Wayne H. Miller, having served as CEO of Denali Fiduciary Management since its inception, is stepping down from that role and will hereafter serve the Company as Chairman – Emeritus. In explaining the change in his role, Miller said;
“I am pleased to look back over the past four years and see what we’ve done. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to address the management of over $100 billion in retirement assets globally. Though I always wish I could have done more, our impact on a few major companies and a few foreign governments has provided great satisfaction personally and professionally. It has also provided a concrete example of what authentic fiduciary conduct CAN be and that substance has been helpful to our customers. I am moving on to work more closely in the health care space where I have served as an Advisor to a couple of emerging technology companies. My interest in health care began many years ago with my academic focus in neurosciences. Most people know me as a finance or pension guy while my first career was actually in neuroscience research. The opportunity to work in this capacity again is simply compelling at this time. I will miss the focus on fiduciary governance but when one examines health care through a fiduciary lens – the challenges look to be very similar. Efficiency and effectiveness, the two watchwords of authentic fiduciary conduct, have been missing from health care for a very long time. The economic self interest of multiple market players has supplanted the focus on purposefulness and patient outcomes that make a difference.” Miller’s final comment; “in the final analysis, regardless of the job description we have, we measure the value of one another by what we gave – not what we receive. In this regard, if my fiduciary consulting work has made a difference I am grateful for the opportunity of having done so.”
November 2008
CEO of Denali Fiduciary Management Wayne Miller was engaged by defense counsel to serve as an expert witness in an ERISA litigation case. In the case pending in front of a New York court, Miller was asked to examine the conduct of a pension Trustee in a dispute with the pension Trust’s investment advisor. Commenting on this assignment as an expert witness, Miller said; “while I cannot divulge the details of the litigation, I am reminded that the task of serving in a fiduciary capacity on a retirement plan involves more effort, more discipline and more thoughtfulness than is typically applied to the task.”
October 2008
Wayne H. Miller, CEO of Denali Fiduciary Mgt. addressed the National Association of Corporate Directors at their annual meeting in Washington DC. The oldest and most prestigious organization dedicated to improving corporate governance practices in the US asked Miller to Chair a presentation on Board level responsibilities for the oversight of retirement plans. To a packed room, the panel of guest speakers including Gerald Czarnecki, Chair of the Audit Committee of State Farm Insurance Company’s Board of Directors and Dr. Susan Mangiero, CEO of PensionGovernance.com. The panel spoke of the urgent need for members of Boards of Directors to enhance their oversight discipline over retirement plans. Mr. Czarnecki spoke eloquently about the process of upgrading governance practices in a large institution that already thought of itself as doing a good job in the management of ERISA plans.
Dr. Mangiero spoke of the need to apply more rigorous risk management practices to pension fund management. The typical Board lack’s a deep understanding of risk management practices and this deficiency limits the Board’s ability to apply proper oversight of management. Such conditions have had and will continue to have a significant and negative impact on the average Company’s balance sheet and P&L statement. There was broad agreement amongst the attendees that until Boards take it upon themselves to improve the rigorousness of their risk management oversight, little can be expected to change. In light of what has occurred in the financial sector of the US economy this is an understatement.
June 2008
In the Fall of 2007 Wayne H. Miller, CEO of Denali Fiduciary Management was asked by staff of the US
House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee to submit his thoughts regarding coroporate
fiduciary conduct in the management of retirement plans. In his response, Miller summarizes his
thoughts the fundamental problems that must be addressed and offers some suggestions for solutions
to those problems.
The Committee has posted Miller's response which can be accessed through the following link.
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=printfriendly&id=6663
May 2008
Founder of Denali Fiduciary Management, Wayne H. Miller delivered the following speech at the national FI 360 conference held in Charlotte, NC in the beginning of May. Miller’s presentation on the Emotional Intelligence of serving in a fiduciary capacity was well received by those in attendance with more than 40 requests for reprints of the presentation which is provided below. The presentation on the theme of the emotional intelligence of serving in a fiduciary capacity examines what Miller believes is a core challenge of serving in a fiduciary capacity – self deception. According to Miller, the greatest obstacle to having fiduciaries be more efficient and effective in their work is that many fiduciary committees are engineered to operate in a manner that does not serve their primary purpose. “There are many factors which influence the structure and function of fiduciary committees and not all of these factors are related to promoting a fiduciary culture grounded in excellence”. Any factor that degrades the promotion of excellence allows mediocrity to flourish and makes it OK for learning and professional development to take a back seat to the status quo”.
