Retirement Industry Deals & People Moves – 1/30/2026

Pinnacle Associates Appoints Amy Pastorino Director of Financial Planning

Amy Pastorino

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. appointed Amy Pastorino as director of financial planning, tasked with overseeing the firm’s financial planning strategy and leading adviser development initiatives.

Pastorino joined Pinnacle in 2024 as a senior financial planner. Before Pinnacle, she served at Morgan Stanley as advanced planning and development director as well as financial planning director for the firm’s midtown market. Pastorino also held positions at TIAA, Element Financial Group, Ernst & Young LLP, Goldman Sachs Ayco and the Goldman Sachs Family Office.

Sowell Management Promotes Daryl Seaton to CEO

Sowell Management promoted former company President Daryl Seaton to CEO, succeeding Founder and former CEO Bill Sowell. Sowell will assume the role of chief strategy officer, where he will support the firm’s strategic and growth initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions.

Seaton joined Sowell Management in 2020 as chief operating officer and was promoted to his most recent position as president in 2023. Before Sowell Management, he founded Solera Asset Managers, first as a hybrid firm and then as a registered investment adviser. He began his financial services career at New York Life, where he last served as a senior partner.

“Daryl is a natural leader and an enthusiastic champion of the culture we established at Sowell [Management] since founding the company,” Sowell said in a statement. “This is a thoughtful evolution in our leadership, one that Daryl and I have been intentionally working toward over the past several years.”

Yusuf Abugideiri Joins Foundation for Financial Planning Board of Trustees

Yusuf Abugideiri

Yusuf Abugideiri, co-CEO and CIO of Yeske Buie Inc., joined the Foundation for Financial Planning’s board of trustees. He will serve a three-year term supporting the foundation’s mission of expanding access to pro bono financial planning.

Abugideiri’s involvement with the foundation started in 2018, when he participated in the organization’s Pro Bono for Cancer initiative, helping a couple navigate the financial challenges of a cancer diagnosis.

“The pro bono engagements changed me as a professional and made me a better planner for every client I work with who is affected by this kind of diagnosis,” Abugideiri said in a statement. “We get to make a real impact with this work for people who need our help. It’s an honor to serve, and I look forward to working alongside the other trustees to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives through pro bono financial planning, a necessary component of our profession’s identity.”

Lisa Gomez Among 35 Appointed to Rutgers Fellowship for ESOP Study

Lisa Gomez, former assistant secretary of labor overseeing the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, is among 35 research fellows appointed by the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing—part of the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations—to study employee share ownership in 2026. Gomez has been designated as an executive fellow.

The fellows are tasked with studying employee stock ownership programs, equity compensation plans, worker cooperatives and related business models, according to the school’s announcement. This year’s class is the largest in the 18-year history of the program.

“We’re proud to support these research fellows as they work to solve the growing problem of wealth inequality and help business leaders understand the benefits of employee ownership,” said Bill Castellano, professor and director of the institute, in a statement. “Our prior studies have shown that employees participating in equity programs have more long-term savings than comparable workers in similar industries. Employee ownership is also related to improved organizational performance and offers a viable strategy for business owners seeking to sell the firm to their employees.”