Tacoma, WA, July 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tacoma, Washington, July 3, 2013 - Spectrum Pension Consultants, Inc., an employee benefits consulting firm based in Tacoma, WA, celebrates its 35th year providing retirement services.
Founded in April 1975 by Panayotis "Pano" Koumantaros as a sole proprietorship, Spectrum Financial Planning, the company was incorporated July 3, 1978, as Spectrum Pension Consultants, Inc. Pano Koumantaros' vision was to create a company that would provide consulting and administrative management services to sponsors of qualified pension and profit sharing plans. Since then, Spectrum has provided services to more than 2,500 employer-clients and currently administers retirement benefits for more than 50,000 employees in the United States, with local Pacific Northwest focus on Tacoma, Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Yakima, Portland and Spokane. This year Spectrum saw additional market expansion into Colorado, Hawaii, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
The company today is headed by the founder's sons, Chief Executive Officer Petros P. Koumantaros and Yannis P. Koumantaros, Director of Business Development. Both men assumed leadership roles following the untimely passing of their father in December 2005. Their mother, Maria Koumantaros, serves as a director of the company. Also on the board of directors is Brendan O'Farrell, former Howard Johnson & Company executive, retired HCM International CEO, and consulting actuary.
Spectrum celebrated the 35 year milestone with their consulting staff privately on July 3 and are planning a celebration December 5, 2013 to honor and thank its clients.
"As John Henry Newman said 'To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often' quotes Petros Koumantaros, CEO. Spectrum lives this truth daily. We continually learn from our clients and our experiences and adapt and change as needed so we can ensure 'best-in-class' service to employers and their employees for many decades to come."
"Reaching this important milestone is an exciting time for Spectrum as we develop new service offerings, while harnessing technology to innovate and benefit current and future clients," said Yannis Koumantaros.
By January 1979, Spectrum Pension Consultants had two employees, Pano Koumantaros and a receptionist, and 24 clients, several of whom continue with the firm today. "Our first clients were dentists, physicians and other local business owners, many of which are now personal friends" said Maria Koumantaros, who joined the firm in 1981 to oversee its bookkeeping.
1988 was an exciting year for Spectrum as it added account number 1,000 to its client list and also moved to its current Tacoma, WA headquarters at 6402 19th Street West. The next generation of Koumantaros, Petros and Yannis, enjoyed similar excitement with their consulting team when they signed their 2,500 client earlier this year.
Spectrum began offering open architecture daily valuation and linked self-directed brokerage account services for its clients in 1996, featuring daily updates of financial information for participants' separate accounts. The Spectrum Participant Web™ and Spectrum Plan Sponsor Web™ provide retirement plan participants options for automatic account rebalancing, internal rates of return, paperless loans, paperless distributions, and on-demand reporting.
Another milestone was enjoyed in Spectrum's 35th year when they were invited to become a member of Alliance Benefit Group (ABG), a 14 firm consortium ranked as 8th on the list of Top Ten National Recordkeeping Firms. The consortium provides services to over 13,700 Plan Sponsor Clients, more than 1,000,000 Participants, and administers north of $51,000,000,000 in plan assets. Spectrum is the first west coast ABG affiliate, and the only firm west of Utah to be part of this consortium.
Though a small team, Spectrum boasts 10 Certified Pension Consultants (CPC), 14 Qualified 401(k) Administrators (QKA), 12 Qualified Pension Administrators (QPA), 1 Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®), 1 Qualified Plan Financial Consultant (QPFC), and 1 Enrolled Actuary. Spectrum's organization and structure is similar to that seen in management consulting firms with clients being "owned" by one of these highly qualified and experienced Consultants. To that end Spectrum is ideally positioned to offer a variety of service options and deep compliance expertise to their clients. Sponsors can anticipate frequent communication and strong relationships with their Spectrum Consulting partner.
About Spectrum
Spectrum is a leading service provider to employers sponsoring various retirement, deferred compensation and other employee benefit programs in the western United States. Spectrum's services are tailored to the specific needs of each individual client and include: consulting and advice; plan management and administration; and employee communication and education services. Additional information about Spectrum is available at the company's web site: www.spectrumpension.com.