Deals & People September 2, 2009

Oppenheimer Brings Carey and Willis on Board

OppenheimerFunds has tapped William C. (Bill) Carey as head of distribution and Martha B. (Marty) Willis as chief marketing officer.

Reported by

An Oppenheimer news release said Carey will begin September 21 and Willis will begin October 1. Oppenheimer said Carey and Willis will lead the completion of efforts to streamline marketing and distribution functions in various business lines.

Carey will be responsible for OFI’s intermediary distribution and its retirement plans, 529 college savings, institutional, RIA, and separate account businesses.

He will join Oppenheimer from Bank of America (BofA), where he was managing director of distribution and relationship management in the company’s Institutional Retirement, Philanthropy & Investments division, which provides retirement and benefit plan services, philanthropic management, and investment guidance to institutional, non-profit, and high-net-worth clients. He also spent 14 years at Fidelity Investments before joining BofA in 2007 (see “Bank of America Names Carey as New Retirement Solutions Head”).

At Fidelity, Carey was president of the Institutional Retirement Services Company and of the Registered Investment Advisor Group. Carey also led national account management for the division that distributes Fidelity Advisor Funds and other investment products through intermediaries.

According to Oppenheimer, Willis joins the company from Fidelity Investments, where she worked for 25 years. Her most recent role was executive vice president, Investment Product Management in the Fidelity division that distributes mutual funds and other products through intermediaries.

During her career at Fidelity, she led the development and relaunch of Fidelity’s Retirement Income program across multiple business lines; managed the Fidelity Retail group’s mutual funds business (the direct-sold Fidelity Funds and the multi-manager Fidelity Funds Network program); developed an integrated intermediary distribution strategy combining database marketing, telephone sales, and electronic communications; and created a mutual fund with a multiple share-class structure.

OFI’s Corporate Communications, Marketing, and Investment Brand Management departments will report into Willis.

Compliance September 2, 2009

Bank Hit with Stock-Drop Charges

Montgomery, Alabama-based Colonial Bank, closed by authorities in August, has been hit with a stock-drop lawsuit by a retirement plan participant.

Reported by

Lora McKay claims the bank violated its Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary responsibilities by having company stock as a plan option despite suffering major losses from the nation’s mortgage crisis. The suit charges that because of the fiduciary breach, bank employees lost $50 million in retirement assets after the bank’s stock gave up 99.7% of its value.

McKay alleges the ERISA breach took place from April 18, 2007, to the present and requests that the suit be certified as a class action to represent other employees with company stock investments.

McKay charged the stock was artificially inflated during the named period because the bank:

  • engaged in high-risk loan origination, mortgage warehouse lending, and investment practices;
  • lacked adequate internal and financial controls;
  • grossly mismanaged risk and liquidity;
  • engaged in improper accounting practices; and
  • did not adequately set up a reserve for loan losses.

The complaint asserts that despite the fiduciaries’ knowledge of Colonial Bank’s risky lending practices, they continued to present a positive outlook regarding the bank’s stock as an investment for employees.

The case is McKay v. Colonial BancGroup Inc., M.D. Ala., No. 2:09-cv-00806.

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