Retirement Industry People Moves

Segal Rogerscasey to Acquire Marco Consulting Group

Investment consulting business Segal Rogerscasey has signed an asset purchase agreement to acquire the business of Marco Consulting Group (MCG), effective January 1, 2017. MCG provides investment consulting to U.S. multiemployer benefit plans. The new firm will be known as Segal Marco Advisors and have combined investment advisory assets exceeding $500 billion.

Segal Marco Advisors expects to employ approximately 150 investment, consulting and research professionals to serve more than 400 clients. John DeMairo, Segal Rogerscasey president and CEO, will continue in this role at the new firm. MCG co-founders Jack Marco and Tom Mitchell Sr. will serve as advisers.

Segal Marco Advisors will be headquartered in New York City and maintain what The Segal Group terms “a significant presence in Chicago, operating out of the current MCG office.” In addition, it will have offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Darien, Connecticut, as well as Toronto and Dublin.

“In the many years we’ve competed with MCG, we have always been impressed with its people and investment solutions,” says DeMairo. “Combining our strengths will not only be good for our clients but will also make us more competitive in our chosen markets.” 

Mitchell points to the value of both firms being privately held, which will allow the combined entity to retain client focus, he says.  

NEXT: VALIC Expands Leadership Team

VALIC, a retirement plan provider for various not-for-profit organizations, expanded its senior leadership team with two new hires: Barbara Rayll joins as vice president of product and solutions management, and Steve Smith comes to the firm as managing vice president of business development.

In her newly created role, Rayll will oversee VALIC’s current product portfolio, and seek to develop new and innovative products, services and solutions as the company’s client base expands. She reports to Eric Levy, executive vice president.

She joined VALIC from Lincoln Financial after a 15-year tenure. She is a graduate of Boston College.

Smith will be responsible for leading new group acquisition efforts in the Eastern U.S., plus oversee retention of key groups in this territory. He reports to Glenn Harris, executive vice president of institutional group management. Having more than 30 years’ experience, Smith most recently served as divisional vice president of sales management at Transamerica. He is a graduate of Miliken University.

“Barbara and Steve are key hires for VALIC,” says Levy. “They each bring a wealth of experience to our leadership team and will serve critical roles as we improve our product portfolio and drive acquisitions and growth.”

NEXT: Pavilion to Attain Slocum

Pavilion to Attain Slocum

Investment services firm Pavilion Financial Corporation announced an agreement to purchase Jeffrey Slocum & Associates in an effort to combine both businesses.

The transaction, expected to close in the coming weeks, will allow Pavilion to syndicate Slocum with its institutional investment consulting subsidiary in the U.S. Pavilion Advisory Group. The Slocum team will also work under the Pavilion name in Minneapolis, its current office.

“The combined team will have the resources and expertise to lead the industry across a wide range of areas such as health care, insurance and retirement benefit consulting,” says Daniel Friedman, president and CEO of Pavilion Financial Corporation. “The combined resources and research-driven knowledge will allow the advisery teams to enhance their offering to both Pavilion and Slocum clients and to expand the quality advice and solutions they are seeking.”

A significant number of Slocum’s senior management team, consultants and researchers are said to become shareholders in Pavilion and will continue to hold leadership roles in the joint business.

NEXT: Wagner Law Group Adds New Partner

Wagner Law Group Adds New Partner

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and employee benefits attorney Bruce McNeil joined The Wagner Law Group, which specializes in the practice of employee benefits law and ERISA, as a partner.

McNeil is noted as an expert in the area of nonqualified deferred compensation and has testified in that capacity before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on executive compensation matters. He has authored 28 books, including 17 editions of “Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans,” “Tax-Sheltered Annuities Under Section 403(b) and Nonqualified Section 457 Plans,” and “Employee Benefits in Mergers and Acquisitions.” Additionally, he has written or co-written more than 80 articles about employee benefit issues. He is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and editor-in-chief of both the Journal of Pension Planning & Compliance and the Journal of Deferred Compensation.

A member of the bar in multiple jurisdictions, McNeil is also admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Tax Court, as well as several courts of appeal and district courts. He has been an adjunct professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School and formerly was a shareholder with the law firm of Littler Mendelson P.C. in Minneapolis. He served with the Employee Plans Technical and Actuarial Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Washington, D.C.

