Some members of leadership in Congress have pledged to leave
retirement plans alone, one speaker noted, but it remains to be seen how that
will actually play out.
While Republicans in the Senate and House have faced real
difficulty in passing ambitious health care reform measures, experts convened
for Mercer’s mid-year Washington update presentation warned attendees “never to
turn their back on a zombie.”
The expression captures the unpredictable way the House and
Senate have operated so far under the Trump administration—pledging major
changes to signature Obama-era policies but so far delivering very little that
is substantive.
Mercer experts explained how Senate majority leadership has
postponed their first vote on repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act
(ACA), in the wake of a hard-fought but eventually successful effort to pass
similar legislation in the House. So far the Senate version of the bill has not
been able to generate enough support to make passage seem likely—and it
probably won’t help matters to have the House and Senate bills “twisting in the
wind” over the July 4 recess. That is something Republicans wanted to avoid,
the Mercer experts all agreed, as the break from debate will almost certainly
lead to a loss in momentum and a lot of uncomfortable meetings and town halls
with angry constituents.
Mercer experts speculated that the Medicaid-focused changes
in the House and Senate bills are a big part of what has stalled the debate.
Moderate Republicans are more interested in protecting the generosity of
Medicaid within their constituent populations, while the conservative wing of
the party wants to see big cuts. Middle ground may not seem likely here, Mercer
warns, but it could materialize depending on what other
parts of the legislation could be reworked. The bottom line right now is
that there is a lot of drama left ahead before employers will see either
repeal/replacement of the ACA, or if it will in fact be left intact.
The picture on retirement-related
tax reform is just as complicated and controversial, Mercer experts agreed.
The consensus was that, if the White House and Congress want to keep their
campaign promise of enacting tax reforms this year, they will really need to
pick up the pace. So far the employee benefits industry has seen “only talk of
broad goals that focus on lowering rates at a very general level—nothing very
substantial yet.” The Mercer experts say they have been told that a lot of
negotiation is going on behind the scenes in this area, “very much including
proposals to change the way retirement plans are taxed.”
Some members of leadership have pledged to leave retirement
plans alone, one speaker noted, but it remains to be seen how that will
actually play out. Very prevalent are the “Rothification” proposals, which
Mercer finds “concerning in terms of diminishing the incentive for savings that
employees have right now. The potential impact here for employers is huge,
Mercer warns, but the tax issues are probably going to have to wait until after
the score is settled on health care reform.
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Dietrich &
Associates has joined the BDO Alliance; Pentegra Hires 403(b)
Consultant; Strategic Retirement
Partners Expands Northern California Team; and more.
Dietrich &
Associates has joined the BDO
Alliance USA, a group of independently owned local and regional accounting,
consulting and service firms with similar client service goals. As an
independent member of the BDO Alliance USA, Dietrich & Associates can
expand the service offered to clients by drawing on the resources of BDO USA.
The firm serves clients through more than 60 offices and 500 independent
Alliance firm locations nationwide. As an independent member firm of BDO
International Limited, BDO serves multi-national clients through a global
network or more than 1,400 offices in more than 150 countries.
“Our client base is increasingly exploring business
opportunities on other domestic markets and foreign countries. The BDO Alliance
USA allows us to better serve these clients as they expand regionally,
nationally and globally while maintaining our autonomy, “ says Kurt Dietrich President of Dietrich &
Associates. “In addition to the geographic benefits, our firm with have
access to greater technical knowledge and specialty services of DBO USA and its
international organization.”
The BDO Alliance USA enhances member firm capabilities
through the availability of supplementary professional services, comprehensive
management consulting services, focused industry knowledge, customized computer systems, and internal training programs.
“We believe the professionals of Dietrich & Associates,
Inc. share BDO’s commitment to exemplary client service and we want to welcome
them into the BDO Alliance USA,” says Michael
Horwitz, BDO USA, LLP Partner and Executive Director of Alliance Services.
NEXT: Pentegra Hires 403(b)
Consultant
Pentegra Hires 403(b)
Consultant
Maegen ‘Meg’ Chaudry has joined Pentegraas a 403(b)
consultant. She will be
responsible for managing relationships with Pentegra’s non-ERISA 403(b)
clients and advisers
throughout Texas.
Chaudry
began her career with Edward Jones as a financial adviser in Houston, Texas. She also
worked as an area sales representative
for American Funds. She worked with financial advisers and intermediaries for pensions, corporations and
retirement plans to provide practice management and investment services to help
protect and grow assets. Most recently, she led a sales team for Legg Mason and its
affiliates, where she was responsible for creating and maintaining
relationships to drive sales across 13 territories.
