Advisers Can Leverage ‘Workplace Champions’ for Financial Wellness
The vast majority of employees saving for retirement say their
financial decisions are most impacted by family and friends, according to the International
Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
A recent poll of some 150 corporate benefits leaders
conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) found
advisers aren’t just competing with other advisers or other financial
institutions when supporting plan participant decisionmaking—they must also
contend with the input of family and friends.
When asked what is the “single largest influencer when it
comes to your workers’ financial decisions,” three in four (74%) out of this
group pointed to “family members, friends, co-workers or peers.” With this in
mind, IFEBP suggests employers are adapting their financial education efforts
to better fit the needs of their workforce.
According to the poll responses, employers’ top goals in
offering financial wellness and retirement planning in the workplace remain “to
ensure workers can securely retire” and, secondly, to “reduce financial
distress so workers are more productive and engaged on the job.” Additionally,
about one in five (19%) of the benefits leaders polled said offering such
programming is simply “the right thing to do.”
IFEBP finds two-thirds of employers surveyed offer financial
education, “and they are finding ways to reach those most influential to their
employees.” For example, 40% of employers say they’re willing to provide
financial education to their employees’ spouses or partners. In addition, 41%
provide financial education opportunities before or after normal working time,
and 20% offer education on the weekends so spouses/partners can attend.
The poll results suggest employers should study and understand
the impact of both formal financial education efforts, as well as informal
discussions and debates that may take place among employees. IFEBP finds these informal
discussions are often driven by “workplace champions,” who are eager to discuss and help improve the workplace retirement planning and financial wellness programs alongside peers and
superiors.
“In our focus groups, surveys and case study work, we’ve
seen the importance of workplace champions,” concludes Julie Stich, research
director at the IFEBP. “Champions are passionate about the benefit in
question—in this case, financial education. Often they’ll embrace the education
they receive from their employer and pursue more information on their own.
They’ll adopt the benefit in their own life and eagerly talk with their
co-workers about it as well. Their enthusiasm, knowledge and ‘peer’ status
grabs their co-workers’ attention and trust.”
Prior
to joining RPS, Ferraro held the position of senior vice president, head of
Product, with Voya Financial, Inc., where he was responsible for the
profitability and product management of small/mid corporate and institutional
markets. Earlier in his career, Ferraro held executive positions with
CitiStreet, LLC. Ferraro earned a Master of Business Administration degree in
Finance from Seton Hall University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History
from Princeton University. He holds series 6, 7, 24 and 26 FINRA registrations.
Another
addition to the Product and Solutions Management Team is Aziz Syed, who has been named vice
president, Stable Value Leader, and will report directly to Ferraro. Syed
joins Lincoln with more than 20 years of experience in financial leadership
roles. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Bentley
University and a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering and
economics from the University of Wisconsin.
“As
we continue to grow the RPS business at Lincoln, having industry veterans like
Ralph and Aziz will help us build and offer products designed to ensure that
all of the participants we serve will be able to have the retirement they
envision” says Ohl.
NEXT: Oppenheimer Names Head of Beta Solutions
Sharon French joined Oppenheimer
Funds as head of Beta Solutions.
In
this role, French will be responsible for growing the firm's smart beta
business by building on the success of Oppenheimer Factor Weighted ETFs as well
as developing new multi-factor products to help meet client demand. French will
be based in New York and will join the firm's Senior Leadership Team, reporting
directly to Art Steinmetz, chairman and
CEO of OppenheimerFunds.
French
joins OppenheimerFunds from BNY Mellon, where she was senior strategic advisor
to the CEO and president of Investment Management, focusing on ETF and multi
asset business growth. Previously, she served as president of F-Squared
Capital. Before that, she was head of Private Client & Institutions at
BlackRock for its iShares business. French spent nearly a decade at
AllianceBernstein, and held prior roles at mPower, Smith Barney, and Chase
Manhattan Bank.
Vince Lowry, lead portfolio
manager for the Oppenheimer Revenue Factor Team, and his team will
report to French.
NEXT: TIAA Global Asset Management Unifies DCIO
Team
TIAA
Global Asset Management announced that Erin
Donnelly has been appointed managing
director and head of Defined Contribution Investment Only (DCIO).
In
this role, Donnelly leads a unified DCIO business that combines the teams of
both Nuveen Investments and TIAA Investments. The combined DCIO team will
deliver a wide range of investment capabilities from TIAA Global Asset
Management, including the full array of strategies and products from TIAA
Investments and Nuveen.
"TIAA
Investments and Nuveen have a long history of serving the retirement needs of
investors with high-quality investment solutions and innovative products,"
says Rob Leary, CEO of TIAA Global Asset
Management. "Bringing our teams together under Erin's leadership will
provide a single point of access for advisers, consultants and plan sponsors
who seek our high-performing mutual funds to help meet the investment goals of
their clients."
Prior
to this newly created role, Donnelly served as managing director of Business
Development in Nuveen Wealth Management. Previously she spent nearly 15 years
at Merrill Lynch, where she was managing director and head of Global Funds and
Insured Solutions.