Download Presentation (PowerPoint)
The presentation to the FI 360 conference was designed to be thought provoking. Later in the early part of the summer we expect to have an audio recording of the presentation available here on the website.
May 2008
Wayne H. Miller, Founder of Denali Fiduciary Management has been asked to Chair a panel at the National Association of Corporate Directors annual meeting held in October in Washington DC. The NACD is the oldest and most prestigious name in corporate governance in the United States. (see http://www.nacdonline.org/conference08/speakers.asp to see the list of who’s who in corporate governance. The topic to be addressed by the panel will be: Fiduciary Governance: the role of the Board of Director’s in the oversight of corporate retirement plans. In asking Miller to Chair the panel, the NACD is making the topic visible for the first time in the history of the organization. Miller credits the leadership of the NACD for its courage in tackling a topic that has often made corporate directors uncomfortable. Miller has asked Dr. Susan Mangiero (Founder and CEO of pensiongovernance.com.) and Gerald Czarnecki (Chairman of the Audit Committee of State Farm Insurance) to serve as fellow panelists and they have accepted.
February 2008
Denali Fiduciary Management is pleased to announce that Wayne H. Miller, CEO, has been invited to speak at the FI 360 national conference to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 8th and 9th. The topic of Mr. Miller’s talk will be “Fiduciary Evolution: From Process to Thought Process. In response to the invitation Miller stated: “FI 360 is an organization that has articulated various practices that are at the core of an investment fiduciary’s activities. Their work is highly regarded and I am pleased to be able to use the opportunity of this meeting to speak to colleagues who are genuinely concerned about fiduciary conduct in retirement plan management.”
December 2007
Denali Fiduciary Management is pleased to announce that CEO Wayne H. Miller has been appointed to the panel of international experts for CEFEX – the Center for Fiduciary Excellence. CEFEX is a sister company to the global standards certification company in North America responsible for conducting more ISO (International Standards Organization) certifications than any other organization. CEFEX was created to promulgate global standards for fiduciary excellence amongst fiduciaries, investment advisors and investment managers. CEO Miller stated “I am grateful that our work continues to capture the attention of others in the field. Having this acknowledgement from colleagues is a special kind of reward. Particularly after the World Bank conference in Cyrus, in which I was the only American, I am thoroughly convinced that those organizations that anchor their pension fund management products and services to a best fiduciary practices standard of care will establish a unique identity and capture global business for generations yet to come”.
December 2007
Denali Fiduciary Management is pleased to announce that another Asian-based Global Fortune 100 company has engaged the firm to provide fiduciary training for the North American legal, finance and HR staff responsible for the oversight of $1 Billion in US retirement assets.
November 2007
Denali Fiduciary Management is pleased to announce that Wayne H. Miller, its CEO has been invited to the World Bank’s Conference on Pension Reform in the Middle East and North Africa. The conference, to be held in Cyprus in early December 2007, will bring together government personnel from various Arab and non-Arab countries to discuss pension reform issues that are prominent in the region.
September 2007
Denali CEO, Wayne H. Miller was invited to participate in the fiduciary governance consulting assignment won by a competing consulting firm. The client, a Fortune 100 financial services institution has engaged the competing consulting firm in an exercise to review its fiduciary governance practices in the management of $10 billion of ERISA assets. CEO Miller stated “I am grateful that the principals of the consulting firm (Cortex Applied Research of Toronto) had the intellectual integrity to invite me to participate with them in this exercise. This relationship comes to us after the principals of the firm reviewed our ERISA Fiduciary Governance training program”.
June 2007
Denali CEO, Wayne Miller is pleased to announce that it has acquired a Fortune 100 $15+ billion Plan Sponsor for fiduciary training and coaching. The assignment, like most others that Denali acquires, stipulates that Denali cannot publicly disclose the name of the company.
May 2007
Denali CEO invited as lunchtime speaker at DB investment conference sponsored by Plan Sponsor magazine and the Woman’s Pension Exchange in New York City. Wayne Miller, CEO of Denali, addressed Plan Sponsors regarding what has been learned from conducting fiduciary trainings for ERISA fiduciaries responsible for the management of billions of dollars. His remarks touched upon Denali’s work on Emotional Intelligence and the challenge of serving in a fiduciary capacity.
