Retirement Industry People Moves – 1/31/25

John Hancock Retirement selects head of strategic partnerships; Merit Financial Advisers recruits from CAPTRUST; Ninety One appoints director of consultant relations; Pacific Life announces PRT head and more.

John Hancock Retirement Promotes Head of Strategic Partnerships

John Hancock Retirement promoted Abigail Benham to head of strategic partnerships, effective February 1.

In response to the convergence among many providers and partners in the retirement industry, John Hancock created this role to “navigate the dynamic trends in the marketplace and serve the needs of financial advisors, third-party administrators and other intermediaries in the rapidly evolving retirement landscape,” according to the announcement.

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A veteran of 26 years at the company, Benham will take a “holistic, end-to-end” view of strategic partnerships, leading key home office relationships with broker/dealers, registered investment advisers, aggregators, consultants, third-party administrators, defined-contribution-investment-only partners and payroll firms.

Benham will report directly to Wayne Park, CEO of John Hancock Retirement, and will join the organization’s leadership team. As part of the appointment, the TPA services team will now report to Benham, joining her current national accounts team.

Merit Financial Advisers Recruits from CAPTRUST

David Wahlen joined Merit Financial Advisors as vice president of strategic partnerships, a newly created role.

Wahlen will serve as the primary liaison for all mergers and acquisitions (M&A) partnerships and relationships. His responsibilities will encompass sourcing new deals, fostering relationships with investment bankers and strategic partners, and collaborating with Merit’s CEO Rick Kent and President, Kay Lynn Mayhue, to enhance the experience for onboarded firms.

Wahlen joins Merit after serving as Director of Strategic Growth at CAPTRUST. During his time at CAPTRUST, Wahlen was involved in 50 M&A transactions, helping grow the firm’s wealth AUM from $5 billion to $80 billion between 2018 and 2024.

Ninety One Appoints Director of Consultant Relations

Global investment manager Ninety One appointed Marilyn Rowland as director of consultant relations within its Americas client group.

Based in New York, Rowland will lead business development and relationship management with select institutional consultants across North America.

Rowland brings more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She previously worked as a senior research analyst, responsible for U.S. equity growth coverage, at Fiducient Advisors. Prior to that, she held senior business development and investment consulting roles on the buy side and sell side in asset management and global investment consulting firms.

Lenox Advisors Names Chief Operating Officer

Lenox Advisors Inc., an affiliate of NFP, an Aon company, announced the appointment of Kristi Vassak as managing partner and chief operating officer. Vassak joined Lenox Advisors in 2005 and most recently led its business and strategic solutions division.

With the promotion, Vassak will focus on advancing efficiency and overall productivity, as well as overseeing strategic initiatives.

“Kristi is a proven leader and operational expert who has strong relationships inside and outside the company, and we are thrilled to leverage her capabilities and understanding of our business as we steer Lenox Advisors into its next phase,” said Greg Large, president of Lenox Advisors, in a statement.

Pacific Life Announces PRT Head

Pacific Life Insurance Co. named Michael Domingos as head of defined benefits, pension risk transfer in its institutional division.

Domingos has more than three decades of experience in the institutional marketplace. He previously served as the head of distribution at OneAmerica and as head of sales and strategic relations at Prudential Financial.

“[Domingos’] innovative approach and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our commitment to providing exceptional solutions that bridge the retirement of today to the retirement of tomorrow,” the firm wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

FINRA Flags Shortcomings in Firms’ Anti-Money Laundering Efforts

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s latest report offered advisers best practices for strengthening their compliance with security regulations.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority highlighted persistent failures in firms’ anti-money laundering compliance programs in its 2025 annual regulatory oversight report. The report underscored ongoing concerns about inadequate customer due diligence, failures to respond to red flags and insufficient independent testing, all of which make companies more vulnerable to financial crime. 

Under FINRA Rule 3310, firms must implement written AML programs that comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and its regulations. These programs should include independent compliance testing, ongoing training for personnel and risk-based procedures for monitoring customer activities. However, FINRA found widespread deficiencies in these areas. 

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“We are entering an era of significant uncertainty in financial regulation,” says Robert Cruz, vice president of regulatory and information governance at Smarsh Inc. “While no one can predict with certainty what the future regulatory structures will look like, one key message to advisers is that even in an era of ‘deregulation,’ you cannot afford to neglect the essentials of compliance.”  

According to Cruz, insider trading, market manipulation and money laundering now have a much larger playing field, as innovations in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency are making misconduct significantly harder to detect.   

Key Compliance Gaps 

One major concern specified in the FINRA report was firms’ failure to properly conduct customer identification programs and customer due diligence. Some firms misinterpreted their obligations, failing to recognize formal customer relationships or neglecting to verify identities at account opening. Others lacked clear policies, making compliance inconsistent. 

Another critical issue raised in the report was a failure to act on red flags. Some firms auto-approved accounts, despite warning signs like identity mismatches, nominee accounts and suspicious trading activity. Many companies also lacked effective procedures to detect identity theft and synthetic identity fraud. 

FINRA found that some firms had weak AML procedures for detecting and reporting suspicious transactions. Deficiencies included insufficient resources for monitoring, failure to investigate high-risk transactions and overlooking red flags in wire transfers and securities trades. 

Additionally, some firms failed to notify their AML departments of suspicious activities, such as cybersecurity breaches and fraudulent transfers. Others did not respond adequately to regulatory and law enforcement inquiries, raising further compliance concerns. 

Testing and Training Weaknesses 

Independent testing of AML programs and training programs were often inadequate, FINRA noted, with firms skipping required annual reviews or conducting superficial assessments that failed to evaluate the company’s ability to detect suspicious activities. In some cases, firms failed to adjust their AML testing to reflect new products, services or client bases that shifted their risk profile. 

FINRA also found that some firms did not adequately train employees to recognize and respond to suspicious activities, which weakened the companies’ ability to prevent financial crimes. 

“Unfortunately, many advisers continue to rely on outdated, single-purpose compliance technology that was built in an era of email,” said Cruz. “The importance of investing in modern approaches to compliance that understand today’s communications formats and can be used to spot potential red flags has never been greater.”  

Best Practices for Strengthening AML Compliance 

FINRA’s report suggested AML practices that firms can adopt to improve compliance: 

  • Investigating unusual withdrawals: scrutinizing large or suspicious withdrawals, especially from elderly or vulnerable customers (e.g. a disbursement from a retirement account), to prevent fraud;  
  • Enhancing transaction monitoring: regularly reviewing clearing firm transactions to detect suspicious activity patterns; 
  • Updating corporate AML policies: aligning policies with regulatory updates from the SEC, FinCEN and FINRA; 
  • Strengthening customer verification: using multiple ID verification methods and cross-referencing information with third-party sources; 
  • Improving cross-department coordination: ensuring AML teams communicate with compliance, risk management and business units; and 
  • Enhancing training programs: tailoring training to employees’ roles and incorporating lessons from independent testing. 

The FINRA report pointed out that financial crime threats are evolving and companies should expect increased regulatory scrutiny of AML programs. Firms may face penalties for failing to address deficiencies. Strengthening AML frameworks is critical, the regulator noted, to prevent financial crimes and ensure compliance with FINRA regulations. 

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