Who We Are
Most firms start with a business plan. Ours started with a research paper.
Elemental Retirement Solutions grew out of years of academic research into what quietly undermines retirement plans — and a decision to stop observing the problem and start fixing it.
Our Story
From the sidelines to the inside.
As finance professors, Thomas Doellman and Sabuhi Sardarli spent years publishing peer-reviewed research on where employer retirement plans go wrong — conflicts of interest, excessive and hidden fees, and the behavioral biases that quietly erode participants' savings. That work earned best-paper awards and coverage in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Financial Times, Pensions & Investments, and on CNBC's Squawk Box.
But publishing papers has limits. The people most affected by these problems — everyday employees saving for retirement — rarely read academic journals. So we built Elemental Retirement Solutions to put the research to work directly, and to become the advisor we spent our careers arguing the industry needed.
As a fee-only 3(38) fiduciary, we bring that same evidence-based rigor to every plan we manage — advocating for plan sponsors and participants alike, and answering only to their best interests.
What We Believe
Four convictions behind the work.
Evidence over opinion
Every recommendation is grounded in research and analysis — not sales incentives, product shelves, or industry habit.
The participant comes first
We advocate for the employee who never gets a seat at the table — and for the sponsor who answers for the plan.
Independence you can verify
Fee-only, conflict-aware, and transparent by design — so our advice is never for sale.
Teaching is part of the job
We are career educators. Helping participants understand their choices is central to what we do, not an afterthought.
The Founders
The researchers are the people managing your plan.
At most firms, the experts who publish the research are far removed from your account. Here, they are the same people building and monitoring your plan.
Thomas Doellman, PhD
Co-Founder · PhD in Finance
Professor of Finance, Saint Louis University
Professor of Finance at Saint Louis University, where he also serves on the investment committee overseeing the university’s endowment. His research on retirement plans, plan fees, and investor behavior has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Financial Times, and on CNBC's Squawk Box.
Matthew Tooley, ChFC
Co-Founder · Senior Wealth Advisor
Chartered Financial Consultant
Dual degrees in Chemistry and Finance from Truman State University and a career as a working advisor since 2008. Matt brings a chemist’s analytical discipline and an advisor’s relationship instincts to every plan.
Sabuhi Sardarli, PhD, CFA
Co-Founder · PhD in Finance
Associate Professor of Finance & Associate Dean of Administration and Finance in the College of Business Administration at Kansas State University
Associate Professor of Finance and Associate Dean of Administration and Finance in the College of Business Administration at Kansas State University. His research on mutual funds, retirement plans, and corporate finance has earned multiple awards and been featured widely in the financial press.
Recognition
Best-paper awards recognize academic research contributions and are not indicative of investment performance.