June 25, 2023

On the Move

Reported by PLANADVISER Staff

Art by Valeria Petrone

Ben Cardin to Retire

Ben Cardin, Maryland senator

Senator Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024. Cardin first entered politics in 1968 and was recently a key figure in passing the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, follow-up to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019. He has been a strong proponent of retirement reform and often worked closely with former Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who retired last year. Among Cardin’s contributions to retirement security, he specifically cites encouraging small businesses to start a retirement plan and increasing plan access for lower-income Americans.

In a statement, he said, “During the next two years, … [a]s 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.”

Morgan Stanley to Change CEO

James Gorman, CEO and chairman of Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley’s CEO and chairman, James Gorman, plans to step down in the next 12 months, he announced in mid-May.

Gorman was named CEO in 2010, replacing John Mack, who had steered the firm through the financial crisis. Gorman, 64, presided over a push by the New York City-based investment bank into wealth management and investment advice; the investment management division, now, as of March 31, employs 1,300 financial professionals overseeing $1.4 trillion in assets under management.

Gorman’s move into retail investment management included the acquisition of E*Trade Financial Corp. in February 2020, at which time he said the deal would make Morgan Stanley a top player across financial advisory, self-directed investing and workplace savings. That October, the firm also bought wealth manager Eaton Vance Corp., bringing on $500 billion in AUM, as well as the new addition’s capabilities in individual separate accounts and customized investment solutions.

Endeavor Law Is Launched

Sean Cooper

Bonnie Treichel

Endeavor Retirement partners Sean Cooper and Bonnie Treichel launched a new venture, Endeavor Law, in Prairie Village, Kansas. “It’s a natural outgrowth of the services we already provide at Endeavor Retirement and will service much the same clientele,” Treichel says. A distinct legal entity, the new firm specializes in representing companies as fractional general counsel on legal needs such as regulatory compliance, litigation support, development of custom programs and resources, and plan fiduciary compliance.

“We’re proud to offer flat-fee solutions for many legal issues, including our fractional general counsel service that would typically be hourly at many firms,” Treichel said in a statement. “We’ve found our clients appreciate the predictability offered by this structure over the more traditional hourly model.”

New CEO at Cetera Holdings

Mike Durbin, CEO Cetera Holdings

Cetera Holdings, the parent of broker/dealer network Cetera Financial Group, named former Fidelity Investments top executive Mike Durbin (photo) to the new position of CEO in mid-May. Durbin will also take a seat on Cetera’s board, while Cetera Financial Group CEO Adam Antoniades will retain his role and his board seat.

The Los Angeles-based holding company is bringing in Durbin to expand into “new markets and adjacencies to fuel continued growth and provide more options for advisers,” says the firm’s announcement. Durbin had previously been president of Fidelity Institutional.

Durbin told The Wall Street Journal that Cetera may be “wading into the business of managing employee retirement plans and other benefits for companies.”

The company did not respond to a request for comment on the potential shift into workplace retirement plans. In March 2022, Cetera Financial Group began offering a retirement income option to its network of advisers.

More On The Moves

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Sidney Queler

Sidney Queler recently joined Fiduciary Trust Co. International as head of wealth management. Queler is responsible for the strategic direction of Fiduciary’s client service and new business development activities. He also leads the recruitment and development of its professionals. He brings more than 30 years of wealth management experience to Fiduciary, having previously served as the chief growth officer for CIBC Private Wealth Management and national director of business development at CIBC-Atlantic Trust.

➜ Pensionmark Financial Group appointed Jonathan Curley, a former registered investment adviser, to the newly created role of global head of compliance to perform due diligence as the firm ramps up its acquisition activity. Curley will manage global strategies across all Pensionmark financial services companies.

➜ October Three Consulting LLC, an actuarial, consulting and technology firm specializing in a “modern defined benefit” offering, is acquiring the Retirement Learning Center. October Three, headquartered in Chicago, says its plan-approach and thought leadership will combine well with RLC’s educational resources and guidance for advisers.

➜ Broadridge Financial Solutions, a financial technology firm serving the retirement workplace savings and wealth management industries, is merging its Matrix Financial Solutions, a provider of trust, custody and agent services for retirement plans, with Fi360 Solutions, Broadridge’s fiduciary training, technology and analytics division. The combined unit, to be called Broadridge Retirement and Workplace, will allow advisers to work across fiduciary needs, retirement plan offerings, workplace benefits and wealth management in a more seamless way, according to the Lake Success, New York, firm.

