Deals & People March 1, 2024

Retirement Industry People Moves – 3/1/24

SageView names Cowell director of participant education and engagement; The Standard appoints Maixner to national accounts sales director for retirement sales; Hub makes Scott head of employee benefits for national market; and more.

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SageView Brings on Cowell as Director of Participant Education and Engagement

Erin Cowell

SageView Advisory Group has hired Erin Cowell as director of participant education and engagement, a spokesperson confirmed.

Cowell will report to Kerry Tapia, who last year was named vice president of participant education and engagement, overseeing SageView’s PersonalSAGE financial wellness program.

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Cowell will support SageView’s PersonalSAGE participant education and engagement solution program; assist with owning and developing SageView’s participant engagement initiative; and contribute to the ongoing success of client relationships, according to the spokesperson.

She joins the advisory from Principal Financial Group, where she was a senior education strategist for retirement and income solutions.

The Standard Names Maixner National Accounts Sales Director for Retirement Plans

Albert Maixner

The Standard has hired Albert Maixner as national accounts sales director for retirement plans, the company announced.

Maixner’s role was created to “enhance The Standard’s delivery of strategies and tools for advisory firms,” including in areas such as pooled employer plans and managed accounts.

He joins with more than 15 years of experience in the retirement plan and financial services industry; prior to The Standard, he worked in retirement plan sales roles at Principal Financial Group and Prime Pensions.

Hub International Appoints Scott as Employee Benefits National Major Market Practice Leader

Anthony Scott

Hub International Ltd. has appointed Anthony Scott as employee benefits national major market practice leader, according to an announcement.

Scott will drive growth in the practice and its overall strategy, focused on major market clients implementing solutions that address employee reward needs.

Scott previously led Hub’s employee benefits major market segment focusing on large, complex organizations and was responsible for identifying, developing and implementing innovative and sustainable strategies with an emphasis on change management. He joined Hub in 2021 after previously working at privately held brokerage Lockton as the director of strategic consulting.

He also brings experience from other industries, with a strong focus in health care, private equity, technology, manufacturing and higher education.

Hatchett-Bodle Joins Hall Benefits Law

Bonita Hatchett Bodle

Bonita Hatchett-Bodle has joined the ERISA and executive compensation law firm Hall Benefits Law as a partner, according to a company newsletter.

Hatchett-Bodle has served as outside ERISA and benefits counsel to national corporations, public sector entities, growth and middle-market companies, jointly trusteed funds, as well as entrepreneurs. She served as the qualified plans vice chair of the American Bar Association’s section of real property, trust and estate law and is licensed in Texas and Illinois.

She serves HBL clients from her office in Sealy, Texas.

Voya Promotes Pander to Emerging Market Sales

Voya Financial Inc. has promoted Elizabeth Pander to vice president, emerging market sales to lead the Central Southeast region, a spokesperson confirmed. In the role, she will manage 18 sales directors in the emerging markets division and report to Bill Elmslie, senior vice president, emerging market sales.

Before joining the firm, Pander was with ADP Inc. as a retirement services sales district manager.

Client Service March 1, 2024

Fiduciary Responsibility: 3(38) Services Set to Increase

Plan sponsors are gravitating toward 3(38) investment managers, letting advisers take the wheel, according to a CAPTRUST senior plan adviser.

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Jean Duffy, a senior vice president at CAPTRUST, shared in a Wednesday webinar that an increasing number of clients are choosing a 3(38) investment manager and handing them “the keys of the car,” instead of staying with a 3(21) designated adviser.

As Duffy noted, in a 3(21) investment adviser relationship, the adviser makes investment recommendations to a plan’s retirement committee. The plan sponsor or the committee then makes the final decision on the investments and owns the liability for that decision.

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With a 3(38), per the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the investment adviser takes responsibility, Duffy said, for the final decision on the investments and owning the liability.

“This really represents the highest level of investment liability transfer possible under ERISA,” she said. “I like to explain this to my committees: A plan sponsor is basically turning the keys of the car over to, me and I’m driving. I’m deciding which turns we’re making, where we’re stopping, when we’re going.”

The 3(38) option is growing in popularity in part due to the growth of 401(k) plan litigation and an increased focus on being protected from fiduciary risk. But, Duffy noted, the plan sponsor committee still has the responsibility to monitor its service provider to ensure it is doing a good job.

“It doesn’t mean that they have to second-guess the investment decisions,” Duffy said.
“They just have to be responsible for making sure that we’ve done what we’ve said we’re going to do by serving as that 3(38) investment manager.”

Duffy agreed that the shifting of the fiduciary responsibility is the most notable advantage for clients in using a 3(38) investment manager, given recent lawsuits, litigation and heightened scrutiny from the legislative side.

“Many plan sponsors are looking for ways to protect themselves, and the 3(38) investment manager is one way that they can do that, especially if they’re not comfortable making those investment decisions,” she said.

The CAPTRUST webinar also covered other topics on fiduciary roles and responsibilities in retirement plans.

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