John Paul Ruiz has spent more than 30 years as a consultant and trainer in the retirement and financial services industry. Prior to joining SEPIRAk, Ruiz served as Director of Professional Development for The Entrust Group, a self-directed IRA Administrator, his duties involved compliance oversight of all organizational operational procedures and policies, print and electronic materials, staff education and others. He was also the creator of the IRA Academy, a preparatory course for the American Bankers Association’s Certified IRA Services Professional, CISP, designation. Prior to Entrust, Ruiz was the Vice President of Professional Development for Integrated Retirement Initiatives, LLC. His responsibilities involved developing and delivering retirement plan training to financial advisors as well compliance personnel to some of the largest institutions offering retirement products and solutions. With his comprehensive knowledge of alternative investments, his consulting and training expertise was sought after by numerous third-party administrators in the self-directed IRA market. His former positions include Director of Resource Development for the Retirement Products & Solutions division of Acensus (formerly BISYS Retirement Services). Ruiz was responsible for overseeing the development and delivery of the Ascensus professional development and training services using a broad spectrum of media including:
In high demand as a speaker in the retirement services industry, Ruiz has been a featured keynote speaker and industry expert at numerous regional and national conferences. Ruiz has served as a member of the faculty of national schools including the American Bankers Association (ABA) Trust School and the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Ruiz has also served on the faculty of the IRA Institute, which serves as preparatory course for retirement professionals pursuing the Certified IRA Services Professional (CISP) designation offered through the Institute of Certified Bankers (ICB) or the Certified IRA Professional (CIP) designation offered through the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU).
Ruiz has become well-known in the industry for his ability to help financial advisers understand how to create selling opportunities by building their retirement plan expertise and staying on top of legislative and regulatory developments.
During his tenure with Ascensus, Ruiz also held position as senior ERISA consultant and as manager of the ERISA Support Call Center, a fee-for-service hotline that provided ERISA technical support to financial services professionals. Prior to Ascensus, Ruiz served as a relationship manager for several key alliance partners in the recordkeeping division of Universal Pension, Inc. Prior to joining Universal Pensions Inc. he worked in the consumer loan division of Wells Fargo Bank. Ruiz earned the Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) designation from the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) and holds a Certified IRA Service Professional (CISP) certification through the American Bankers Association’s Institute of Certified Bankers (ICB).
