Saturna Hires Director of Institutional Investing

Saturna Capital Corp. has appointed Paul Meeks, CFA, to the new dual role of director of institutional investing and senior equity analyst.

Meeks will direct Saturna’s outreach to mutual funds, separately managed accounts, endowments and retirement plans, and will work closely with Craig Churman, vice president of product development, to pursue advisory opportunities.

In addition to working closely with Saturna’s current and prospective institutional clients, Meeks will coordinate with Monem Salam, president of the company’s Malaysian subsidiary, Saturna Sdn. Bhd., to continue to grow the institutional asset base there.

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Headquartered in Bellingham, Washington, Meeks brings 25 years of portfolio management and investment research experience to his new role of generating performance analytics and developing investment products tailored to institutions’ specific needs.

From 2007 to 2012, Meeks was a portfolio manager and managing director at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, where he started and managed six portfolios totaling $7 billion. He earned a B.S. degree in history and political science from William College, and an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

 

SunGard Enhances Omni Web Solution

SunGard released a new version of its Omni Web Solution for defined contribution and defined benefit plan participants, plan sponsors and customer representatives.

The upgraded website provides participants with online access to account information and transactions. It incorporates expanded integration, messaging, reporting, configuration and processing capabilities to help plan sponsors differentiate their services.

New features include:

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  • Personal finance applications and other retirement tools for education, investment advice, statements and rollover services;
  • Rules-based messaging, redirection capabilities and on-demand reporting for real-time answers to queries, increased transparency and plan-specific guidance;
  • Paperless transaction approvals and processing, website usage and statistical reporting for plan sponsors; and
  • Plan administrator capabilities for configuration, plan set-up and uploading custom Web pages to add dynamic and static content to the site.

Retirement plan participants want greater transparency in their plan holdings through on-demand, online access to account activities and reporting, according to Greg Clark, senior vice president of SunGard’s wealth and retirement administration business. “SunGard’s Omni Web solution helps plan sponsors and client service representatives provide a highly configurable, branded and secure online experience for their constituents in order to deepen relationships while streamlining operations,” Clark said.

 

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