The United States Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, has appointed Edward Schwartz as one of five new national appointees to serve on the U.S. Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council for a three-year term.
For the past two decades, Schwartz has served as president of Bloomfield Hills-based Schwartz and Co., and investment advisory firm that specializes in institutional retirement plans, wealth management for individuals and families, and investment banking services. He is a board member of the Henry Ford Health System investment committee, the Douglas Allison Foundation, and previously served on the Georgetown University board.
The council advises the labor secretary and the Department of Labor regarding regulation and oversight of the country’s 401(k), pension, and other institutional retirement plans. Schwartz was selected by Scalia to be the investment management industry’s role representative on the council and was nominated for the position by former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao, and two prior chiefs of the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
“I am honored to explore improvements in concert with the Department of Labor for the financial wellness of all American workers,” says Schwartz. “I am grateful to Secretary Scalia and the DOL for their confidence in me to contribute.”
In this role, Schwartz will be responsible for providing independent insights and expert advice on issues relating to ERISA retirement plans to inform recommendations to the DOL.
“I cannot recommend Mr. Schwartz highly enough. (He) brings to the council an enviable understanding of investment management concepts and theories,” says Bradford Campbell, former head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration. “Even more important, however, is his actual experience in using his knowledge to help plan participants, plan fiduciaries, and business leaders make retirement plan decisions. The retirement world has changed substantially, and he has gone through these changes in partnership with the plans and participants he serves.”
Schwartz earned his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University. He later earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan, with an emphasis in finance and accounting, after working on Wall Street as an investment banker. He also completed the executive education program in investments and finance at Harvard University.
The other 2021 appointees include senior executives from Fidelity, PepsiCo, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and Atrium Health.
