Alera’s Retirement Unit Adds Financial Wellness Director

Alera Group Inc.’s retirement plan services division announced Wednesday that it has hired Matt Rafeld to a newly created role as director of financial wellness, part of a push to provide the full range of services to plan sponsors.

Rafeld comes to Alera from Edelman Financial Engines, where he was also director of financial wellness. He will report to Christian Mango, Alera’s executive vice president and national practice leader for retirement plan services, according to the Deerfield, Illinois-based firm.

Matt Rafeld

“Matt’s hire is part of a larger strategic effort to provide more holistic solutions to our clients as more employers recognize that the workplace has become the financial hub for many Americans and that offering employee financial wellness programs reduces financial stress, increases productivity, and helps companies attract and retain top talent,” Mango said in a statement.

Alera will be joining other retirement plan advisories and recordkeepers in building out its own national financial wellness program in coming months, Mango said in the announcement.

“Across Alera Group, we are committed to meeting the evolving needs of our clients and their employees, and that increasingly involves active support for employees’ financial wellbeing,” he said.

The move comes shortly after Alera announced another new hire as a senior retirement plan consultant: Bryan Hissong, formerly of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., joined the firm in July to work with large defined contribution, defined benefit and nonqualified plans.

Rafeld spent 10 years at Edelman Financial Engines as a financial wellness instructor and director of its wellness program.

“We want to help retirement plan participants and employees more broadly navigate concurrent goals, whether that’s establishing and funding emergency savings accounts, saving for their children’s education, or saving for their own retirement,” Rafeld said in a statement.

Mango also came from financial wellness, having joined Alera in 2022 from a role as president of Financial Fitness for Life.

New CIO 

B.J. Webster

Alera also announced on Wednesday the creation of a new chief investment officer role for its wealth services and retirement plan services divisions.

B.J. Webster, a managing partner of Pennsylvania-based Wharton Business Group, an Alera Group company, will assume the CIO responsibilities alongside his continuing work with clients, Alera announced.

“With B.J.’s leadership and guidance, we will provide a unified investment platform for a consistent client experience and easy access to broad investment options,” Tina Hohman, executive vice president and national practice leader of Alera Group Wealth Services, said in a statement.

Webster co-founded Wharton Business Group in 1992 and has worked in portfolio evaluation, investment policy development, manager selection, security selection, portfolio rebalancing and investment fee analysis. Alera acquired Wharton Business Group in 2022 along with multiple other wealth services and retirement plan services offices, according to the firm.

Alera’s wealth services group oversees more than $7.5 billion in assets under management, and its retirement plan services unit advises on about $7.5 billion of assets.