Data & Research November 10, 2017

Colleges and Universities Seek Expert DC Advisers for Plan Refinements

This year's survey from Transamerica of higher education plan sponsors shows a decline of 403(b) plans offered, and a dramatic swing in the popularity of 401(k) plans. 
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Transamerica has published an updated annual survey of higher education plan sponsors, finding many are beginning to adopt the retirement plan features shown to be popular in the corporate sector. 

According to Transamerica researchers, the trend “reflects the pressure on higher education institutions to offer the same competitive benefits as corporate businesses if they hope to compete for talent, allowing for a wider choice of retirement plan vendors.”

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Data shows higher education institutions have achieved notable improvements in plan eligibility for full-time faculty and staff, part-time or adjunct faculty, and part-time staff. Part-time or adjunct faculty eligible to enroll grew to 26% in 2016, up 14 percentage points from 2014, the firm explains.

Transamerica finds higher education institutions also “made a marked increase in the adoption of automatic enrollment (67%) and automatic deferral rate increases (36%) for participants.’ These were significant spikes when compared to the previous two years, “which stagnated at 44% for automatic enrollment, and 24% for automatic deferral rate increases.”

“In light of a stronger focus on fiduciary responsibilities, more than three-fourths (76%) of survey respondents said they have implemented an investment policy statement, compared to 60% in 2015,” researchers explain. “Regarding investment choices within the plan, 27% of respondents offer fewer than 10 investment options, while 31% offer 11 to 15 options. Just 12% of higher education plans offer between 16 and 20 investment options, generally considered to be the ideal number for accommodating—but not overwhelming—participants with choice.”

While an impressive 95% of higher education institutions surveyed now offer an employer contribution of some sort to employees, employee contribution levels, unfortunately, are on the wane. The percentage of participants contributing $5,000 or more to their retirement account slid from 40% in 2015 to 35% in 2016, Transamerica reports.

“Correspondingly, the percentage contributing $5,000 or less rose from 60% in 2015 to 65% in 2016, with most of that increase occurring in the $1,000 to $2,000 contribution range,” researchers explain. “This is not good news for institutions hoping to make their plan participants retirement ready.”

The number of higher education institutions enlisting the services of retirement plan advisers and consultants jumped dramatically in 2016, moving to 41% of plans compared to just 17% in 2015. 

“Another 24% of institutions say they plan to hire an adviser within the next 12 months,” Transamerica says, highlighting opportunity for advisers and sponsors to collaborate to boost participant outcomes. Survey responses suggest the most common role for advisers when working with retirement plans at higher education institutions is to “meet with employees to provide retirement plan education.” For Higher education institutions that use an adviser, more than half (51%) rely on their advisor for this function, Transamerica finds, and based upon the advice of consultants and advisers, many institutions have begun to see the benefit of outsourcing certain administrative functions related to their retirement plan.

“Currently, between 40% and 50% of institutions outsource services such as required minimum distributions, beneficiary designations, loan approvals, loan default monitoring, rollover verification, participant fee disclosures, and calculation of the employer match,” researchers observe.

“2016 represented another year of significant change for the higher education retirement plan market. Higher education institutions are rapidly evolving their approach to retirement plans as part of a strategy to offer competitive compensation and benefits,” concludes Brodie Wood, senior vice president of retirement at Transamerica. “While many have already made changes and added features, they are still working to improve their retirement plans by consolidating provider relationships, adding services and investment options, providing better participant education, and leaning on advisers to help put faculty and staff on the path to retirement readiness.”

The entire survey is available for download from Transamerica here. 

Deals & People November 10, 2017

Retirement Industry People Moves

Segal Hires Former Consultant on Employee Benefit and Health Care Strategies; Janney Montgomery Scott Adds New Workers to Equity Research Group; Recordkeeping and Consulting Firm Joins ABG 
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David Blumenstein, president & CEO of The Segal Group, has announced that Eric Sanner has joined the firm as a senior vice president in the firm’s health practice. 

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“Eric is an industry leader in health care consulting and excels in providing superior client service and guidance to organizations in both the public and private sectors,” says Blumenstein. “He also has a strong record of developing strategies that help clients achieve their broader organizational and business goals. We are very excited to have him on the team.”