March 2007
The American National Bank of Texas, one of the first financial institutions in the United States to offer independent fiduciary services for the DC marketplace, has trained all senior executives involved in the offering of such Trust services using Denali’s ERISA Fiduciary Governance training program. The Bank has the stated intention of standardizing its client training on Denali’s training program.
March 2007
Wayne Miller, CEO of Denali Fiduciary Management was invited to speak on fiduciary governance at the American Conference Institute’s June conference on Fiduciary Liability in Pension Benefit Plans. The conference will highlight the ever changing landscape of fiduciary liability with some of the industry’s leading personnel.
February 2007
Denali CEO Wayne H. Miller is pleased to announce that Denali Fiduciary Management has been asked by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States to respond to an RFP published by the Board. The goal of the RFP is to identify an organization that will create and deliver a training program for bank examiners as to how to audit fiduciary accounts within the banking system. In receiving the request from the Federal Reserve Miller said, "It is an unexpected honor to even be identified by the Board of Governors as an organization that should be on the list. We have been able to secure the participation of four senior partners from one of America’s largest and most prestigious law firms in this project and expect to put together a program that is commensurate with the responsibility involved. I am grateful that our work – to generate an authentic fiduciary culture wherever we go – has been recognized at this level."
February 2007
Denali Fiduciary Management is pleased to announce that CEO Wayne Miller has been invited to Dubai as a guest of the Principality. Mr. Miller, accompanied by a member of Denali’s Board of Advisors, Bennett Stewart, co-founder of Stern Stewart and CEO of EVA Dimensions, met with senior staff and management from the Department of Economic Development as well as senior executives from some of Dubai’s leading companies.
January 2007
Wayne Miller, co-founder of Denali Fiduciary Management, was interviewed by members of the General Accountability Office (GAO)the investigative arm of the US Congress. The interview was focused on Denali’s perspective on current Plan Sponsor fiduciary governance practices and proposed legislative changes that could be beneficial to the marketplace.
January 2007
Denali Fiduciary Management is pleased to announce that it has established a consulting relationship with the Department of Economic Development of the Principality of Dubai; a part of the United Arab Emirates. The relationship, consummated after more than a year of discussions, involves projects focused on corporate fiduciary conduct as well as additional economic development projects.
November 2006
Denali has been identified as preferred vendor for one of the largest ERISA fiduciary liability insurers in the United States. When Plan Sponsors have their ERISA fiduciaries trained via Denali’s on-line ERISA fiduciary governance program, the insurance carrier will take this into favorable consideration in the underwriting process for renewal of the company’s fiduciary liability policy.
October 2006
Denali Fiduciary Management has been retained by a $750MM investment manager to develop ERISA fiduciary governance training and documentation materials for use by its customers.
October 2006
Denali Fiduciary Management is pleased to announce that it has developed a third alternative to the challenge of offering company securities in a defined contribution plan. The first two alternatives, eliminating company stock as an investment option in the DC plan and hiring an independent fiduciary to manage the company stock portion of Plan assets both have limitations as to their effectiveness or expense. This third alternative, referred to as the Denali Methodology, is less dramatic and less expensive than theseexisting “solutions” in the marketplace. Furthermore, the Denali Methodology has been reviewed by leading ERISA attorneys as well as senior personnel from one of the largest ERISA fiduciary liability insurance carriers. All have attested to the viability of the strategy. HINT: The problem isn’t the company stock. For more information about the Denali Methodology contact Wayne Miller, CEO of Denali at wmiller@denalifm.com
May 9, 2006
Denali CEO addresses AICPA national conference on Employee Benefits
Denali Fiduciary Mgt. is pleased to announce that Wayne Miller, CEO, addressed the national conference of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) on the topic of ERISA Fiduciary Governance held in Baltimore on May 9th. The conference attracts the most prominent CPA firms in the country active in the ERISA plan audit industry. The Powerpoint show from Mr. Miller ’s speech can be found on the Denali website through this link.
