“The focus of my practice is to be service-oriented,” she says. “We remain committed to assisting our clients with projects that include all operations and administration of their plans, and to serving as an intermediary alongside their recordkeeping providers.”
Fiumara says she has long prided herself in serving as a “full-service retirement plan adviser—and that consistency of service, experience and expertise remains at the forefront of each client experience.”
She says she and her staff of four focus on the four pillars of their business: “employee financial wellness, plan administration, operational support and investment analytics for ongoing asset manager performance reviews.”
Fiumara recalls that she first started working in the retirement plan industry in 1997, when the 401(k) market was just beginning to adopt bundled recordkeeping platforms. “I seized the opportunity to work with plan sponsors to improve their recordkeeping service models and the cost structure of their investment lineups,” Fiumara says.
Asked what her service model is, Fiumara says, “It starts with getting to know each client and becoming familiar with their ecosystem. I try to gain an understanding of their organizations and the needs of their employees.”
Fiumara says she is well aware of the financial stresses many people are under and, as such, she encourages her team to be empathetic in their dealings with plan participants and to “work toward finding practical solutions that benefit each individual.”
The financial wellness program that UBS has developed to help alleviate some of those financial stresses is all inclusive, “from the single parent, to same-sex couples to all races.” She says UBS’ financial wellness program is also notable in that it lays out “a plan of action to help participants accomplish their goals [and has] recurring accountability check-ins.”
As to how the industry has changed in the past five years since she won the award, Fiumara says sponsors and participants alike have a greater appreciation for the importance of retirement plans: “More employers feel that workplace plans enhance employee commitment,” she says. Sponsors are also more committed to financial wellness and education and are starting to think about ways to help people who are retired, she says.
Fiumara says she has also been encouraged to see the professionalism of retirement plan advisory practices improve in the past five years, noting that “the advisory business has evolved to include more expertise and skill sets in well-rounded teams.” Fiumara says she feels fortunate to work for a firm that has so many resources to support her practice “with legal and compliance resources, marketing, economic investment outlook reports, a service contracting team and investment reporting software. This has allowed me to stay focused on each client’s individual objectives and goals—and has benefited the growth of my practice significantly.”
Today, Fiumara says financial wellness programs are more important to participants than ever.
“Not only have they become more holistic, but they now include topics that take every single employee’s personal situation into account,” she says.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further underscored the benefits of financial wellness programs. According to a recent UBS study, employees who participate in such programs feel positive about their money and make better financial decisions, especially when they’re faced with short-term financial challenges, including monthly savings, expenses and credit card debt. They also take more proactive steps to ensure their long-term and short-term financial security, including taking advantage of other employer-provided benefits.
Fiumara says that with the COVID-19 restrictions turning all meetings with participants and sponsors into virtual meetings, she has missed being “surrounded with the energy of being among clients and their employees.”
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, UBS’ community affairs team has donated food to several food banks, Fiumara notes. In the past 10 years, nearly 4,000 of UBS’ employees have volunteered 13,800 hours, benefiting more than 300 organizations, she says.
Outside of volunteer work, when it comes to what advisers can do to improve the health and prospects of defined contribution (DC) plans and their participants, Fiumara says she believes advisers should begin with employee engagement and provide customized financial resources.
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Miracle Mile Advisors has added investment advisor Dimitry Farberov to its team.
Farberov has nearly 10 years of financial experience and specializes in retirement planning, asset management, income distribution and philanthropic planning.
Prior to joining Miracle Mile Advisors, Farberov served as an investment advisor at IDB Capital, where he worked with clients to find tax-efficient strategies as they transitioned into retirement, sold their businesses and transferred wealth to the next generation.
“Dimitry’s proven track record and his passion for serving clients makes him an invaluable addition to the West LA office,” says Brock Moseley, managing partner at the firm.
“I admire the firm’s momentum and dedication to their clients,” Farberov says. “The mission and vision of the company aligns with my core strengths and skills.”
Empower Retirement Selects Asset Management SVP and Head
Empower Retirement has appointed Jonathan Kreider as senior vice president and head of Great-West Investments, the asset management unit of Empower Retirement.
Kreider, who has been with the organization for seven years, most recently as vice president, investment products, now will have overall responsibility for identifying, creating and delivering investment, retirement income and advice solutions, and retirement savings products to Empower’s plan participants and clients.
He will report to Empower Retirement President andCEO Edmund F. Murphy, III. The move is effective immediately.
