Press Release

BPAS Achieves CEFEX Certification

Issued by BPAS

Apr. 15, 2025

UTICA, N.Y. --BPAS, a leading national provider of retirement plans, benefit plans, fund administration, and collective investment trusts, announced today it has earned certification from the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX), a division of Broadridge Fi360 Solutions (Broadridge).

BPAS has earned the right to use the CEFEX Mark which indicates the firm's established practices are aligned with investors' interests and worthy of trust and confidence," said Carlos Panksep, CEFEX VP.

CEFEX certification is only granted to firms that demonstrate adherence to the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) Standard of Practice for Retirement Plan Service Providers. The Standard includes best practices for governance, organization, human resources, operations, planning, systems, and disclosure, as defined by a cross-industry task force established in 2007. The certification process involves a detailed assessment of operational data and procedures, followed by on-site interviews with key personnel.  

"Broadridge is pleased to add BPAS to an elite group of providers who have demonstrated adherence to professional practices that define a standard of excellence," added Panksep, "CEFEX-certified firms adhere to a standard representing the best practices in their industry. The standards include specific criteria which have been substantiated by regulation or written in consultation with leading firms."

BPAS, a subsidiary of Community Financial System, Inc. (CFSI, NYSE: CBU), provides the full spectrum of retirement plan services through 17 offices across the nation and Puerto Rico.

"We are incredibly proud to have achieved this certification," said Maryann Geary, President of BPAS Plan Administration & Recordkeeping Services. "Earning the CEFEX mark affirms our team's ongoing commitment to excellence, integrity, and continuous improvement. Excellence is an important part of our culture. We strive for it by continuously evolving every aspect of our business. This achievement reinforces our dedication to providing the highest quality services to our clients and partners in everything we do."

BPAS is CEFEX certified for both Record keeping and Third-Party Administration Services.  The certification is registered and can be viewed at www.fi360.com/cefex.

"At BPAS, we've always been focused on the quality and depth of our plan consulting and the operational integrity of our daily valuation program," said Paul Neveu, BPAS CEO. "While we considered CEFEX certification in the past, we just never took the next step because of the range of audits already conducted on our firm. But, with so many industry changes, we decided to review the CEFEX program more in depth and decided it would be a terrific development from the standpoint of our clients and partners. The CEFEX Mark is known in the industry as the mark of excellence. We are honored to achieve the double CEFEX certification."

CEFEX is more than an SSAE or financial audit. It's an independent audit to a standard of practice used by the best administration and recordkeeping firms in areas such as operations, human resources, and workflow management.

"Our certification is consistent with the culture of integrity, ethical values, and service excellence we strive for at BPAS," added Neveu. "We will continue to work on every area of our solution – from technology to compliance to operations and the user experience – to optimize the experience for the partners and clients that choose BPAS."

About BPAS BPAS is a national provider of retirement plans, benefit plans, fund administration, and institutional trust services. Since 1973, we've made it our mission to simplify the complicated by delivering benefit-plan services that solve client challenges without the need to engage multiple providers. One company. One call. We support more than 6,100 plans, $110 billion in trust assets, $1.3 trillion in fund administration, and 910,000 participants.

The BPAS family of services includes Workplace Retirement Plans, Actuarial & Pension, Health Benefits  Consulting, IRA, VEBA/115 Trusts, Health & Welfare Plans, Fiduciary, Collective Investment Funds, Fund Administration, Institutional Trust, and Advisor Coaching.

As a solutions-oriented national practice, BPAS is committed to "Solving Tomorrow's Benefit Challenges Today." Visit bpas.com for more information.

About Broadridge Fi360 Solutions Broadridge Fi360 Solutions is a fiduciary education, training, and technology organization within Broadridge, that helps financial intermediaries use prudent fiduciary practices to profitably gather, grow and protect investors' assets. Since 1999, the organization has provided financial professionals with the tools necessary to act as a fiduciary in their work with investors. Broadridge Fi360 Solutions is the home of the Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) designation, the Fiduciary Focus Toolkit™, the Fi360 Fiduciary Score® and CEFEX, Centre for Fiduciary Excellence®. Learn more at www.fi360.com.

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