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Agenda:
We will have appetizers and beverages.
Principal Campus – 711 High Street – Please enter building on west side of the building – street level.
Candy Bidler is the Vice President – Principal® Financial Network. The distribution network has 24 regions and more than 1,500 financial services professionals working with business and individual clients all over the country.
Bidler joined Principal in 1994 in the Long-Term Care Marketing department. When Principal exited the LTC business, she moved to the Disability Insurance Product and Marketing team. There she worked on developing new products and marketing strategies and managed Principal’s DI Alliance relationships. She went on to manage the DI and Group Benefits Marketing teams before moving to the DI sales team in 2001. In 2004 she became the leader of DI Distribution, with responsibility for growing individual disability insurance sales across all distribution channels. She also had responsibility for Principal Wellness Company sales, prior to Principal exiting that business. Candy was promoted to her current position in October 2017.
Candy earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Iowa State University and a masters of business administration from Drake University.
Jean joined CAPTRUST Financial in 2010 as a senior vice president, financial advisor relationship manager and is responsible for providing retirement plan advisory services to corporate fiduciaries. Prior to joining the firm, Jean served as an account executive at Holmes Murphy & Associates and has worked in the industry since 1988. Jean was the first person to receive the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst (AIFA®) designation and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in resource management from Iowa State University.
Amy Montford is the Vice President of Individual Retirement Solutions, Principal Life Insurance Company® and Chief Executive Officer of Principal Advised Services at Principal Financial Group®. She has been with Principal® since 1998 serving in various leadership roles across the company. Amy’s background has been across a wide array of businesses, predominately within the retirement industry. Previous roles with Principal include Head of Pension Risk Transfer with responsibilities for sales, product development, contract issuance and administration. She also served as Head of Stock Plan Services with responsibilities for sales, administrative services, and expansion of the business into Equity Compensation Recordkeeping Services.
Amy’s current role includes responsibility for the strategic and operational leadership of the Individual Solutions Business. This includes accountability for the Asset Retention and Advisory Services for active and former retirement plan participants, with oversight of strategy, sales, marketing, product, operations, and technology for the business.
Clients rely on Ashley to help them retire as planned, leave a meaningful legacy and achieve other critical financial goals. Many of her clients are women seeking to take greater control of their financial lives. Ashley also brings considerable experience working with nonprofit organizations, foundations, endowments and other institutional clients. Specifically, she counsels executive leadership teams and boards in such varied disciplines as governance, asset allocation, investment and spending policy reviews and compliance with industry best practices and regulations.
Ashley began her career at The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines where she served as Director of Affiliates and Philanthropic Partners working with donors, attorneys, CPA’s and Financial Advisors. There she realized that she could add value by earning the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERtm and Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® designations. Once Ashley became a Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor in 2012, she found that this decision helped her greatly in meeting the challenges faced by both institutional and individual clients. In addition, she is one of the relatively few Financial Advisors in the firm to have earned the firm’s Family Wealth Advisor designation. This credential has proven invaluable in helping provide high net-worth clients with solutions to even their most complex financial challenges.
Ashley is a native Iowan who returned home after working in New York in the fashion industry and graduating from Lake Forest College with a double major in Business and Studio Art. She still loves painting and interior design, but much of her time outside the office is spent in philanthropic pursuits. She is the past President of the Mid-Iowa Estate and Financial Planners Board. In addition, Ashley serves on the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines’ Professional Advisor Council, supports the Alzheimer’s Association and volunteers with the Iowa State Fair Foundation.
