Deals & People February 12, 2014

MassMutual Retirement Bulks Up Sales Team

Jason Bouldin, John Cunningham, Lauren Drapeau, Jon Ogren and Mary Kay Zoulek joined the sales and client management unit of MassMutual’s retirement services division.
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Bouldin joined MassMutual in December as managing director covering Alabama and Georgia. Bouldin brings more than 15 years of industry experience to the company and previously served with Great-West Financial and The Hartford. Bouldin is based in Atlanta and reports to Michael Reilly, regional sales manager.

Cunningham has been with MassMutual for 18 years, most recently as regional sales director specializing in career agency sales in the Northeast. He is now regional sales director covering western Massachusetts, Vermont and eastern upstate New York, and reports to Shefali Desai, regional sales manager.

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Drapeau rejoined MassMutual in January as regional sales director covering Connecticut (excluding Fairfield County). She has more than 13 years of industry experience and previously served as an annuity wholesaler with MassMutual before her most recent role with MetLife. Drapeau reports to Desai.

Ogren has been named regional sales director covering Kansas, Nebraska and western Missouri. With more than 15 years of experience in retirement services, he previously served with The Standard and Northwestern Mutual before joining MassMutual in December. He reports to Derek Fuller, regional sales manager.

Zoulek joined MassMutual in January as regional sales director for western Michigan. She has more than 12 years of industry experience serving advisers across western Michigan. Her previous roles were at John Hancock and Principal Financial Group. Zoulek reports to William Hicks, regional sales manager.

The sales and client management unit of MassMutual’s retirement services division is led by Hugh O’Toole, senior vice president.

The Markets February 12, 2014

Towers Watson Pension Index Falls in January

The Towers Watson Pension Index dropped 5.1% in January.
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There were major hits to both asset and liability measures, as equity returns were uniformly negative and interest rates dropped significantly. The Towers Watson Pension Index dropped 5.1% to 74.2, essentially giving up all the prior quarter’s gains.

The index tracks the performance of a hypothetical pension plan invested in a 60% equity/40% fixed income portfolio. That portfolio recorded a -1.5% return for January. The index also tracks two alternative investment portfolios with different mixes of equity and fixed income. Monthly returns on the 20% and 60% fixed income portfolios were -2.4% and -0.6%, respectively.

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In addition, the index tracks a second version of the 60% fixed income portfolio that incorporates longer duration fixed income investments. That portfolio returned a positive 1.1% for January. It continues to trail the shorter duration portfolios over the prior 12-month period, with the performance shortfall obviously attributable to the increase in long bond yields over this period.

Pension liabilities as defined for U.S. accounting purposes are typically measured based on yields on high quality corporate bonds as of the measurement date. Using its own methodology, which matches those corporate yields to projected cash flows, the index determined the benchmark discount rate for January to be 4.62%, a decrease of 27 basis points for the month.

Similar to bond prices, the index notes that values for pension obligations move in the opposite direction of interest rates. Towers Watson’s liability index, which is based on projected benefit obligations, increased 3.8% for January. This reflects the combined effects of interest accumulation and the decrease in the discount rate.

According to Towers Watson, the index provides an indicator of capital market effects on pension plan financing, with individual plan results varying due to factors such as portfolio composition, investment management strategy, liability characteristics and contribution policy.

More information about the January results of the index can be downloaded here.

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