Deals & People June 20, 2011

Pension Specialists to Rebrand as Verisight

Pension Specialists, Inc. (PSI) has acquired Human Capital Services, a division of RSM McGladrey, Inc., and the new entity will be rebranded as Verisight, Inc.
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The acquisition expands PSI’s retirement plan services to include retirement recordkeeping and administration; actuarial services; employee-stock ownership plans (ESOPs); compensation and employee benefits consulting; and enhances the full suite of services the company already provides to its retirement plan clients. The transaction is expected to close within 60 days. 

“The addition of RSM McGladrey’s Human Capital Services adds tremendous breadth to our business solutions,” said Greg Tschider, Chief Executive Officer of Pension Specialists, Inc. “This acquisition reflects our dedication to expanding our product line and our geographic reach while maintaining our focus in the retirement plan space.”  

Rebranding 

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The combined company will assume a new name, Verisight, Inc.  Verisight means “truthful insight”, which the firm said is consistent with its “commitment to be a trusted client partner driven by core values of honesty and integrity.” Verisight will have 12 office locations and provide services to retirement plan clients with more than $13 billion of assets.  

The complete set of solutions also includes those provided by wholly-owned subsidiaries: NextStep Defined Contribution, Inc. (“NextStep”), a provider of recordkeeping and administrative services for retirement plans through advisers and intermediaries, and Retirement Services Trust Company (“RSTC”), a non-depository trust company providing directed non-discretionary trustee and custodial services exclusively to retirement plan clients.   

To ensure continuity after the transaction is completed, Verisight and McGladrey will maintain a strategic relationship through a joint marketing agreement.  

“We look forward to a lasting relationship with Verisight,” said Mike Stokke, RSM McGladrey’s National Client Service Strategy and Delivery Leader. “McGladrey will continue to work closely with Verisight to provide a full range of integrated and seamless solutions to clients of both organizations.” 

Upon closing, Human Capital Services will immediately begin to use the new name. Rebranding of the other business lines will be implemented throughout the remainder of 2011, according to the announcement. 

Pension Specialists, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in California. Either directly or through its subsidiaries, PSI offers a fully bundled retirement plan solution with an unlimited set of investment options and full price transparency for employers and plan sponsors.Through NextStep Defined Contribution, Inc., PSI offers bundled retirement plan solutions to financial advisers for the benefit of their retirement plan clients. Through Retirement Services Trust Company (“RSTC”), PSI offers non-discretionary, directed trustee services to PSI retirement plan clients. PSI also offers flex plan administration through its subsidiary 125MAX, LLC.    

More information is available at http://www.verisightgroup.com.   

Compliance June 20, 2011

SEC Provides Guidance on Swaps Requirements

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has come out with guidance on the timing of new requirements regarding security-based swaps under the Dodd-Frank legislation.
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According to the SEC, the guidance makes clear that substantially all of Title VII’s requirements applicable to security-based swaps will not go into effect on July 16, the effective date of Title VII under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  The Commission’s action also grants temporary relief from compliance with most of the new Exchange Act requirements that would otherwise apply on July 16. 

In addition, to enhance the legal certainty provided to market participants, the SEC said that its action provides temporary relief from Section 29(b), which generally provides that contracts made in violation of any provision of the Exchange Act shall be void as to the rights of any person who is in violation of the provision. 

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“This is the first step in a series of actions the SEC intends to take in coming days to address effective date issues,” said Robert Cook, Director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets. “Temporarily and to the extent appropriate, our goal is to preserve the pre-Dodd-Frank Act legal framework until we complete the rule-making tasks and develop a workable implementation plan.” 

The anti-fraud and anti-manipulation prohibitions of the federal securities laws will continue to apply to security-based swaps after July 16.

Title VII is the portion of the Dodd-Frank Act that establishes a comprehensive framework for regulating over-the-counter derivatives. In particular, it authorizes the SEC to regulate “security-based swaps” while also authorizing the CFTC to regulate other swaps. The portion of Title VII referred to as Subtitle B, which addresses the new regulatory regime for security-based swaps, generally will take effect on July 16 (360 days after the date of the Dodd-Frank Act’s enactment).

After proposing all of the key rules under Title VII, the SEC said it intends to consider seeking public comment on a detailed implementation plan that will permit a rollout of the new securities-based swap requirements in an efficient manner while minimizing unnecessary disruption and costs to the markets.

Although the guidance and temporary relief are now in effect, the Commission is seeking input from the public on today’s actions. Public comments should be received by July 6, 2011. More information is available at http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-130.htm.

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