Speaking & Education

Institutional Education for Advisors, Trustees, and Investment Committees

Fiduciary Governance Advisors (FGA) provides governance-focused education designed for advisors, trustees, fiduciary officers, and investment committees responsible for overseeing default investments and Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIAs) within defined contribution retirement plans.

These engagements are built to clarify fiduciary roles, surface the assumptions and trade-offs embedded within target-date fund structures, and strengthen the documentation and oversight processes that sit behind default investment decisions. The emphasis is not on product comparison, market forecasts, or manager selection, but on helping fiduciaries understand how default investment systems operate and how governance can be structured as a repeatable, defensible process aligned with plan objectives.

All sessions are educational in nature. FGA does not provide investment recommendations, asset management services, or legal advice.

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What These Sessions Are — and Are Not

What We Provide

  • Governance-focused education on default investments and QDIA oversight

  • Structured frameworks for committee discussion and documentation

  • Fiduciary context for glide path design, risk prioritization, and portfolio construction

  • Practical guidance on monitoring, escalation triggers, and review cadence

  • Neutral facilitation of governance conversations among advisors, trustees, and committees

What We Do Not Provide

  • Investment recommendations or fund selection

  • Asset allocation advice for specific plans

  • Legal opinions or ERISA compliance determinations

  • Performance marketing or product due diligence

This separation allows FGA’s work to complement, rather than compete with, the roles of plan advisors, legal counsel, and investment providers.

Core Education Formats

Committee & Trustee Education

Designed for plan fiduciaries who are responsible for overseeing default investments as part of an ongoing governance process.

Typical objectives include:

  • Clarifying fiduciary responsibilities related to QDIA oversight

  • Understanding how glide paths embed capital market assumptions and risk trade-offs

  • Identifying where and how managers exercise discretion

  • Establishing documentation standards for default investment reviews

  • Defining governance triggers for deeper review or escalation

Sessions can be delivered as standalone briefings or integrated into regular committee or board meetings.

Advisor & Trust Company Training

Designed for advisors, fiduciary officers, and trust professionals who support plan sponsors and investment committees.

Typical objectives include:

  • Framing default investment oversight as a governance discipline

  • Aligning advisor processes with committee documentation needs

  • Understanding how regulatory and litigation trends affect default investment review standards

  • Building governance narratives that complement investment due diligence

These sessions are commonly used for internal professional development or as part of client-facing education programs.

Fiduciary Workshops & Governance Forums

Longer-form, interactive sessions intended for groups seeking a structured approach to default investment governance.

Typical elements include:

  • Governance framework walkthroughs

  • Case-based discussion of target-date fund design and oversight challenges

  • Documentation exercises and committee scenario analysis

  • Open discussion of advisor–trustee–committee role boundaries

Workshops can be delivered in person or virtually and tailored to the experience level and responsibilities of the audience.

Signature Topics

Engagements are built around governance-focused modules that can be combined or customized based on audience, format, and objectives.

Common topics include:

  • Ten Questions Every Fiduciary Should Ask About Their Default Investment
    A governance framework for structuring committee oversight of target-date funds and QDIAs.

  • Inside the Glide Path
    How capital market assumptions, risk prioritization, and portfolio construction choices shape participant outcomes.

  • Discretion, Structure, and Oversight
    Understanding where managers exercise judgment within default investment solutions.

  • Fees in a Governance Context
    Evaluating fee reasonableness in relation to services, structure, and fiduciary objectives.

  • From Selection to Stewardship
    How litigation, regulation, and industry practice are reshaping default investment oversight.

  • Documentation as a Fiduciary Tool
    Building repeatable, defensible records of committee process and decision-making.

Delivery Formats

  • In-person presentations

  • Virtual sessions

  • Half-day or full-day workshops

  • Board and committee briefings

  • Advisor and trust company internal training

Each engagement is scoped in advance to align content, format, and time requirements with the needs of the audience.

How This Work Fits Within FGA’s Governance Platform

Speaking and education engagements are designed to stand alone or to complement FGA’s Default Investment Governance Suite.

For committees and advisors seeking deeper, plan-specific analysis, educational sessions can serve as a foundation for more structured governance diagnostics and framework development. For others, education alone provides a neutral, low-friction way to strengthen fiduciary understanding and documentation practices without reopening fund selection or investment lineup decisions.

Engagement Scope & Professional Boundaries

All FGA education engagements are provided on a project basis and governed by a written scope of work.

FGA does not:

  • Provide individualized investment advice

  • Recommend specific funds or managers

  • Serve as an investment fiduciary to plan assets

  • Provide legal or regulatory opinions

Participants are encouraged to consult their plan advisors and legal counsel for plan-specific recommendations and compliance guidance.

About the Presenter

Brian J. Leite, DrBA, CFA, CFP, CPFA, CEBS
Founder, Fiduciary Governance Advisors

Dr. Leite is an academic department chair and independent consultant specializing in fiduciary governance of default investments in defined contribution retirement plans. His work focuses on the intersection of investment structure, risk alignment, and fiduciary documentation practices, with particular emphasis on target-date fund design and QDIA oversight.

He has published academic and practitioner-oriented articles on retirement plan governance, investment risk, and participant outcomes, and regularly speaks to advisors, trustees, and committees on the evolving standards of fiduciary oversight.

Requesting an Engagement

To discuss a speaking or education engagement, please contact:

Fiduciary Governance Advisors
📞 (401) 740-4007
✉️info@fiduciarygovernanceadvisors.com

All inquiries are handled directly and scoped individually based on audience, format, and objectives.

This page is intended to describe the educational and governance-focused nature of FGA’s services. It does not constitute an offer of investment advice, asset management, or legal services.

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