Gordon Tewell, CFA, CPC, QKA

Principal

Gordon joined Innovest in 2008 and is a Principal, Consultant, and member of Innovest’s Retirement Plan Practice Team. The specialized team identifies best practices and implements process improvements to maximize efficiencies for our retirement plan clients. Gordon is an occasional speaker at industry conferences including the National Association of Governmental Plan Administrators (NAGDCA) Annual Conference and NAGDCA Connect, the PLANSPONSOR Annual Conference, PLANADVISOR Annual Conference, and the Colorado Public Plan Conference.  Gordon has more than 25 years of retirement plan industry experience.

At Innovest, Gordon provides institutional consulting services to committees and boards of various types of retirement plans, both corporate and public sector. Due to his expertise in retirement plan design and management and in-depth understanding of the Internal Revenue Code and Department of Labor rules and regulations, his responsibilities include consulting on plan design and features, plan health and retirement readiness, fiduciary responsibilities and protection, plan benchmarking, vendor search analysis, and investment menu design and implementation.

Prior to joining Innovest, Gordon worked for the Retirement Group at Merrill Lynch as a Relationship Manager. As a relationship manager, Gordon provided strategic direction to clients of an integrated benefit platform supporting defined benefit, defined contribution, non-qualified deferred compensation, and equity compensation plans. His experience also includes working as a plan sponsor as the Administrator of the City of Westminster Retirement Plans. Gordon was responsible for all aspects of the City’s five retirement plans and approximately $200 million in assets. Gordon’s responsibilities included planning, developing, and delivering the education and communication programs, vendor selection and relationship management, strategic planning, and all compliance functions including maintenance of the plan document and IRS filings.

Gordon is a graduate of Colorado State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. Gordon is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Colorado. Additionally, Gordon has received the Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA), Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA), and Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) designations from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). The CPC designation is the highest non-actuarial designation available from ASPPA and requires an in-depth understanding of the IRS Code and DOL regulations and an extensive working knowledge of plan features and design.  CPCs generally work alongside employers to formulate, implement, administer, and maintain qualified retirement plans.  He is a member of ASPPA, the Denver Chapter of the Western Pension and Benefits Conference, and a founding Board member of the Colorado Public Plan Coalition.

Gordon and his wife Deb spend their free time traveling throughout the U.S., much of this time spent on their bicycles.  When not bicycling or hiking in the Colorado Mountains, Gordon and Deb volunteer at their local Y, assisting with programs that promote healthy spirit, mind, and body, and at Foothills Animal Shelter, an open admission shelter in Golden, Colorado.

gtewell@innovestinc.com