Sanner joins Segal from Aon Hewitt, where he was a senior vice president consulting on employee benefit and health care strategies. In that role, he led the Mid-Atlantic Aon Public Sector Roundtable, a key thought-leadership group for public sector organizations. Earlier in his career at Aon Hewitt, Eric was their Northeast region practice leader, where he contributed to national strategy development as a member of the executive leadership team.

Sanner is based in Segal’s Washington, D.C. office. He earned a B.A. in economics from Davidson College and participated in Catalyst Leadership Development at the Kellogg School of Management, the Business School of Northwestern University.

NEXT: Janney Montgomery Scott Adds New Workers to Equity Research Group

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, a full-service wealth management, capital markets, and asset management firm headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, welcomed one new hire and promoted two Janney employees in its Equity Research Group, helping to expand its equity research coverage of the healthcare industry. 

Yun Zhong has been hired to cover the biotechnology sector with a focus on gene therapy and central nervous system diseases. Yun has a Ph.D. in neuroscience & molecular biology from Rockerfeller University and has been covering biotech stocks for the past seven years at Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey and Cowen & Company.

Ken Trbovich has been promoted to managing director at Janney, and will continue to lead and help grow the firm’s specialty pharmaceuticals franchise. 

“Ken has been a tremendous addition to our healthcare team since he was hired in 2015. His depth of knowledge and quality of corporate and institutional relationships are the cornerstone of Janney’s presence in this important sector,” says Dan Wantrobski, Janney’s director of research.

Bill March has been promoted to vice president. His focus will be on expanding coverage in healthcare technology with an emphasis on extending Janney’s reach in its leading life science tools franchise. March’s coverage will encompass contract manufacturing, contract research, and healthcare services.

“The pace of innovation in drug discovery and development has reached an inflection point that has allowed for sustained growth of new drug approvals for everything from cancer to rare diseases. Biotechnology, life sciences tools, and specialty pharmaceutical companies will each play pivotal roles in allowing our healthcare system to improve the quality of treatments and outcomes for patients, while also fostering a competitive environment to bring costs down,” says Paul Knight, Janney’s head of healthcare research.

“The healthcare industry’s importance to our national and regional economy continues to expand. Our firm is committed to providing clients with high quality, proprietary research generated by professionals with deep and relevant industry experience. The individuals we’ve hired and promoted will further establish our firm as an important resource for both our institutional, corporate, and retail clients,” says Andrew Maddaloni, Janney’s head of equities.

NEXT: Recordkeeping and Consulting Firm Joins ABG 

Alliance Benefit Group, LLC (ABG), is expanding its presence in the retirement plan industry. Jocelyn Pension Consulting, LLC, with offices in San Rafael, California and Boulder, Colorado, is the latest retirement plan recordkeeping and consulting firm to become a licensee and join the ABG network. 

Founded in 2002, Jocelyn Pension is an independent recordkeeper and third-party administrator in the western U.S.

“I’ve known Bob Jocelyn for years and I am thrilled that Jocelyn Pension has decided to join ABG. His firm’s stellar reputation and commitment to their clients and to their employees is what you expect from a strong partner,” says Don Mackanos, president of Alliance Benefit Group. “Adding Jocelyn Pension to the ‘ABG family’ provides us with an expanded geographic footprint for our various distribution opportunities on the West Coast. Bob and Nick are a welcome addition to the network of executives that already make up ABG and their contributions are already being noticed by the other ABG members.” 

“We are excited to be a part of this diverse group and look forward to strengthening existing relationships and forming new partnerships with all of the ABG member firms.” says Bob Jocelyn, president of Jocelyn Pension. “Being able to collaborate and work closely with industry peers will be a big benefit to our clients and our staff.” 

For additional information on Alliance Benefit Group go to http://www.abgnational.com or contact Don Mackanos at don.mackanos@abgnational.com.

NEXT: Franklin Templeton Hires Executive Vice President 

 

Franklin Templeton Investments today announced that Jed Plafker has been named executive vice president of Global Advisory Services, effective December 1, 2017. In this role, Plafker will oversee the company’s global distribution efforts, including retail and institutional sales, marketing and product strategy. His previous internationally-focused role will now expand to include U.S. distribution.  

