Posts tagged ‘ESOP’

4:44 of Fame

In 1968 Andy Warhol stated “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”  This statement seems less prophetic in the Internet age combined with reality shows dominating prime time television than it did at the time. Yet it remains a goal for many.

I recently used up 4 minutes and 44 seconds of my 15 minutes in an Advisor TV interview discussing Employee Stock Ownership Pans (ESOPs).

Click here to view the video

I’m fairly confident that this would not meet Warhol’s definition of world-famous but I have 10 minutes and 16 seconds left. Stay tuned, I plan to use every second.

In addition to blogging here, I also tweet regularly about topics of interest to ESOPs. Click to follow me on Twitter- @jlripperger .

Click here to follow my ESOP blog Read more

Overcoming Myths

Since 2003, special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman have examined rumors, myths, urban legends, and misconceptions for the Discovery Channel MythBusters show (one of my favorites is the Jaws special – Season 3 Episode 15).  The crew uses scientific approaches to attempt to replicate the myths under review (often times stretching well beyond the initial myth in their efforts).

The myths end up with one of three labels following their testing:

(1)  Confirmed

(2)  Plausible

(3)  Busted (the most common outcome that often involves things being blown up) Read more

What Does an ESOP Have in Common with My New Kitten?

We recently got a new kitten.  Her name is T.C. (The Cat) and she is three months old.  I may be biased, but she is pretty cute; she is also all kitten.  It is like having a baby all over again (my kids are in high school and college, so it has been more than a couple of years since I have had to deal with this.)

This isn’t our first cat (my wife has continuously had a black cat since she was ten years old.)  However, over time we forgot everything that we had to do to train a new pet.  Fortunately for us, T.C. is a quick learner.  Read more

Snowmageddon

Certain things in Iowa are predictable. I was reminded of this recently as the first major winter storm of the season was forecast. It was going to snow, most likely a lot. And, it was going to snow soon and often.

The television weather forecasters were positively giddy. They were like 5 year olds on Christmas morning. They couldn’t stop smiling while they made dire predictions about monumental snow falls and the ensuing delays and cancellations. The interns at the station were forced to stand on the side of the road as cars and trucks whizzed by spraying them with road residue as they reported on the storm’s impact. Programming was interrupted for the slightest weather related tidbit.  Read more

Happy Anniversary!

Anniversaries are great reasons to celebrate.  Anniversaries signify, among other things, relationships and commitment.  There are all kinds of anniversaries: wedding (what most people think of first), employment, graduation, etc. Anniversaries are as important to companies as they are to people.

January is the tenth anniversary of the acquisition of BCI Group by the Principal Financial Group^®.  This acquisition greatly expanded the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) capabilities of The Principal^® and has led to growth in capabilities and the number of ESOPs engaged.

The traditional tenth anniversary gift is tin or aluminum (which is much more affordable than the contemporary tenth anniversary gift of diamond jewelry).  It represents the flexibility and durability of the relationship.  Tin and aluminum can bend without being broken.

Read more

1,000 Words

I was recently interviewed by Warren S. Hersch for an article on www.lifehealthpro.com.  The interview looked at company and industry developments for Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).  I would encourage you to spend a few minutes reading it. Click Here

For the record, the article is 976 words.  I owe you 24 but will make it up in a future blog.

In addition to blogging here, I also tweet regularly about topics of interest to ESOPs. Click to follow me on Twitter-  @jlripperger .

Click here to follow my ESOP blog

Read more

The Grinch and Employee Benefit Plans?

In the iconic 1966 cartoon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! the Grinch hates everything to do with the holiday season.  He hates presents, trees, wreaths, ribbons, bows and even roast beast.  He devises an ingenious, and infamous, plot to stop Christmas from coming to Whoville.

Imagine how he would react if he had to return gifts post-holiday.  Imagine him standing in line and having to deal with stringent return policies.  Imagine the noise, noise, noise if he didn’t have a receipt.  You can practically hear Boris Karloff (for those of you too young to remember him think of a more classic Jim Carrey) sighing about the holiday persecution.

The good news – the Grinch isn’t likely to get many gifts (at least prior to his transformation) and can therefore avoid this whole messy process. Read more