Staten Island, NY Office

Trustee Empowerment & Protection, Inc. (TEPI) serves retirement plan sponsors, trustees, and, more recently, individual investors through an internet-based platform that refers clients to a curated network of registered investment advisers. The firm provides a decision-assistance service called the Investment Choice Protective Review (ICPR) and related tools that let sponsors and trustees evaluate and compare mutual funds and ETFs offered in defined contribution plans.

TEPI’s methodology uses a patented decision-assistance application (licensed from Decision Technologies Corporation) to score and rank investment choices against broad peer sets rather than just benchmarks, and it structures engagements so that clients retain decision-making authority rather than granting TEPI investment discretion. TEPI matches clients to approved RIAs and IARs that are trained to perform the ICPR process and maintains ongoing referral arrangements with those advisers, while providing web-based training and access to its proprietary tools.

This firm differs from many peers by operating primarily as an internet adviser and referral platform within a corporate group that includes consulting and insurance affiliates and by being the first to commercialize the licensed decision‑support tool for plan review. Its brochure also discloses a disputed FINRA-related enforcement matter involving an affiliated brokerage and its principal that remains the subject of ongoing court proceedings, and TEPI emphasizes non‑discretionary, process‑driven reviews used by plan sponsors, CPA auditors, and law firms as a distinctive element of its offering.