Deals & People July 29, 2008

Natixis Hires Head of New Retirement Initiative

Natixis Global Associates (NGA) named Tracey Flaherty to spearhead retirement efforts aimed at the financial adviser marketplace.
Reported by

Tracey Flaherty was appointed senior vice president of retirement strategy and will oversee NGA’s retirement offerings, including refining the firm’s overall strategy in the marketplace and overseeing the development of related product offerings, the company said. She will report to Sharon Wratchford, executive vice president, global distribution administration and operations.

“Tracey will be a valuable asset to our organization as we continue to grow our retirement business,’ said David Giunta, president and CEO of NGA, in a release. “She’s uniquely positioned to guide our retirement business to its next stage, building upon the strength of our diverse investment offerings through our multi-boutique structure and in-house capabilities, such as overlay management through Managed Portfolio Advisors.’

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Most recently, Flaherty was a marketing executive for Bank of America’s Premier and Small Business division and served as managing director, consumer products, at FleetBoston Financial.

Flaherty is also an 18-year veteran of Fidelity Investments. She left as an executive vice president and had varied responsibilities during her tenure there, including overseeing the firm’s 401(k) rollover and employee stock plan businesses and active trader and online brokerage strategies. She also held various marketing and product responsibilities across Fidelity’s retail and institutional mutual fund divisions.

NGA said Flaherty’s focus will be on mapping out the firm’s strategic direction, evaluating new products, and utilizing NGA’s multi-boutique affiliate structure to develop diverse retirement portfolio offerings to clients. She will also oversee the development of retirement products in various arenas, including the defined contribution services, overlay management, and tax efficient portfolio transition strategies.

Compliance July 28, 2008

UBS Benches Fixed Income Head Amid Auction-Rate Probes

UBS reportedly suspended its head of fixed-income as state and federal investigations heated up into sales and marketing practices related to auction-rate securities by UBS and other Wall Street firms.
Reported by

New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has followed Massachusetts state securities officials by filing a civil-fraud lawsuit against UBS regarding its sales of auction-rate securities (see NY Next to Target UBS). Neither has charged any individual, though Massachusetts named Shulman as a figure who helped to direct UBS’s efforts (see UBS Securities Faces Charges of Fraud by Mass. Authority).

The Wall Street Journal reported Shulman is cooperating fully with UBS as it works through these matters, quoting Jonathan Gasthalter, a Shulman spokesman.

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Both New York and Massachusetts suits allege that UBS and its executives knew the auction-rate securities market was collapsing last year and early this year and did not warn investors. Instead, the suits allege, the firm marketed the securities to institutional and retail investors through its sales forces to clean their own inventories of the investments.

According to the Journal, a UBS spokeswoman said the firm doesn’t believe any of its employees acted illegally, but some might have used poor judgment. She also said UBS will defend itself against any charges.

The Massachusetts regulatory action alleged Shulman sold much of his personal holdings in the instruments.

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