Deals & People September 20, 2024

Retirement Industry People Moves – 9/20/24

Fiduciary Trust hires client development lead from Bernstein; Mercer hires one new investment executive, promotes another; ERISA expert Wagner tapped for employee benefit leadership posts; and more.

Reported by

Fiduciary Trust Brings On VP

Kevin McAuliffe

Fiduciary Trust Co. hired Kevin McAuliffe as vice president and client development officer to focus on client needs and business development efforts. He will report to Sidney Queler, head of wealth management.

McAuliffe joins from Bernstein Private Wealth, where he was a private wealth adviser; before that, he was a managing regional director for Natixis Investment Management.

Fiduciary Trust is a privately owned wealth management firm working with families, individuals and nonprofits.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

Marcia Wagner Named to Leadership Posts at Benefits Counsels

Marcia Wagner

Marcia Wagner, founder and managing director of the Wagner Law Group, has been appointed to the advisory council to the policy board of directors for the American Benefits Council and the board of governors of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel Inc. 

The American Benefits Council is an employee benefits public policy organization that advocates on behalf of employers aiming to run industry-leading benefits programs to protect and encourage the health and financial wellness of employees, retirees and families.

The ACEBC is an invitation-only organization of employee benefits lawyers aiming to elevate industry standards and advance the public’s understanding of employee benefits law. The Wagner Law Group’s attorneys include nine ACEBC fellows.

Wagner is “honored to have been chosen to serve in these respective positions and looks forward to providing a meaningful contribution,” according to a firm statement.

Mercer Names Two Investment Team Leaders

Mercer, a business of Marsh McLennan, appointed two new senior level positions to its wealth division, both reporting to Marc Cordover, U.S. wealth leader. 

Anne Marie Schultz

Anne Marie Schultz will take the new role of U.S. investments commercial leader. Schultz will work with Mercer’s investment teams on the delivery of investment tools, advice and solutions to institutional clients, including defined benefit and contribution plans; endowments and foundations; insurers; and health care and wealth management organizations.

Schultz joins from BlackRock, where she provided industry insight, investment solutions and risk advice to insurance companies and health systems. Before that, she had been with Oliver Wyman, like Mercer a Marsh McLennan business.

Sylvia Diez

Sylvia Diez will take an expanded position of U.S. investments sales leader overseeing business development with investments clients; she will maintain her role as central zone wealth practice leader. She joined Mercer as a partner in 2021 from a position as executive vice president and regional managing director at PNC, overseeing institutional asset management groups in the Midwest and West.

JP Morgan Wealth Hires FA from Bernstein

Michael Lopes

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management hired Michael Lopes as a wealth partner working out of its Washington, D.C., office.

Lopes works with individuals and families, with a focus on entrepreneurs and business owners, and will report to Market Leader Kim Bonanni.

Lopes left a role at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, where he managed more than $600 million in client assets.

Data & Research September 20, 2024

US Retirement Assets Hit Record $40T

Asset growth is led by an increase in holdings in IRAs and 401(k) plans.

Reported by

Total U.S. retirement assets climbed to $40 trillion as of June 30, marking a 1.3% increase from March and the highest since the Investment Company Institute started tracking the figure in 2000. Retirement assets represented 32% of all household financial assets in the U.S., reflecting a steady rise in the nation’s long-term savings, the firm noted.

Individual retirement accounts led the growth, gaining $14.5 trillion in assets in the second quarter, a 1.5% increase from the first quarter of 2024. Defined contribution plans followed closely, growing $11.3 trillion, up 1.9% from Q1.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

Government defined benefit plans, which include federal, state and local government pensions, gained $8.5 trillion in Q2, representing a modest 0.5% uptick since March. Private sector DB plans reported $3.2 trillion in assets over the quarter, while annuity reserves outside retirement accounts totaled an additional $2.4 trillion.

US Total Retirement Market Assets

Source: ICI

Of the $11.3 trillion gained in employer-based DC retirement plans, $8 trillion of that came from 401(k) plans. Among other DC plans, $625 billion was added in private sector funds, $1.3 trillion in 403(b) plans, $465 billion in 457 plans and $911 billion in the Federal Employees Retirement System’s Thrift Savings Plan.

Mutual funds continue to play a critical role in managing U.S. retirement savings in Q2, particularly in DC plans like 401(k)s, which had $5.2 trillion—65%—of their assets managed by mutual funds at the end of June, the ICI noted. Equity funds remained the dominant investment choice within those funds, holding $3.1 trillion, followed by $1.4 trillion in hybrid funds, which include target-date funds.

IRAs, similarly, saw a significant portion of their $14.5 trillion in assets allocated to mutual funds, with 43%—or $6.3 trillion—invested in these vehicles. Equity funds accounted for $3.7 trillion, while hybrid funds managed $1.1 trillion.

Overall, mutual funds made up nearly half—49%—of the combined assets in IRAs and DC plans, totaling $12.8 trillion. They also played a role in variable annuities, which offer similar tax advantages to retirement plans. In June 2024, variable annuity mutual fund assets outside retirement accounts reached $1.4 trillion.

Mutual funds have started to be overtaken in DC retirement plan investing by collective investment trusts, which face lighter regulation and can be offered with lower fees to employer-sponsored plans. According to recent Morningstar data, CIT target-date funds now have more assets than mutual fund TDFs.

«