McNeil received a bachelor’s degree from Concordia College, a doctorate in Jurisprudence from Drake University Law School, a master’s degree in law from Georgetown University Law Center and a master’s degree in English from Georgetown University.

NEXT: McDermott Will & Emery Welcome Two New Partners

International law firm McDermott Will & Emery have welcomed Steven Eckhaus and Evan Belosa to the firm as partners in its New York office. Both will serve the Employee Benefits, Compensation, Labor & Employment Practice Group. 

Eckhaus will lead the practice group in New York. In his previous firm, he created and led the executive compensation practice. His career has seen him representing executives in large compensation deals, advising decision makers on employment matters, and litigating contract disputes. He has been recognized by Chambers (USA), The Legal 500, and most recently by Human Resource Executive as one of 20 Most Powerful Employment Lawyers in Employee Benefits and ERISA.

Belosa has served numerous positions including litigator, negotiator and counselor covering all aspects of executive employment and compensation matters. He also represents institutions in all stages of the employer/employee relationship, with an emphasis on employment agreements, separation agreements, equity and deferred compensation plans and restrictive covenant issues.

“We are delighted to welcome this talented team to McDermott,” says David E. Rogers, head of the firm’s Employee Benefits, Compensation, Labor & Employment Practice Group. “With today’s heightened scrutiny of compensation pay practices, and the Dodd-Frank Act requiring the Treasury, Federal Reserve, FDIC, SEC, and other agencies to implement regulations and guidelines for incentive-based compensation practices at covered financial institutions, many of which are centered in New York, having a top-flight employee benefits and executive compensation team in New York City is an indispensable asset.”

Voya Announces Organizational Changes

Voya Financial announced that it has restructured its Insurance Solutions business, which now contains an Annuities segment in addition to Individual Life and Employee Benefits. New professionals are also joining the firm to spearhead this division and others at Voya.  

Carolyn Johnson, who has previously led Voya’s Annuities business and Tax-Exempt Markets business, will now serve as CEO of Insurance Solutions. She is also joining the Executive Committee. Johnson will continue to report to Alain M. Karaoglan, CEO of Voya Financial. 

“Our Annuities and Individual Life businesses have achieved higher returns; introduced more profitable and less capital-intensive product portfolios; and secured strong relationships with our distribution partners,” says Karaoglan. “As we look to best leverage the strengths of both businesses – while best allocating Voya’s overall capital so that we can focus on the areas of highest return and customer value – the sharing of resources among these businesses will provide us with greater agility and flexibility.  Bringing Annuities and Individual Life – in particular – more closely together also reflects the growing convergence of distribution for these products.  We remain committed to the profitable growth of Annuities and Individual Life, and we are very fortunate to have Carolyn now leading Insurance Solutions.”

Maggie Parent will join Voya on Oct. 3, 2016, as executive vice president of Technology, Innovation and Operations. She joins Voya from Deutsche Bank AG, where she most recently served as managing director. In her newly created position, Parent is tasked with driving a focus on innovation throughout the company, as well as aligning Voya’s Technology and Operations teams to meet customer needs.

Nan Ferrara has been promoted to executive vice president of Operations and Continuous Improvement (CI). She will cover the overall growth strategy and performance of Voya’s Operations organization, as well as the company’s CI efforts. Under Ferrara’s leadership, the CI management system is being integrated across the company.

Previously, Ferrara held the title of senior managing director of Operations for Voya, providing oversight of the Operations strategy.  Ferrara’s more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry also includes leading the divestiture separation team at AIG.

Voya’s most recent additions come ahead of previous changes in leadership regarding the firm’s overall retirement services business.

“The appointments we’re announcing today demonstrate our commitment to ensuring we have outstanding and talented leaders who can help us execute our strategy, achieve our financial targets and – equally important – realize our vision to be America’s Retirement Company,” says Voya Financial Chairman and CEO Rodney O. Martin, Jr. Martin. “Building on our financial, cultural and operational success over the past few years, we continue to raise the bar in terms of achieving higher levels of performance, anticipating and meeting our customers’ needs, and delivering greater shareholder value. Having Carolyn, Maggie and Nan join our Executive Committee brings additional backgrounds, experiences and knowledge to the team, and this benefits all of our stakeholders.”