“Jonathan is perfectly poised to take the helm of GWI where his experience in day-to-day investment management decision analytics gives him keen understanding for the oversight of the investment strategies teams across equity, fixed-income and global asset allocation as well as product development and strategy,” Murphy says. “His leadership in our organization for the past seven years has greatly contributed to its success and growth and I look forward to working with him as GWI continues to innovate and develop better investment solutions for retirement investors.”
Kreider joined the organization in 2012 and led the investment products team in product development and the product management of Great-West’s proprietary investment solutions. He now heads Great-West Capital Management LLC which advises both the Great-West Funds Inc. and other collective investment trusts and separate accounts. He will also lead the Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co. general account, stable value and the retirement income solutions for the retirement market.
Prior to joining Great West, Kreider worked as a consultant with JDL Consultants LLC, a boutique management consulting firm specializing in strategic and analytical work for mutual fund boards. Before that, he spent more than five years as a senior research analyst at Lipper Inc. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s from the University of Colorado at Boulder and is a member of the CFA Society of Colorado and a CFA charter holder.
Kreider takes the role previously held by Scott Sipple, who recently accepted a position with Empower’s sister company, Putnam Investments, headquartered in Boston.
Employee Benefits Partner Joins Dechert LLP
Dechert LLP has hired Howard Klein as a partner in the firm’s employee benefits and executive compensation group based in New York.
Klein advises private and public companies, private equity funds, senior executives and portfolio managers in connection with executive compensation and employee benefits in complex corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), reorganizations, financing arrangements and public offerings.
David Jones, co-chair of Dechert’s employee benefits and executive compensation group, comments, “Howard will further enhance our ability to advise private equity, financial institution and other corporate clients on critical employee benefits and executive compensation considerations for their most complex transactions. Howard has a reputation for excellence, and we are excited to welcome him to the firm.”
“Dechert is widely regarded for partnering with clients globally as a strategic adviser in their most challenging and high-stakes transactions,” Klein says. “I look forward to working with my new colleagues around the world to strengthen Dechert’s market-leading corporate platform.”
He received his juris doctor degree from Fordham University Law School and a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He was formerly a partner with another leading international law firm in New York.
MassMutual Appoints Defined Benefit Leader
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) has appointed Karen McColl to lead its defined benefit (DB) business. She reports to Keith McDonagh, head of institutional solutions.
“Karen has broad experience in the institutional financial services industry, leading the growth and development of several investment management businesses,” McDonagh says. “We’re excited to have a leader of such depth running a growth business for MassMutual.”
McDonagh says he believes McColl’s investment management background will help MassMutual further expand its capabilities in the DB marketplace.
McColl most recently was head of investment management for MassMutual’s MML Investors Services where she led the establishment of an ecosystem of investment resources, tools and solutions across advisory platforms with $45 billion in assets. Previously, she held senior management positions at Fidelity Investments, Evergreen Investments and Columbia Management.
McColl earned her master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, and her bachelor’s degree from Boston University. She is a chartered financial analyst and holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 26 and 63 licenses.
“MassMutual sees great opportunity in the defined benefit marketplace as employers look for expertise and experience in managing and meeting their pension obligations,” McDonagh says. “Karen’s background will help grow our defined benefit capabilities in serving plan sponsors, plan participants and financial advisers.”
Pentegra Announces Executive Promotion
Pentegra has promoted Kelly Casella to assistant vice president, plan documents.
Casella joined Pentegra in October 1999. In her new role, she will direct Pentegra’s plan document services, helping clients design retirement plans for successful outcomes. She will also oversee aspects of prototype and individually designed plans, monitoring documents for compliance and handling plan amendments and document restatements. Prior to Pentegra, she was with Diversified Investments. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in business administration.
IPX Announces Three Additions to Executive Suite
TheInvestment Provider Xchange(IPX) has added executive staff and sales team members.Kevin Loffredi joins as chief product officer and Michael Schaeffer joins as director of sales. In addition, Rick Moser expands his role as vice president and relationship manager.
Loffredi started with IPX in December after most recently serving as a vice president at Morningstar Inc., where he was responsible for annuity research tools and working with custom web-based solutions for their partners. He will work closely with James Olson, managing director and IPX Platform Architect.
“2019 was a strong year for the IPX platform, as we successfully integrated with more financial services and employee benefits professionals and helped streamline their 403(b)/457(b) offerings,” Olson says. “We’re excited to extend and exceed this growth in 2020 and expanding our team is a vital component of that. Kevin’s experience in managing projects targeting integration with insurance carriers has already proven a valuable asset to the IPX Platform.”
