Jay Kaduson Joins Voya Financial as CEO of Workplace Solutions

Kaduson will report to Heather Lavallee, CEO of Voya Financial.

Jay Kaduson will join Voya Financial Inc. as CEO of workplace solutions on January 16, the firm announced Thursday.

Kaduson, formerly of accounting firm PwC, will oversee all aspects of the health and wealth solutions businesses, including the execution of the company’s workplace strategy. He will report to Voya CEO Heather Lavallee and join the company’s executive committee. Kaduson replaces Rob Grubka, who had overseen the merging of the firm’s health and wealth divisions in December 2022.

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Voya has about 450 financial professionals serving retail and workplace clients. In the third quarter of 2024, wealth solutions reported pre-tax adjusted operating earnings of $211 million, an increase from $179 million in the same period the previous year. In the third quarter of 2024, health solutions reported pre-tax adjusted operating earnings of $23 million, down from $53 million in the same period the previous year.

Kaduson says that the workplace solutions team is in the “right mindset” to continue providing value to employers and their workforces.

“This is a high-performing team that I’ve been working with as an adviser for the last nine years,” he says. “I’ve competed against this team and then helped support this team, and I can tell you that that this entire organization is focused on bringing the right solutions to our advisers, to our customers.”

Kaduson has held leadership roles for 26 years in financial services, including roles at PwC and MetLife. At PwC, he oversaw growth initiatives in insurance, retirement and wealth practices, while also acting as Voya’s lead client partner. Kaduson focused on building high-performing teams, risk management and value creation through technology.

Prior to PwC, he spent 16 years at MetLife, ultimately serving as MetLife’s global head of enterprise relationship management, where he established partnerships with key financial institutions and service providers.

Reporting to Kaduson will be Amy Vaillancourt, president of wealth solutions; Andrew Frend, president of health solutions; and Courtney Kunzelmann, chief marketing officer for workplace solutions.

Enhancing Tools for Advisers and Customers

Kaduson and Vaillancourt underscore the importance to Voya’s mission of supporting plan advisers.

“The feedback that we also get from advisers is that digital continues to be very important. Whether it’s our MyOrangeMoney or MyVoyage tools, we’re leaders in this space,” Vaillancourt says. “Collectively as an industry, we’re working toward understanding what the best solutions from a retirement income perspective are.”

Kaduson adds that Voya’s focus is delivering a holistic view of clients’ needs through the workplace. The team plans to enhance the website experience for participants and sponsors, with continued investments in digital environments, he says.

“Our strategy is going to continue to focus on the customer and having a customer-centric operating model, meeting their needs through the workplace and the institutions we work with,” Kaduson says.

Retirement Plan Investors Remain Cautious in December Amid Market Volatility

Trading activity stayed subdued last month, with only two above-normal trading days recorded.

Retirement plan investors were generally light traders in December, according to data from the Alight 401(k) Index. Despite a volatile market environment, there were only two above-normal trading days during the month.

One of those days was December 18, when the Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut, but also signaled a potential slowdown in further cuts; major stock indices tumbled by more than 2.5%. On that day, net trading activity surged to over five times the typical daily volume, reflecting heightened investor reaction to the market downturn.

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In December on average, just 0.011% of 401(k) balances were traded daily. Equity funds were the preferred choice for traders on 14 of the 21 trading days in the month.

The data highlights a trend of relative investor restraint, with trading activity remaining subdued even amid significant market movements.

According to Rob Austin, head of thought leadership at Alight Solutions, trends from Alight’s 401(k) Index year-end data can impact retirement planning in several ways:

  1. Increased Trading Activity: Advisers need to be prepared for higher participant engagement and potential market volatility, which may require more frequent portfolio reviews and adjustments.
  2. Contribution Patterns: The continued popularity of target date funds for contributions indicates that many participants prefer an easy set-it-and-forget-it approach. However, TDFs had the most outflows, indicating that perhaps they are not the best portfolio long-term. Advisers should ensure TDFs are appropriate for their clients’ retirement timelines and risk tolerance.
  3. Market Performance Influence: Strong equity market performance might lead to overconfidence in stocks. Advisers should remind clients of the importance of diversification and not chasing past performance.

“Overall, these trends highlight the need for personalized advice and proactive management to help people optimize their retirement savings and navigate market changes effectively,” Austin says.

Funds receiving the most inflows included bond funds, large-cap U.S. equity funds, and international equity funds. Conversely, target date funds, stable value funds, and emerging markets funds experienced the largest outflows.

Asset classes with most trading inflows in December

Percentage of inflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Bond funds

36%

$154

Large U.S. equity funds

19%

$79

International equity funds

18%

$76

 

Asset classes with most trading outflows in December

Percentage of outflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Target date funds

75%

$316

Stable value funds

19%

$79

Emerging markets funds

5%

$23

 

Following market movements and trading activity, the average equity allocation fell slightly from 72.7% in November to 72.4% in December. Meanwhile, new contributions to equities edged up from 69.3% in November to 69.5% in December.

Asset classes with largest percentage of total balance at the end of December

Percentage of inflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Target date funds

31%

$82,908

Large U.S. equity funds

30%

$79,608

Company stock funds

7%

$18,483

 

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