New York Life Restructures Boutique Management

With the multi-boutique model continuing to serve as the firm’s preferred institutional asset management structure, New York Life Investments is dividing oversight of the boutiques between traditional and alternative investments. Drew Lawton has been named to the new role of CEO of Traditional Investments and Yie-Hsin Hung joins New York Life Investments as CEO of Alternative Investments.  

In addition to his continuing leadership of Retirement Plan Services, as head of Traditional Investments, Lawton will assume oversight of all the traditional investment boutiques effectively immediately. Those boutiques include: MacKay Shields, Institutional Capital (ICAP), Madison Square Investors (MSI) and McMorgan & Company. Hung will be focused on growing the firm’s alternative investment capabilities, including New York Life Capital Partners (NYLCAP). She will also oversee product development and marketing across the enterprise.  

According to the announcement, Lawton joined the company in February 2010 from Fridson Investment Advisors (FIA) where he was president. Prior to FIA, he spent eleven years with Fidelity as president and CEO of Fidelity Management Trust Company, where he was instrumental in the formation of Pyramis Global Advisors, Fidelity’s institutional asset management firm. Lawton last served as president and CEO of Pyramis Global Advisors Trust Company. Prior to his tenure at Fidelity, he spent sixteen years with Aetna.   

Lawton received a BA from Yale University and his MBA in Finance from the University of North Texas.  

Hung joins New York Life Investments with over twenty years of experience at Bridgewater Associates and Morgan Stanley, where she was most recently global head of Strategic Acquisitions and Alliances for Morgan Stanley Investment Management. She began her career in investment banking with a focus on the real estate sector. Hung received a BS from Northwestern University and her MBA from Harvard Business School.  

In addition, the company announced that John Grady, who is currently responsible for Mergers & Acquisitions and the Treasury Department at New York Life, has been named chief financial officer of New York Life Investments. In addition to Finance, Grady will have oversight of Information Technology, Risk Management and M&A.