Deals & People February 5, 2015

NFP Advisor Services Takes on N.C. Advisory

Gate City Advisors, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the newest firm to join the NFP Advisor Services platform.
Reported by

The firm’s managing partners, Joseph (Joe) Vartanian and R. Sherwood Greer, have 19 and 31 years of experience in financial services, respectively.

Vartanian cited NFP Advisor Services’ technology and tools, as well as its commitment to the retirement industry, as critical to his decision to select the firm as a partner. The advisory’s long-term vision includes expanding their retirement plan focus, he said.

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“NFP Advisor Services’ expansive suite of adviser-focused services, especially in the technology space, will help Gate City Advisors be more efficient and effective in serving our clients. As we look at our long-term vision, we want to expand our retirement plan focus and NFP Advisor Services will support that growth,” he explained.

“We continue to see great opportunity in the retirement plan space, and Gate City’s emphasis on the 401(k) business complements our focus,” said James Poer, president of NFP Advisor Services.

Gate City Advisors offers financial planning, investment consulting and retirement plan services. NFP Advisor Services provides technology, service and asset management platforms to financial advisers.

Deals & People February 5, 2015

Mercer Names National Business Leader

Global consultant Mercer has appointed Muriel Knapp as the national business leader for its Defined Contribution (DC) Advisors specialty practice.
Reported by

Effective immediately, Knapp is responsible for providing decisionmaking, evaluation and monitoring to plan sponsors. Based in Washinton, D.C., she reports to Bill Howard, principal overseeing Mercer’s specialty practices.

“We are excited to announce Muriel as our new national business leader for DC Advisors,” says Howard. “We will look to her considerable skills, demonstrated leadership qualities and vision for the future as we help our clients meet their employees’ needs in a changing benefits landscape.”

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Knapp takes over the position held by Charlie Ledbetter, who will retire from Mercer in September. She most recently served as market leader for Mercer’s DC Advisors in the South and Midwest markets, and maintains more than 20 years of experience in employee benefits and consulting, having also held leadership positions with Great-West Retirement Services. Knapp received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

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