Deals & People October 28, 2014

HighTower Adds Two Retirement Industry Experts

HighTower, the Baltimore-based financial services firm delivering differentiated solutions to corporate plan sponsors, announced the addition of Charlie Vieth and Steve Zients to its team.
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The two retirement industry veterans bring over 50 years of combined experience to Fiduciary Plan Advisors at HighTower (HTFPA). Vieth and Zients join the firm as managing directors.

They previously held senior leadership roles at T. Rowe Price, helping to grow the company’s retirement plan business. Working with the retirement plan services division, Vieth served as president and director for 15 years, and Zients served as senior vice president and director for 23 years. Prior to joining HTFPA, the two co-founded Act2, a retirement consulting practice based in Baltimore.

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“Fiduciary Plan Advisors serves a critical need for resources in the workplace that help employees plan for their retirement years,” says Michael LaMena, president of HighTower. “Charlie and Steve’s expertise will help drive the continued growth of HTFPA as one of the nation’s top fiduciary consulting practices meeting the complex demands of corporate plan sponsors.” 

Products October 28, 2014

LPL Financial Launches Worksite App

LPL Financial unveiled a new Worksite Financial Solutions mobile application (app) that extends retirement plan participant and sponsor services provided through the firm’s desktop platform.
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LPL says the app provides plan participants with remote account access, allowing for key account management functions to be performed through a smartphone or other device. The launch of the Worksite Financial Solutions mobile app reflects LPL’s ongoing commitment to delivering flexible solutions that address plan participants’ evolving financial needs, the firm says.

LPL expects to officially launch the app by the end of the year. With the new resource, clients and plan participants will gain access the following features:

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  • End-to-end plan enrollment support to guide users through all phases of the retirement planning process;
  • Access to qualified LPL advisers and the firm’s Retirement Results Team, which both provide education and support for participants on managing their retirement plan accounts; and
  • Numerous financial education tools, including calculators, tutorials, videos and articles on how to manage different phases of the financial lifecycle.

The technology offers significant benefits for advisers as well, LPL claims, as the app can be co-branded for use in each adviser’s practice. The app can also be used to help enhance the adviser-participant relationship by providing additional opportunities for communication and interaction on a regular basis.

“Retirement plan participants demand the ability to make financial decisions when they want, where they want,” adds David Reich, executive vice president of Retirement Partners.

LPL Financial LLC is an independent broker/dealer (B/D), a custodian for registered investment advisers (RIAs) and a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. Worksite Financial Solutions is a retirement plan platform offered exclusive to LPL Financial and its adviser partners.

More information on the firm is at www.lpl.com.

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