“We are
excited to have Meg join our team,” says Chuck
Coldwell, Pentegra’s vice president-national
director, Consulting and BOLI Services. “Her combination of industry
experience, relationship management skills and ability to cultivate adviser
relationships will benefit all of our business partners.”
Chaudry
is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where she attended the Mays Business
School and earned a bachelor’s degree
in business marketing. She also holds FINRA Series 7, 66 and insurance
licenses.
NEXT:Strategic Retirement Partners Expands Northern California Team
Strategic Retirement
Partners Expands Northern California Team
Stig Nybo has
joined the Northern California team
of Strategic Retirement Partners. He
brings 25 years of experience in leadership roles within the retirement
business spanning all aspects of the business. Nybo has led strategy,
operations, sales and marketing, and technology teams as president of Transamerica
Retirement Services. He’s also served several advisory board roles, including
RetirementJobs.com, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), and Betterment for Business.
“Stig is a perfect addition to our team,” shares Jeff
Cullen, managing partner, Strategic Retirement Partners. “Like us, he
believes that every American deserves the opportunity to retire with dignity
and confidence. He is an award-winning author for Transform Tomorrow:
Awakening the Super Saver in Pursuit of Retirement Readiness (John Wiley
& Sons, Inc., 2013), which received the USA Best Book Award for “Social
Change” and “Business: Investing.” And he was named the 5th most influential
person in the retirement plan industry by 401kWire.com.”
NEXT:T. Rowe Price Expands Global Investments
Team
T. Rowe Price Expands
Global Investments Team
T. Rowe Price Group
welcomes Lowell Yura to its Asset
Allocation division as head of Multi-Asset Solutions for North America. Yoram Lustig joins as head of
Multi-Asset Solutions for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
Yura is based in Baltimore and Lustig is based in London.
Both report to Peter Austin, head of Multi-Asset Solutions and a
member of T. Rowe Price’s Asset Allocation investment team.
Yura was most recently managing director and head of
Multi-Asset Solutions for BMO Global Asset Management in Chicago. Prior to BMO,
he was managing director, and head strategist, Americas and UK, for Global
Investment Solutions at UBS Global Asset Management. Earlier in his career, Yura
was a consulting actuary at Towers Perrin and investment consultant at Mercer. He
holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and a master’s
degree from the University of Chicago.
Lustig was most recently head of Multi-Asset Investments UK
for AXA Investment Managers in London. Prior to his time at AXA, he was head of
Multi-Asset Funds for Aviva Investors in London. Earlier in his career, Lustig
served as head of Portfolio Construction - EMEA at Merrill Lynch. A published
author, Lustig holds a law degree from Tel Aviv University and a master’s
degree from London Business School. He is also a licensed lawyer.
NEXT:Barrow Hanley Hires Director of Responsible
Investing
Barrow Hanley Hires
Director of Responsible Investing
Value-oriented investment managers Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss (Barrow Hanley) has
hired Ross M. Campbell as director
of responsible investing. He will provide further depth to Barrow Hanley’s
integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into the
firm’s fundamental, research-driven investment process.
He also brings more than 14 years of experience to the
Barrow Hanley investment team, where he will assist in managing the
recently-launched U.S. Value and Emerging Markets Value ESG strategies.
Prior to joining Barrow Hanley, Campbell was president of
SRI Research Group, a consulting firm focused on assisting companies with their
corporate disclosures and corporate sustainability reports. He completed
the US SIF (The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment) training on
Fundamentals of Sustainable and Impact Investment. He also completed
certificate training from Deloitte for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards
of Corporate Sustainability Reports. Before founding the SRI Research Group, he
managed the Sustainability and Investor Relations efforts for AECOM (ACM) and
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR).
He earned a master’s degree from the Cox School of Business
at Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s degree from Franklin and
Marshall College.
NEXT: Financial
Services Roundtable Expands Cybersecurity Team
Financial Services
Roundtable Expands Cybersecurity Team
The Financial
Services Roundtable (FSR) has brought on Adam Palmer to BITS as its vice
president of cybersecurityrisk
management. This division focuses on cybersecurity, fraud, and technology. In
this role, Palmer will manage key aspects of the program including security,
authentication, and encryption standards as well as information and technology
sharing between the financial sector and government partners.
Palmer brings more than two decades of experience honing his
skills in the public and private sectors. He served most recently as director
of International Government Relations for cybersecurity firm FireEye and
previously led cybersecurity initiatives at the United Nations and Symantec. He
began his career as a U.S. Navy JAG Officer focusing on cybercrime prosecution.
Palmer holds a bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University,
a J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law, a Certificate in International
Management from Pacific-Asian Management Institute, and a master’s degree from
the University of Hawaii.
“Cybersecurity is a top priority for the financial industry,
and Adam’s addition to the team will greatly benefit FSR members and bolster
our advocacy efforts in Washington,” says Chris
Feeney, president of BITS.