She
will lead a recently expanded team of more than 20 dedicated DCIO professionals
focused on meeting the growing adviser, consultant, and plan sponsor demand for
TIAA Global Asset Management investment solutions in the 401(k), 403(b) and 457
marketplaces. The organization intends to add additional resources to support
the retirement adviser and consultant needs in the middle and larger segments
of the market.
“Through
a unified business and dedicated DCIO resources, we can now offer—as never
before—a complete suite of high-quality, high-performing investment strategies
that meets the unique needs of the DCIO clients,” says Donnelly.
NEXT: Segal Adds Associate Actuary
David A. Berger has joined The Segal Group as a vice president and associate actuary.
Berger
has more than 25 years of experience helping clients with their retiree health
and retirement plans. Most recently, he was at Aon Hewitt where he served as
the primary retirement consultant to several large organizations. His projects
included asset/liability modeling and total retirement studies.
Berger
is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA), an enrolled actuary (EA) and
a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA). He received a
Bachelor of Science, Economics and Management and Applied Mathematics from
Centre College of Kentucky and a Master of Arts, Economics from the University
of South Florida.
He
reports to Deborah Brigham, vice president
and actuary, and is based in Segal’s Atlanta office.
NEXT: Wilshire Names Head of OCIO Solutions
Wilshire
Consulting, the institutional investment advisory business unit of Wilshire
Associates Incorporated, has named veteran consultant Mark Brubaker, CFA, as head
of Wilshire OCIO Solutions practice.
Brubaker
is a managing director of Wilshire Associates. He joined Wilshire in 1997 and
has served as investment consultant to large corporate, endowment and public
fund clients out of Wilshire’s Pittsburgh office. He is head of Wilshire’s OCIO
Solutions practice and is a member of the Wilshire Consulting Investment
Committee and Manager Research Oversight Committee.
Prior
to joining Wilshire, Brubaker worked at Westinghouse Electric Corporation,
where he was responsible for more than $9 billion in defined benefit, defined
contribution and foundation assets. He also worked in the Investment Management
and Trust Division of PNC Financial.
Brubaker
earned a B.A. in Economics from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Carnegie
Mellon University. He also holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation and
is active in the CFA Society of Pittsburgh.
NEXT: TRA Adds Regional Sales Consultant
The
Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA) announced the addition of Josh Henry as regional sales consultant.
Henry's
main focus is educating advisers and clients, large and small, on the best plan
design for their retirement plan. He
will be covering the Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky territory. Henry will report to Craig Mazzini, National Sales Manager of TRA.
Henry
began his career as a plan administrator. According to TRA, over the past 16
years of being active in both a sales and support role, he has become
exceptionally skilled at designing and implementing retirement plans. Additionally,
Henry will work to effect immediate and sustained growth and market TRA's
services.
Henry
received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Franklin University in Columbus,
Ohio. He has his FINRA Series 6 License, FINRA Series 63 License and is
currently working toward his Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) designation
through ASPPA.
NEXT: Eng Rejoins AB in Custom DC Solutions
Jeff Eng has rejoined Alliance Bernstein (AB) as managing director
of custom defined contribution solutions.
He
will be responsible for driving the growth of AB's existing custom target-date
offerings and Lifetime Income Strategy solution, while supporting the firm's
broader initiative in digital delivery of retirement planning advice.
Jeff
originally joined AB in 2001 as a product director in defined contribution (DC),
where he was involved in the development and launch of Lifetime Income
Strategy, a multi-insurer target-date fund with a guaranteed lifetime
withdrawal benefit. The age-based, asset allocation program is designed to help
employees convert their savings over time into a stream of guaranteed income
that lasts throughout retirement. Prior to rejoining the firm, Jeff was director
of Retirement Income Solutions at Russell Investments.
"Our
defined contribution business continues to grow and we are excited to have Jeff
back on our team. He has an outstanding track record of developing and
implementing innovative customized retirement solutions and was intimately
involved in launching our Lifetime Income Strategy," says Richard Davies, Global Head of Defined
Contribution at AB.
NEXT: Wagner Law Group Adds Two ERISA Attorneys
Livia Quan Aber and
Ellen Stone,
both distinguished Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA) and employee benefits attorneys, will join The
Wagner Law Group, effective May 2, 2016.
Aber,
who joins The Wagner Law Group as of counsel, has previously held positions
specializing in ERISA and employee benefits at law firms, a financial
institution and a consulting company, as well as in the U.S. Department of
Labor (DOL). She has vast experience advising employers on a wide variety of
employee benefit matters, including the design, drafting and implementation of
qualified retirement plans and employee health and welfare benefit plans. She
also has significant experience representing employers before the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), DOL and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) in
the resolution of complex compliance and audit issues.
Aber
has experience structuring plan terminations and obtaining rulings from
government agencies. She has also advised employers on benefit plan matters
arising in acquisitions and divestitures.