“For more than 10 years, Jed has led our international distribution group through a period of exceptional growth,” says Jenny Johnson, president and chief operating officer. “Under his leadership, we have broadened the company’s reach and increased our market share internationally. Through fiscal year 2017, under Jed’s guidance, we have seen improving sales flows internationally where retail net flows have been positive for three consecutive quarters. Several countries and regions have seen a rebound in net sales over the past fiscal year.” 

Plafker has overseen international distribution for the firm since 2006, providing strategic direction on both retail and institutional distribution, and on product and new business development, across international regions. In addition to being a member of the product committee, which oversees product launches globally, Plafker has also headed global marketing, including the global data analytics group.

In his new expanded role, Plafker will add responsibility for U.S. distribution and global product strategy, uniting all of the firm’s global distribution functions under his leadership. Plafker will continue to report to Jenny Johnson and to be based at the firm’s headquarters in San Mateo, California.

Plafker joined Franklin Templeton as a corporate attorney in 1994 and later served as chief legal counsel - Asia. In 2001, he moved to the distribution side of the business when he took on the role of country head in Hong Kong leading the country’s sales and marketing operations. In 2003, he relocated to Europe to become a managing director of Franklin Templeton’s international retail distribution, with responsibility for overseeing sales and marketing of the company’s products in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Europe. Thereafter, Plafker relocated to Franklin Templeton‘s headquarters in the United States when he took on an expanded role overseeing all international business.

“I’m very excited to take on this expanded role leading Franklin Templeton’s global distribution. I look forward to continuing to build upon our well-established retail distribution networks and deep institutional relationships, leveraging the considerable talent and experience across our sales, product development, and global marketing teams,” says Plafker. “We will remain focused on providing exceptional customer service and delivering world class investment solutions to our clients around the world.”

NEXT: Elite Financial Network Joins Advisory Platform at Securities America

 

Securities America has announced that Elite Financial Network has joined its independent advisory and brokerage platform. 

 “The two factors that determined the firm we wanted to affiliate with came down to superior, easy-to-use technology and a culture that made all of us feel at home,” says Elite Financial Network President Dan Cairo. “We spoke with multiple firms in our search process. Securities America immediately stood out as the best possible choice by far for us, our advisers and their clients."

The cultural fit between the two firms was immediately apparent, said Gregg Johnson, Securities America executive vice president of branch office development and acquisitions.

“Elite Financial Network advisors are passionate about building long-term relationships with their clients through mutual trust,” says Johnson. “They clearly conveyed that message when we met them. Educating their clients is an integral part of how they help them navigate through life’s ups and downs.”

Elite Financial Network specializes in providing comprehensive business growth resources, compliance supervision support and practice management coaching to independent advisers.

 "Moving to a new firm can be stressful, but Securities America’s honesty and communication have been strengths during the transition process,” says Cairo. “They combine this approach with an extremely well-resourced transition support team. That made the move as seamless as possible. That's the way it should be.”

"We believe this transition with Elite Financial underscores the unique strengths we have as a firm in efficiently onboarding large groups of advisers from other firms, as well as through acquisitions and newly formed groups of advisers,” says Johnson. “In a rapidly consolidating industry landscape, we're pleased to be recognized as a safe and secure long-term partner with the resources necessary to effectively transition and support independent advisor groups across the country just like Elite Financial."

NEXT: Aviva Employs Former Senior Portfolio Manager to Trading

Aviva Investors has announced the appointment of John Johnson as a Fixed Income Credit Trader. In this role, John will focus on originating, structuring, and executing bond trades, helping to strengthen Aviva Investors’ fixed income business in North America. Based in Chicago, he will report to Jeff Jones, head of trading in North America.

John joins Aviva Investors from Mercer Investment Management in Boston, where he served as a senior portfolio manager, responsible for overseeing fixed income investment decisions. Prior to this, John held positions at Aberdeen Asset Management as a senior investment grade trader and portfolio manager, and at Deutsche Asset Management, where he was an investment grade trader.

“As our North American business continues to grow, we are thrilled to welcome John to Aviva Investors,” says Jeff Jones, head of trading in North America, Aviva Investors. John has an impressive background in fixed income across trading and portfolio management, providing us a distinct perspective into the institutional market as we expand our commercial capabilities. We are confident he will make an immediate impact to Aviva Investors and our credit trading team.” 

John attended Loyola University in Chicago.

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