Retirement Industry People Moves – 2/2/24

Gallagher names new DB leader; Northwestern Mutual makes further moves in succession planning; National Institute for Public Employee Health Care Policy names new head; and more.

Gallagher Appoints Pension Veteran to Lead U.S. DB Consulting

Tonya Manning

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. promoted Tonya Manning to the role of practice leader of U.S. defined benefit consulting and administration, effective January 1, a spokesperson confirmed.  

Manning is responsible for a wide portfolio at Gallagher that includes managing the DB consulting and administration’s employees and operations; strategic direction; addressing emerging pension trends; consulting topics; technical issues; professional standards; and policies and procedures, according to the spokesperson.  

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Manning reports to Jeff Leonard, global practice leader of Gallagher’s financial and retirement service business line.

Gallagher promoted Manning because of her experiences with DB plans, according to the spokesperson. Gallagher acquired Buck in early 2023 and Manning joined Gallagher at that time, in the role of U.S. wealth practice leader and chief actuary.

Northwestern Mutual Names New Leaders in Succession Shuffle

John Roberts

Northwestern Mutual has announced further leadership changes after a January 25 announcement that CEO and Chairman John Schlifske would be stepping down at the end of this year, to be succeeded by Tim Gerend, formerly the executive vice president and chief distribution officer.

Gerend has, as of February 1, transitioned from his prior role to serve as president of the firm, according to the latest announcement of succession planning. In addition, the firm noted that Schlifske will remain chairman of its board of trustees through January 2025, when Gerend will take the chairman role.

The company also announced that John Roberts, formerly vice president of field talent and performance, has succeeded Gerend in his prior roles as executive vice president and chief distribution officer, as of February 1. Roberts will now be responsible for the company’s career distribution system of more than 8,000 financial advisers who work with policyowners and clients with comprehensive financial planning. He will report to Gerend and will join the company’s senior leadership team.

Roberts joined Northwestern Mutual in 2006 as an analyst and has held numerous leadership roles in distribution, including regional vice president, until 2018, when he took the role of vice president of field and talent performance.

In addition, the firm announced that Mike Carter, executive vice president and chief of staff, is retiring, as of January 31, 2024, after more than 30 years with Northwestern Mutual. Carter was named chief of staff in January 2023, and before that was the company’s longest-serving chief financial officer, a role he had for almost 15 years.

Green Named Executive Director of National Institute for Public Employee Health Care Policy 

Marta Green

The fledglingNational Institute for Public Employee Health Care Policyannounced thatMarta Greenhas been named its executive director, effectiveJanuary 30. Under Green’s leadership, the institute will advance the interests of public sector employees, retirees and their dependents by developing research that supports their access to affordable, high-quality health care. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Marta as the first executive director of the Institute,” said Katrina Daniel, board chair and chief health care officer for the Teacher Retirement System ofTexas, in a statement. “Her extensive leadership in public sector health care, most recently at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, uniquely qualifies her to drive research and educate federal policymakers on key issues impacting public sector benefits.”

Green spent more than two decades in the public sector, most recently as chief of health plan research and administration at CalPERS, where she oversaw benefit design, financing and contracting to ensure comprehensive health benefits for 1.5 million public employees and their families. 

Mutual of America Names Thaddeus Pollock Head of Value Equity

Thaddeus Pollock

Mutual of America Financial Group, which provides retirement services and investments to organizations and individuals, announced that Thaddeus Pollock has joined Mutual of America Capital Management LLC as executive vice president and head of value equity.

Pollock joins from Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, where he worked for 20 years, specializing in small- to mid-cap equities. He will be responsible for managing Mutual of America’s small-cap and mid-cap value investment strategies, overseeing all aspects of the value equity portfolio management within MoA Funds and separately managed accounts, which, combined, have about $28 billion in assets.

Pollock reports to Stephen Rich, chairman and CEO of Mutual of America Capital Management. Pollock has more than two decades of investment management experience, including in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions at Lehman Brothers.

Stratos Wealth Holdings Names Polley Chief Market Strategist of Investment Division 

Malcom Polley

Stratos Wealth Holdings announced the appointment of Malcolm Polley as chief market strategist for the rebranded Stratos Investment Management, formerly known as Fundamentum.

Polley will work with all Stratos-affiliated advisers to provide financial market insight that will enhance the strategic decisionmaking within portfolio and asset allocations for clients across the Stratos family of firms. He will report to CIO John Nichol.

Polley has more than 35 years of investment and financial services industry experience. Most recently, he served as president and CIO of Stewart Capital Advisor. He has also worked for Marquette Trust Co., Marquette Advisory Services, West Bank and S&T Wealth Management.

What Gen Z Values Most From Employers

The Standard found that workers of Generation Z value traditional benefits, so employers can still focus their efforts on core offerings.

Generation Z workers highly value traditional benefits—retirement savings plans and medical insurance—meaning employers can emphasize core offerings without necessarily investing in costly new programs, according to research from retirement services firm The Standard, “Evolution, Not Revolution.”

The survey, released Thursday, found health insurance (66%) and retirement savings (58%) were ranked by Gen Z respondents as extremely valuable, landing in the top five. In addition, a large majority (79%) ranked their top financial goal as saving, and 55% reported valuing automatic enrollment in a 401(k)-type plan.

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Gen Z’s top five benefits were:

  1. Health/medical insurance
  2. Paid family and medical leave
  3. Retirement savings plan
  4. Life insurance
  T-5. Emergency savings account

  T-5. Mental health days

“I want benefits like health insurance,” a full-time employee and college student living with roommates told the Standard researchers. “Even if you pay me less to afford it, it means that I don’t see it coming out of my paycheck. I would rather not have to worry about the stresses of insurance or a 401(k) and be paid a little less.”

The Standard stated that while individuals once turned to banks and credit for a “rainy day,” Gen Z expects their employers to step into this role.

Among Gen Z members, 73% said they consider emergency savings accounts a “very or extremely valuable” benefit, and 29% said they would value emergency loans from employers.

A related study from The Standard—“Breaking News: Benefits Providers Are the Good Guys”—revealed that Gen Z holds benefits and retirement plan providers to a high standard regarding societal challenges, with 61% emphasizing the importance of their providers’ commitment to social issues in their decisionmaking.

This expectation was slightly lower for banks (31%), credit card companies (19%) and clothing/fashion brands (15%).

“By expecting more from benefits and retirement plan providers, Gen Z may be signaling they trust them to do more,” the Standard commented in a statement. “In essence, members of this generation may perceive providers to be the good guys.”

According to the Standard, carriers that proactively engage with this generation on financial security may cultivate a stronger connection, leading to increased product adoption and persistence. Moreover, employers aligning with such carriers stand to benefit by attracting and retaining Gen Z talent in the competitive landscape.

Both reports from The Standard, “Evolution, Not Revolution” and “Breaking News: Benefits Providers Are the Good Guys,” resulted from a survey of 1,250 Gen Z full-time workers aged 18 through 26, conducted from August 7 through 24, 2023.

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