NEXT: Ascensus
Acquires Retirement Plan Administrative Service
Ascensus Acquires
Retirement Plan Administrative Service
Ascensus, a technology
and solutions provider, has announced the acquisition of independently owned Retirement Plan Administrative Service (RPAS).
This actuarial, consulting, and administrative services firm is headquartered
in Richmond, Virginia. It specializes in qualified
plan design, installation, government compliance, and administration.
RPAS will add to the Ascensus Consulting line of business.
"RPAS is recognized as a premier administration firm
for qualified retirement plans," says Shannon Kelly, Ascensus' president of retirement. "This acquisition is in
line with our goal of aggressively expanding our Ascensus Consulting business
as well as Ascensus overall. I'm pleased to welcome RPAS' clients and
associates to Ascensus Consulting and am excited to add ESOP services to our
product offering."
Burl V. Bachman,
president of RPAS adds, "Becoming
part of Ascensus Consulting and gaining access to its resources will allow us
to provide the best possible plan design and operation while remaining committed
to personal service. Our clients can rest assured in the knowledge that we'll
continue to always act in their best interests and maintain loyal relationships
that are based on trust and integrity."
NEXT:Arnerich Massena Names Co-CIO
Arnerich Massena
Names Co-CIO
Portland-based investment firm Arnerich Massena has named Bryan
Shipley as co-chief investment
officerand a member of the firm’s shareholder group. Shipley will serve
alongside Tony Arnerich, the firm’s founder. As co-CIO, Shipley is responsible
for overseeing the firm’s investment strategy and providing thought leadership,
while helping to establish Arnerich Massena’s investment philosophy and future
investment considerations. He directs the Investment and Product Committees and
manages Arnerich Massena’s Analytics team.
Shipley joined Arnerich Massena in 2003. He has held several
leadership roles including senior research analyst and head of the firm’s
traditional and real asset research. He has more than 19 years of experience in
the financial industry, having served prior as an associate for Wurts &
Associates, where he conducted traditional and alternative investment manager
research and due diligence. Shipley holds a bachelor’s degree in business
administration with a concentration in finance.
Dave Nute, CEO, says: “Arnerich Massena is
known for its award-winning analytical team and dedication to performing
rigorous, proprietary research. Mr. Shipley has had a key role in the
development and maintenance of the firm’s investment philosophy and research
process, and the move to co-CIO is a natural progression of his work.” He notes
that with the recent transition to 100% employee ownership, “we are working to
codify the principles and philosophy Tony Arnerich brought to the firm, and
sharing the CIO role will make it possible to bring in the next generation of
leadership.” Nute is also pleased to welcome Shipley to the shareholder group
as a principal of the firm.
NEXT: Voya Hires
401(k) Leader
Voya Hires 401(k) Leader
Voya Financial welcomes Bill Harmon as president of Retirement
Corporate 401(k).
Harmon will
oversee all aspects of the Corporate 401(k) market including sales,
relationship management, strategy and profitable growth for all segments of the
market. Harmon will join CEO of Retirement Charlie
Nelson’s leadership team, as well as Voya’s Operating Committee.
Most
recently, Harmon served as senior vice president, Core Markets for Empower
Retirement. He spent more than two decades with the firm.
“I am
delighted to announce that Bill is joining the Voya team to lead our Corporate
401(k) market,” says Nelson. “Bill brings a proven track record of building
strong, high-performing teams – and driving profitable growth. With his deep
experience and commitment to this industry, Bill will be a great addition to
our Retirement leadership team as we continue to focus on solutions that
deliver value and help Americans become financially and emotionally ready to
retire.”
Harmon holds
a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Loyola Marymount University in Los
Angeles.
NEXT: Redhawk Partners With E-Valuator
Redhawk Partners With E-Valuator
The E-Valuator LLC announced
an ongoing partnership with locally-based RIA firm Redhawk Wealth Advisors to serve as the company’s technology
centerpiece in addressing the recently implemented Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule and its
future impact on financial advisers.
The collaboration will allow for the direct integration
between The E-Valuator’s Analytical Toolkit and Redhawk Wealth Advisors’ Investment
Management Process.
“There have been big changes to our industry as of late,
particularly around the handling of client accounts in a fiduciary manner,” says Rick Keast, president of Redhawk Wealth Advisors. “The challenge for us, and the industry as
a whole for that matter, is implementing a process that can be tailored to each
client we serve. In our eyes, The E-Valuator software creates that process for us.”
Kevin Miller, CEO of The E-Valuator, adds: “We are excited
to partner with Redhawk to deliver the technology in assisting their firm from
a compliance and growth perspective. The financial services industry is
continually evolving and we are pleased to work with Redhawk through the industry’s
next phase of evolution.”