Stone
joins The Wagner Law Group as a senior associate with broad ERISA experience.
She has advised clients on a wide variety of issues, including statutory,
regulatory, fiduciary, administrative and operational issues with respect to
qualified retirement plans, tax-sheltered annuities, nonqualified deferred
compensation, and welfare plans. Stone has experience representing clients
during IRS audits of employee benefit plans, drafting plan documents and
amendments for qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, preparing private
letter ruling requests, participating as a court-appointed independent
fiduciary and advising on ERISA issues arising from mergers and acquisitions. She
also has a robust Estate Planning practice.
NEXT: Voya Hires Two for Large Corporate Market
Voya
Financial’s Retirement business has recently made two strategic hires to
support its Large Corporate Market sales team.
Bob Hord joins Voya
as the director of consultant relations, and Sally Bradley-Golding will serve
as an account executive in the Large Corporate Market business. Combined they bring
more than 40 years of experience serving clients in the institutional
retirement industry and will focus on growing Voya’s presence in the large and
mega market arena.
Hord
and Bradley-Golding joined Voya in early April. Hord is based in North Carolina
and Bradley-Golding in Massachusetts. Each of them reports to Steve Keating, head of sales for the Large
Corporate Market.
Hord
previously worked at Wells Fargo for more than 12 years, most recently as the
vice president, senior consultant relations director. In that role he served as
the single point of contact for national consulting firms, broker dealers and
niche advisers firms who specialize in institutional retirement consulting. In
his new position at Voya, Hord will leverage his expertise and strong
relationships to expand the company’s presence in the mega and large market
space, specifically working to gain market awareness and secure opportunities
with the consultant community focused on this segment.
Bradley-Golding
previously spent more than a decade with Financial Engines, where she held
leadership positions that included overseeing a relationship management team as
well as developing successful partnerships with the top 401(k) providers who
offer Financial Engines’ investment advisory service to their plan sponsors.
Prior to Financial Engines, Bradley-Golding was with Fidelity Investments and
Bankers Trust Company. In her new role at Voya, Bradley-Golding is responsible
for bringing retirement solutions to plan sponsors—especially those whose plan
assets exceed $1 billion.
NEXT: Efficient Advisors Names President
Efficient Advisors,
LLC hired Nicole Newlin as president of the firm as of March 14,
2016.
Efficient
Advisors, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a Turnkey Asset Management
Program provider (TAMP) and exchange-traded fund (ETF) strategist that helps
advisers build and manage portfolios from a fiduciary perspective.
Newlin's
will be an important voice on Efficient Advisor's executive team in setting and
implementing corporate strategy, and she will have broad responsibility across
various functional areas of the firm.
Newlin
held high-profile roles on the executive teams at two large, well-known TAMP
firms, where she was instrumental in setting and executing corporate strategy
as well as developing leading-edge service and support infrastructure to help
advisers maximize their time and, ultimately, their success. Most recently,
Newlin was a partner at Pathfinder Strategic Solutions, where she helped advisers
nationwide to re-engineer and optimize their firms' overall client experience,
as well as develop and execute client acquisition strategies.
GRP Advisor Alliance, a group of
retirement plan firms focused on empowering advisers, announced the addition of its newest member firm, Mariner Retirement
Advisors.
The
Mariner organization represents 180 plans and more than $3 billion in assets
under advisement.
The
addition of Mariner Retirement Advisors to GRP Advisor Alliance extends their
reach in the mid-south region of the U.S. GRP Advisor Alliance’s and Mariner
Retirement Advisors share a common goal of providing extraordinary services to
advisers, plan sponsors, and participants.
According
to David Stofer, ChFC, CLU, AIF, founder
and president of Mariner Retirement Advisors, "We are pleased to
partner with GRPAA to provide enhanced services to our retirement plan clients.
Since our firm's inception, we have focused on ensuring financial wellness and
retirement readiness for our clients' employees. I look forward to further
enhancing these services through the Financial Finesse program and our
relationship with GRPAA."
NEXT: Principal Portland Expands Sales Team
Principal announced the
promotion of Kent Smothers to vice president
of Sales.
The
Portland Retirement and Income Solutions office has also added Dan Litwora as a senior sales representative to the team that services Oregon,
Western Idaho, and Southwest Washington.
Smothers
has been with Principal for almost 10 years. In his new role, he will direct
the Portland team in assisting and serving retirement plan consultants and
advisers. “I am proud to represent Principal every day. We spend our resources
on improving retirement outcomes for participants, creating efficiencies for
plan sponsors, and helping retirement plan professionals build strong practices
that make a difference,” says Kent.
Litwora
comes to Principal from The Retirement Advantage. In his role, he will work
with financial advisers, business owners, and HR managers on defined
contribution and defined benefits products serviced by Principal.
Litwora joins
Smothers and the other members of the Portland team, which includes Jeff Harvey, Ann Konrad, Ted Bender, and
Beth Granum, in working together to deliver heartfelt service and expertise
to retirement professionals.