Deals & People June 16, 2015

MainStay Adds Two to DCIO Team

The investment firm is developing its DCIO consulting team.
Reported by

MainStay Investments has hired two senior regional vice presidents in its defined contribution investment only (DCIO) practice.

A 20-year veteran of the retirement services industry, Dana Hartwell joins MainStay from Hartford Funds, where he was head of national accounts focused on defined contribution (DC) investments. Before that, he was senior vice president, retirement strategies, head of platform sales and marketing at Natixis Global Asset Management. He also worked for Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments. Based in Westwood, Massachusetts, Hartwell will cover the Eastern region of the U.S.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

Douglas Dhom comes to the firm from Invesco, where he served as vice president, institutional business development. In this role, he sold defined contribution and variable annuity platforms to institutional clients. Dhom will be based in Atlanta and cover the Central region of the U.S.

As part of the firm’s DCIO client consulting team, Hartwell and Dhom join MainStay veteran Tom Smythe, who will continue to be based in Denver and cover the Western region.

Jeff Budd has been appointed director of the team.
Products June 16, 2015

Pensionmark Introduces Custom TDFs

The funds aim to provide returns in line with market indexes.
Reported by

Pensionmark Financial Group has launched a suite of custom target-date funds (TDFs), the Pensionmark SmartLifecycle Funds. The funds were created by Wilmington Trust, which will act as trustee, and BlackRock will serve as the manager of the portfolios and their glide paths.

The goal of the fund is to provide returns in line with market indexes, but with a lower risk profile. “If we can achieve that, we believe we can curb participant tendencies to move to cash during the bottom of a cycle and then to re-invest at the top,” says Michael Woods, executive vice president at Pensionmark. “Keeping people invested may be one of the most substantial influences we can have on the retirement savings of Americans.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

The Pensionmark SmartLifecycle Funds resemble solutions that are currently only found at mega plans, adds Ronnie Cox, director of investments and technology at Pensionmark. During declining markets, the funds will seek to track minimum-volatility domestic and international equity indexes, while still participating in potential gains during rising markets.

Pensionmark’s President and CEO Troy Hammond adds: “Participants are most concerned about loss, and plan sponsors about the appropriateness and cost of their target-date solutions. By utilizing minimum volatility strategies, a collective trust chassis and the ability for participants to engage with us to adjust their position along the glide path, we have sought to effectively address all of these needs in a way that has never been seen before.”

«