Retirement Industry People Moves

BPAS creates 401(k) platform with ANBTX; Experienced CFP leads intellicents’ new office; and Seelaus names managing director of firm’s subsidiary.

Art by Subin Yang

BPAS Partners With Bank to Create 401(k) Platform

BPAS announced its partnership with American National Bank of Texas (ANBTX) Trust Division to service the YOUR kPlan 401k platform.

The platform provides bundled plan administration and recordkeeping services for the YOUR kPlan, and enables small-to-large business owners to adopt a 401(k) and profit sharing retirement plan. ANBTX Trust and BPAS recommend YOUR kPlan to plans with $500,000 or greater in assets. They also offer a separate platform for start-up plans.

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“Partnering with ANBTX Trust delivers the best of both worlds to business owners in the North Texas region—the trusted relationship of ANBTX Trust, which understands the unique challenges of small and large businesses in the region, and the expertise of BPAS, which specializes in administering Group Trusts across the country,” says Paul Neveu, president, BPAS Plan Administration and Recordkeeping. “Delivering successful retirement plans through our partnership exemplifies our goal of helping participants achieve better outcomes and retire with dignity.”

BPAS provides plans with plan administration services, an education model with financial wellness programs, MyPlanLoan continuation program, and the option to add the Roadways Health Savings Accounts (HSA).  

intellicents Opens Office in Colorado

intellicents has opened an office in Colorado led by Betsy Cox, a certified financial planner.  

Cox holds 11 years of experience in both client service and practice management. In addition to delivering personal financial management services to individuals, she has working knowledge on federal, state of Colorado and corporate retirement plans and employee benefits.

“Expanding to Colorado has been on our radar screen for over 18 months,” comments Grant Arends, president of Retirement Plan Services at intellicents.  “We have long felt that our goal of deploying state-of-the-art financial management technology would resonate perfectly with Colorado’s exploding population and technology boom. What we needed was to find the right person to lead the charge in elevating our Colorado presence to great success. We are confident that our new intellicents office in Colorado will soar to new heights with Betsy at the helm.” 

Seelaus Names Managing Director of Firm’s Subsidiary

Seelaus & Co., Inc. (Seelaus) hired Christina Goulding as managing director of Seelaus Asset Management, LLC, the firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary.

Goulding will assist the investment team in fixed income credit, and is responsible for a number of business areas including marketing and operations. She will also work closely with foundation and nonprofit clients on their portfolio management and investment strategies.

“Christina brings well-rounded expertise, cultivated through her tenure as a financial analyst and strategic partner in the nonprofit space,” says Annie Seelaus, CEO of R. Seelaus & Co, Inc. “In addition, she represents another talented woman we are lucky to have in the room re-entering the full-time financial services industry after some time out.”

Goulding has more than 10 years of high-grade and crossover credit experience. Most recently, she was a director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where she worked on the Investment Grade Credit Desk as senior desk analyst in the Financial Institutions Group. Prior to that, Goulding held positions at Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch.

She graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in international economics and violin performance from American University. She has held board positions with Overlook Hospital Auxiliary, the Summit Junior League and The Connection. She is also a member of the Morristown Women’s Hospital Association.

Massachusetts Secretary Galvin Forms FinTech Working Group

The Secretary of the Commonwealth says the FinTech Working Group is the first dedicated team established by a state securities regulator specifically to provide support to, and receive advice from, fintech businesses.

William Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has directed the state’s Securities Division to form a FinTech Advisory Working Group.

Secretary Galvin suggests the FinTech Working Group is the first dedicated team established by a state securities regulator to provide support to, and receive advice from, fintech businesses.

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“The goal of the working group is to help fintech businesses navigate regulatory requirements, while meeting its mandate to protect investors and to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the markets,” Galvin says. “The working group will strive to keep regulation in step with digital innovation and will monitor developments in fintech, as well as the challenges encountered by fintech-related businesses in the securities industry.”

According to Secretary Galvin, the working group includes stakeholders from a broad spectrum of the technology and financial services community. “This collaboration will help advise securities regulators on meeting the novel demands of this rapidly growing space,” he says.

The FinTech Working Group members consist of private industry experts in the area, as well as staff members from the Massachusetts Securities Division.

Advisers are likely familiar with Galvin and the recent work of the Massachusetts Securities Division. The Division aggressively investigates and sanctions broker/dealers and advisers operating in the state. In 2016, the regulator launched a broker/dealer audit initiative that focused on firms employing 10 or more agents registered in Massachusetts and employing a higher-than-average percentage of Massachusetts-registered agents with at least one misconduct disclosure on their records. According to the Division’s subsequent report, the average percentage of Massachusetts-registered agents employed with at least one disclosure incident at all broker/dealer firms doing business in the state, regardless of size, was about 15% (as of June 2016). According to officials, the firms’ responses show the vast majority of broker/dealers are conducting more background checks due to FINRA Rule 3110(e), which became effective on July 1, 2015.

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