Wells Thomas, LLC Named Nationwide Pinnacle PPA

For the second year in a row, Wells Thomas, LLC has been named a Pinnacle PPA with Nationwide. This distinction provides our office with more direct service and support with Nationwide, and gives us advance insight into new systems and products on the horizon. Only a select number of Nationwide PPAs are awarded Pinnacle status, and we are proud of this achievement.

This year's Pinnacle Conference was held in Sarasota, FL, and once again Nationwide did a great job of providing great educational sessions, along with some classic entertainment. Among the highlights of this year's conference:

• We were provided with advance viewings of the new loan reporting system to be unveiled later this year. This system will allow for greater ease, and online requests and processing of participant loans. We were able to provide feedback on the layout, data and functionality of the system, as it is still under development at the moment. With this feedback Nationwide hopes to make the system as user-friendly as possible.


• Dr. Groppel spoke of the "Power of Full Engagement." It was an interesting hour about increasing your focus and energy levels in all aspects of life by focusing on the bio-physical habits we have (diet, exercise, growth and recovery time). Some very interesting points were made about how our moods and productivity are strongly tied to our energy level and overall health.


• Bridget Hagan (Nationwide's Associate Vice President of Government Relations) spoke at length about the trends on Capitol Hill that focus on retirement plans, including the Miller Bill, which is a proposal currently under consideration. Once again, the focus is being put on 'protecting' plan participants, and complete fee disclosure and investment education.


• And of course, the conference would not have been complete without the entertainment. Capping off this year's conference was a performance by Starship (with Mickey Thomas). Though Grace Slick and Paul Kratzner are no longer with the band, it was still a great walk down memory lane with the classics from throughout the long history of the band (including Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship). They played everything from "White Rabbit" and "Miracles" to "Sarah" and "We Built This City", and many forgotten classics in between...capping off the night with a good cover of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long".

I would like to thank our staff, and the advisors that we work closely with who use the Nationwide platforms, for their hard work and continued support and confidence in Wells Thomas, LLC. Together we hope to achieve this level again next year...