“IPX is an investment-agnostic platform for the 403(b)/457(b) marketplace that provides web-based portals for investors and other interested parties to seamlessly interact with and manage their accounts,” Loffredi says. “And with recent additions to the IPX sales team, I expect we will remain plenty busy in 2020.”
IPX has added Schaeffer to drive continued growth of the platform. Schaeffer, who was most recently with AXA Distributors LLC, brings more than 30 years of experience in the retirement plan industry. As a vice president and director of sales, he will introduce IPX to potential product and distribution partners as well as consultants.
“I’ve already seen where sponsors and their consultants are taking notice of IPX and realizing the benefit of offering a platform that makes participant support possible through compliance and control of products and distribution partners,” Schaeffer notes. “I am excited to join the IPX team and look forward to expanding our message to a welcoming variety of audiences.”
In Moser’s capacity as a vice president and relationship manager, he will work closely with the IPX sales team onboarding plans and their approved distributors/advisers. He has more than 20 years of experience in the retirement plan services industry and, prior to joining IPX in 2015, held various sales positions with Fiserv Trust, PCS Retirement and Aspire Financial Services.
ICI President to Retire at End of 2020
Investment Company Institute (ICI) President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens will retire at the end of 2020 after leading the global regulated fund industry trade group for more than 16 years. ICI’s Board of Governors will oversee a search in the coming year to identify the Institute’s next chief executive.
“I am immensely proud of the Institute’s many achievements during my time as its president and CEO,” Stevens says. “Over these years, we have transformed ICI into a truly global organization with world-renowned research and analytical capabilities that support our advocacy on behalf of funds and their shareholders. It has been a privilege for me to lead our talented and dedicated staff, and to work alongside so many outstanding leaders in our industry. Retiring from such rewarding work will be bittersweet, but I have every confidence that I will leave ICI in a very strong position for the next president.”
“Paul’s steadfast leadership and keen intellect have been key factors in the successful growth of ICI and its work for nearly two decades,” adds George C. W. Gatch, chairman of ICI’s board of governors and CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s global funds and global institutional businesses. “His ability to navigate complex regulatory and policy matters while maintaining the industry’s focus on serving fund shareholders has strengthened ICI’s ability to advocate across the globe on issues of importance to funds and investors alike. I look forward to working with the board and Paul to identify the next leader of the Institute, who will continue building on the strong foundation ICI has laid under Paul’s leadership.”
Stevens, 67, has served as president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute since June 2004. He previously served as ICI’s general counsel from 1993 to 1997. Stevens has steered ICI during some of the most challenging years in its history, through the financial crisis and beyond. During his presidency, Stevens led ICI’s efforts on a series of crucial issues, including the globalization of fund investing, response to the global financial crisis, establishment of ICI as a major center for research and data, policy efforts to strengthen retirement savings, and fund regulatory changes to enhance transparency, reduce costs, and protect investors.
EPIC Retirement Plan Services Acquires ABGIL
EPIC Retirement Plan Services (EPIC RPS), a subsidiary of NBT Bancorp Inc., has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the assets of Alliance Benefit Group of Illinois Inc. (ABGIL), a retirement plan services company located in Peoria, Illinois. ABGIL provides full-service recordkeeping,administration, fiduciary investment advice and plan design solutions to employers nationwide.
“The addition of the ABGIL team to our well-established retirement services business at EPIC RPS represents an exciting opportunity to continue the growth of our national brand and footprint while expanding the services we provide to our clients,” says EPIC RPS President Manny Marques. “In addition to our team members in Missouri and Iowa, adding this experienced team in Illinois will deepen our already strong commitment to serving the Midwest as we strive to help America retire.”
ABGIL President John Blossom adds, “Joining EPIC RPS will provide us with the opportunity to continue to deliver the same high-touch service our clients depend upon. We are also excited to tap into the resources available through EPIC RPS that will help us deliver more tools and greater value to the clients and plan members we serve.”
Segal Appoints SVP and Manager of Western Region
Segal has promotedJordan Smith to senior vice president and regional manager of Segal’s West region.
Smith is responsible for managing operations for Segal’s offices in Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. Most recently, as a member of the West leadership team, Smith has been responsible for financial management for the region, working with consulting staff to ensure services are provided to clients within budget and scope.
He previously served as Segal’s West region health practice leader. He was responsible for quality oversight for health client deliverables in the region and was also involved in developing and implementing national standards for health care trend and reserve factors. He also helped develop Segal’s quality assurance policies and procedures for the National Health Practice.
Smith will be based out of Segal’s San Francisco office.
