, AIFA®, is president
of the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies which operates in association with the University
of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business. In 2007, he was named as
one of the 50 most influential people in the retirement industry, and one of the
eight most influential people in the financial planning profession. In 2003, Trone
was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Labor to be the sole representative from
the investment counseling industry on the ERISA Advisory Council. He is the co-author
of two industry bestsellers, Procedural Prudence and The Management
of Investment Decisions, and led the development of the Prudent Practices
for Investment Fiduciaries handbook series. Trone received his Master’s
degree in Financial Services from the American College and is the 1997 recipient
of the U.S. Coast Guard Alumni Medal of Achievement for his distinguished military
and business career.