Retirement Industry People Moves

Nicole Ceurvorst has joined Resources Investment Advisors Inc. as a senior consultant for Channel Financial Pension Services.

Ceurvorst will counsel clients on pension risk transfer analysis, deferred vested lump sum windows, pension design and administrative support, accounting and funding strategies, and plan termination. Her stated goals are translating complicated pension requirements into English; easing the burdens of pension management; and making the transition out of those burdens as simple as possible.

Ceurvorst brings varied and long experience to Channel Financial Pension Services. She is an Enrolled Actuary, meaning she has been approved by the Joint Board of the Department of the Treasury and Department of Labor to perform actuarial services required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). She was a pension actuary for Towers Watson for more than 20 years, consulting on some of the country’s largest and most complex pension plans. Ceurvorst is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

Alan Pitts, a retirement plan consultant for frozen defined benefit plans with Channel Pension Services, says Ceurvorst will help the organization “meet its mission of bringing the same level of expertise currently reserved for Fortune 500 companies to small and mid-sized employers who are also shouldering the burden of pension plan administration and funding,”

Channel Financial Pension Services—a division of Channel Financial, an independent retirement plan consulting firm and affiliate of RIA—provides sponsors of frozen defined benefit plans with strategies to efficiently remove pension risk from their balance sheets while protecting the interests of the plan’s participants. 

Dan Hogans, a nationally known executive compensation expert, has joined Groom Law Group as a principal.

Hogans worked extensively on the IRC section 409A rules and other executive compensation guidance while at the Treasury Department and then in private practice at a global law firm.  A frequent speaker at national conferences on benefits and executive compensation, Hogans also focuses on employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) matters.

Michael Prame, executive principal at Groom, cites Hogans for his government experience and thought leadership on sophisticated executive compensation issues.

Colleen Bell has been made a first vice president in fiduciary services at Cambridge Investment Research Inc.

Bell now leads Cambridge’s fiduciary services department, which focuses on providing service support for Cambridge’s fee-based programs, retirement plan platforms, and compliance solutions. She develops and executes strategies that support independent financial advisers with Cambridge, particularly those working in retirement and wealth strategies.

Bell has held an integral role in the build out of the Cambridge Retirement Center and joined Cambridge in 2006 following her experience as a securities examiner for the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bell holds her FINRA Series 7, 24, and 66 licenses, as well as the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Melissa Loner has been named vice president, fiduciary services. The department was established in preparation for the changes facing the industry, including the potential impacts of the proposed Department of Labor’s ruling which is expected to redefine “fiduciary” as it pertains to investment advice and service for independent advisors.

Loner will work closely with Bell in leading the fiduciary services department, as it realigns resources and expertise from across the firm, and oversee fiduciary review, fee-based programs, and advisory reporting and compliance functions. Loner also will serve as chief compliance officer for the firm.

Loner brings nearly 20 years of industry experience, most recently as assistant vice president of compliance. She holds FINRA Series 4, 6, 7, 24, 53, 63, 65, and 79 licenses. She is also a member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals (NSCP) association. She holds a master’s degree in business administration  from American Military University.

NEXT: CalPERS opens a CEO search to replace Anne Stausboll.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has opened its search for a new chief executive to replace Anne Stausboll, who said in January that she would retire on June 30. 

The successful candidate will lead and manage the pension fund, health benefit programs and CalPERS' 2,700 employees. The CEO ensures that the organization achieves strategic objectives established by the Board of Administration, while cultivating a high-performing, risk intelligent, collaborative, and innovative culture. The CEO is driven by the organization's mission, vision, and values and will ensure that these are embraced by the employees who make up organization’s dynamic workforce.

The CEO is also a respected, communicative and accessible leader within the many stakeholder communities essential to CalPERS’ mission, and exhibits the highest levels of ethics and integrity.

The search is being led by Heidrick & Struggles, a New York firm. A full description of the position, including contact information, is on CalPERS’ website.

NEXT: SEC appoints deputy director and chief counsel to exam division.

Jane Jarcho has been named deputy director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Jarcho has been the national director of OCIE’s investment adviser/investment company examination program since 2013 and will continue in that role, overseeing approximately 600 lawyers, accountants, and examiners responsible for inspections of U.S. registered investment advisers and investment companies.  Under Jarcho’s leadership, investment adviser/investment company examinations increased more than 27% and targeted areas such as cybersecurity, never-before-examined investment advisers and investment companies, alternative mutual funds, fixed-income funds, and retirement accounts.

Jarcho has been with the SEC since 1990, starting in the Division of Enforcement where she held several positions, including branch chief, senior trial counsel, and assistant regional director, before joining OCIE in 2008. Before being named National Director of the Investment Adviser/Investment Company examination program, Jarcho was an associate director of the program in the SEC’s Chicago regional office. 

Marc Wyatt, director of the OCIE director, calls Jarcho’s commitment to investors, insight, and drive “unsurpassed” and cites her deep experience with the National Exam Program, industry knowledge, and proven managerial skills.

Jarcho holds a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Daniel Kahl has been named chief counsel of the SEC’s National Exam Program. He will oversee a staff of 15 lawyers and advise OCIE’s leadership on legal, technical, and policy matters regarding the agency’s National Exam Program.

Kahl has been with the SEC’s Division of Investment Management since 2001 as a counsel. He was later promoted to branch chief.  For the past five years, he has served as assistant director of the division’s investment adviser regulation office.  Before coming to the SEC, he was an attorney at the Investment Adviser Association, FINRA, and the North American Securities Administrators Association.

Wyatt cites Kahl’s expertise in policy and regulatory issues. “In his prior roles at the SEC, he has been a strong partner for our National Exam Program and as OCIE’s chief counsel he will be instrumental in helping us advance our mission,” Wyatt says.