Pensionmark Hires Compliance Head To Help With Acquisition Push

Jonathan Curley, a former RIA, will perform due diligence on firms Pensionmark is looking to acquire.

Pensionmark Financial Group appointed Jonathan Curley to the newly created role of global head of compliance as it ramps up its acquisition activity, the firm announced Monday.

Curley will be responsible for managing global strategies across all Pensionmark financial services companies, Jennifer Tanck, executive vice president and chief compliance officer at Pensionmark, wrote in an email.

“As Pensionmark expends its footprint through acquisitions, we wanted to bring someone in who would be responsible for the financial services vertical in its entirety, including Pensionmark and other firms that we acquire which may initially be run independent of Pensionmark,” Tanck explains. 

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Insurance brokerage World Insurance Associates, based in Iselin, New Jersey, acquired Pensionmark in 2022. Pensionmark CEO Troy Hammond recently told PLANADVISER the firm is on track to move from its current split of 80% retirement plan advisers and 20% wealth managers to an even 50/50 makeup via acquisitions by July.

Curley’s extensive experience with mergers and acquisitions and compliance made him an “ideal” fit for the new role, Tanck says. His duties will include overseeing global compliance strategy across all the financial services firms under the World Insurance Associates umbrella as well as being as the firm’s primary regulatory liaison with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, according to Tanck.

Curley’s new role at Pensionmark grew from the need to have central oversight over World Insurance Associates’ different financial services firms, both those acquired before and after the Pensionmark acquisition in May 2022, says Tanck. 

The role was designed to bring additional “intellectual capital” for compliance due diligence on potential acquisition targets, Tanck explains. 

Curley will report to Pensionmark CEO Hammond, Tanck says.

“Jon’s expertise will prove invaluable to our growth and compliance initiatives for both our existing and new partners,” Hammond stated in the press release.

Curley had been a senior adviser at boutique investment bank ButcherJoseph & Co. Before that, he was the CEO and founder of Laffer Tengler Investments, a registered investment adviser owned by ButcherJoseph Financial Holdings, according to the press release.

The Pensionmark Financial Group network represents more than 345 financial advisers and staff across 67 locations in the United States, according to the release.

Senator Cardin Announces 2024 Retirement

The Maryland senator was a leader in drafting and passing SECURE 2.0 legislation.

Hearings to examine the oral health crisis, focusing on identifying and addressing health disparities. (Official U.S. Senate photo by Dan Rios)

Senator Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, announced Monday that he will not be seeking re-election in 2024. Cardin was a key figure in passing the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 and is a strong proponent of retirement reform. Cardin often worked closely with former Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who retired at the end of 2022.

Among some of Cardin’s proudest accomplishments are his contributions to retirement security. He specifically cites his efforts encouraging small businesses to start retirement plans and increasing retirement plan access for lower-income Americans.

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Cardin said in a statement:

“I have run my last election and will not be on the ballot in 2024, but there is still much work to be done. During the next two years, I will continue to travel around the state, listening to Marylanders and responding to their needs. My top priorities include continuing our progress for the Chesapeake Bay, helping the people of Baltimore City deal with the challenges they face, and permanently expanding opportunities for telehealth, mental and behavioral health. As Small Business Chair, I will continue to work on behalf of small businesses in Maryland and across the country who still face a tough economic climate. We need to keep building up the tools available to help our small businesses, especially women-owned, veteran-owned, minority owned and underserved entrepreneurs. I plan to make the most of every moment left.”

Cardin first entered politics by running for the Maryland House of Delegates in 1968. He represented Maryland’s 3rd Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for 20 years, until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006.

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