Castle Rock’s President, Michele L. Suriano, founded the firm in 2006. She has worked in the financial services industry for over 20 years and served as a retirement plan adviser for more than 15 years. Her qualifications and designations include:
- Passed the following FINRA examinations:
- Series 6 (Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representatives)
- Series 7 (General Securities Representative)
- Series 63 (Uniform Securities State Law)
- Series 66 (Uniform Combined State Law).
- Passed the Colorado state insurance exams for life, health and variable annuities.
- Earned the following additional designations:
- Tax-Exempt & Governmental Plan Consultant (“TGPC”) certification awarded by the American Society of Pension Professional and Actuaries (“ASPPA”).
- Qualified Plan Financial Consultant (“QPFC”) designation awarded by ASPPA
- Accredited Investment Fiduciary™ (“AIF®”) designation awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies
- Global Fiduciary Strategist (“GFS”) designation
- Certificate in Fiduciary Governance from Thunderbird
- Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Applied Economics from Hofstra University.
- Board of Directors for the Denver chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council (2007- 2013)
- Public speaking engagements:
- September of 2011, Rocky Mountain Area Conference using plan design to optimize participant outcomes
- September of 2012, Rocky Mountain Area Conference on plan-level and participant-level ERISA notice requirements
- 2010 PLANADVISER National Conference
- 2011 PLANSPONSOR National Conference, httpss://www.planadviser.com/psnc-2011-small-plans-big-challenges/
- 2013 PLANSPONSOR National Conference, httpss://www.plansponsor.com/psnc-2013-metric-taking/
- Adviser to two finalists for Plan Sponsor of the Year (2013 and 2017); and
- Quoted in several articles by the retirement benefits industry trade publications, www.plansponsor.comand www.planadvisor.com