March 30, 2006
Denali Completes ERISA Fiduciary Training of Senior Executives and Benefits Committee of Fortune 1000 Consumer Products CompanyA Fortune 1000 company ($10 billion in market cap) retained Denali to train its senior executives and Benefits Committee members on best fiduciary practices. Using the training template created for Financial Executives International, Denali was asked to return to the company for an additional training session beyond the original assignment. The training has resulted in significant shifts in the company’s governance structure and operations.
March 27, 2006
Denali Conducts ERISA Fiduciary Training for Global Fortune 100 Manufacturing Firm
Denali has completed an intensive training session for executive fiduciaries serving on the retirement plan committee of a Global Fortune 100 manufacturing firm. The course utilized the video ERISA fiduciary governance training created by Denali for Financial Executives International, the largest national association of senior financial executives with approximately 15,000 members nationwide. Attendees, who serve as ERISA fiduciaries on $3+ billion of assets represented the Legal, HR, Finance and Engineering units of the corporation. The response to the training has been overwhelmingly positive and Denali has been invited back for additional training and consulting engagements.
March 15, 2006
Denali to Produce Web cast on ERISA fiduciary governance for Directors & Boards Magazine
Based upon the Q4 2005 article “What’s an ERISA Fiduciary to Do?” authored by Denali CEO, Wayne H. Miller and published by Directors & Boards Magazine, the magazine will co-sponsor a national webcast to be held May 16, 2006 on the subject of board member responsibility for oversight of ERISA retirement plans. The webcast is expected to be the first in a series to be conducted throughout 2006 on several aspects of retirement plan management. Invited board member attendees (subject to final confirmation) include Owsley Brown II, Chairman of Brown-Forman Company of Louisville, KY and Gerald M. Czarnecki, Chair of the Audit Committee of State Farm Mutual Insurance of Bloomington, IL. Wayne Miller, CEO of Denali will moderate the webcast along with Jim Kristie, Editor of Directors & Boards.
Click here for a replay of the webcast.
February 14, 2006
Denali to Address NW Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors
In conjunction with the Managing Partner of Preston Gates & Ellis, one of the premier law firms in the Northwest, the Northwest Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) invited Denali to address the subject of Board of Directors ERISA retirement plan liability at its February meeting. The presentation served as a template that will be re-created at NACD chapters around the country through 2006 and 2007.
November 20, 2005
Denali CEO participates in specialist consulting team working to create risk controls for the Chile’s private retirement (Social Security) system.
Denali CEO asked to participate on the international team chosen by the World Bank tasked with the examination of the Chilean national retirement system. The Chilean system has been portrayed by various United States media and politicians as a potential model for partial privatization of the U.S. Social Security System. The goal of the World Bank project is to assess risk and operations of the Chilean system and suggest reform/improvement to ensure the long term success and viability of the system in meeting the needs of Chile’s citizens.
November 1, 2005
Fortune 1000 Firm Retains Denali for Fiduciary Training of Board and Plan Committee Members
Denali has been retained by a major national beverage, wine and distilled spirits producer to conduct a series of ERISA fiduciary training seminars for senior executives and Board members. The basis of the training program will be the Internet video-based fiduciary training program created by Denali and now offered by Financial Executives International, the largest national association of senior financial executives. The training format will be for trainees to observe video training portions and then review content with Denali professionals to ensure absorption and comprehension of the material.
September 15, 2005
Financial Executives International announces a telecast hosted by Wayne Miller, CEO Denali Fiduciary Management
Managing ERISA Risk Series Finale:
Ask the Fiduciary Expert Call In Show
1:00PM - 2:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
10:00AM - 11:00AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)
This final program in a six-part series will provide an in-depth look at fiduciary governance plus executive-level guidance and solutions for the primary challenges fiduciaries now face:
• understanding and implementing effective governance process and procedure
• limiting corporate and personal fiduciary liability exposure
• protecting the best interest of Plan participants
Featured Speaker Panel:
Susan M. Mangiero, Ph.D., AVA, CFA, FRM, Author of Risk Management for Pensions, Endowments, and Foundations and founder, Pension Governance, LLC
David Hildebrandt, Esq. Greenberg Traurig, LLP Washington, DC. General Counsel of the 401(k) Profit Sharing Counsel Research Foundation, President of the International Association of Financial Participation Programs
This teleconference qualifies for 1 CPE credit.
Click here for free registration
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