➜ Adviser Investments LLC acquired Ropes Wealth Advisors to create a $15 billion registered investment advisory firm, with 185-plus employees including wealth advisers, portfolio managers, fiduciary and financial planning specialists, etc. The management of Adviser and Ropes Wealth will own the combined firm in partnership with Summit Partners, a Boston private equity firm. Summit made a growth capital investment in Adviser Investments in 2020 to support national expansion.

➜ Trusted Wealth Partners, of Omaha, Nebraska, has brought its $465 million in client assets to Commonwealth Financial Network. Trusted Wealth, including Nathan Brobst, Clint Eikmeier, Jim Lammers, Matt Peters and Mark Slattery will join the Waltham, Massachusetts-based Commonwealth network of advisers. Trusted Wealth provides investment management, financial planning, retirement and estate planning, and insurance services.

➜ Commonwealth Financial Network also added Pinnacle Private Wealth, of Kimberly, Wisconsin, to its network of financial advisers. Pinnacle’s senior partners, Todd Funk and Kelly Watzka, and their team bring $220 million in client assets. Watzka says Pinnacle’s team will help Commonwealth serve more small businesses.

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Brody Geist

Standard Insurance Co. promoted Brody Geist to divisional vice president. He will work with advisers and third-party administrators in the Western U.S. Before joining The Standard as regional vice president, in 2017, Geist worked at Securian Financial as senior regional vice president, major accounts retirement sales, small business retirement sales, and assistant vice president of sales.

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Mark Shemtog

Laura Schumann

Michael Kreps

The Institutional Retirement Income Council, a nonprofit think tank for the retirement income planning community, appointed Michael Kreps, Laura Schumann and Mark Shemtob to its board of directors. Kreps is chair of Groom Law Group’s retirement services group, working with a variety of clients on retirement and health plan issues. Schumann is vice president, product development and management at NRECA [National Rural Electric Cooperative Association], where she oversees the employee benefits product portfolio. Shemtob is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and an enrolled actuary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

➜ CAPTRUST Financial Advisors LLC acquired Aevitas Wealth Management Inc., Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. Aevitas, led by Michael Schreiber, the company’s president and chief investment officer, brings $567 million in assets to CAPTRUST, along with four new colleagues. Aevitas provides financial planning and advisory services to individuals, families and small businesses. The firm also provides advice and investment services for endowments, foundations and retirement plans.

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Melissa Kivett

TIAA appointed Melissa Kivett to the newly created role of executive vice president of corporate retirement solutions and business development. TIAA created the new role for an increased focus at the firm on products, partnerships and distribution to the 401(k) corporate retirement market. TIAA has historically served the nonprofit, 403(b) retirement plan market.

➜ Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC has partnered with Goldman Sachs Advisor Solutions as an added custody provider. The partnership follows PCIA’s double-digit annualized organic growth and the addition of 43 advisers over the past 18 months. As of April, PCIA had more than $20 billion of assets under advisement.

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Blake Bandani

Voya Financial has added two new positions to support the growth of its workplace solutions distribution team, which includes retirement plans and services. Kurt Ritter was hired as vice president, consultant relations director. Before this, he was a relationship manager in consultant relations for MissionSquare. Blake Bandani (photo) has joined Voya as a sales director for the emerging market team. He will be responsible for selling 401(k), 403(b) and nonqualified plans, health savings accounts and emergency savings accounts to employers with under $50 million in assets.

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Mike Drennen

Fairport Wealth, a Cleveland-based business of Hightower Advisors, hired Mike Drennen (photo) as its chief wealth officer; he takes on the executive leadership responsibilities previously overseen by Matt Logar, who was named CEO in April. Drennen previously worked at Hightower Advisors in Chicago as an executive director on the adviser engagement team, partnering with advisory firms nationally. Before joining Hightower, he was vice president of business consulting at Carson Group and spent eight years at Fidelity Investments.

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Samantha Davidson

Portfolio management and advisory firm Cambridge Associates appointed Samantha Davidson as the firm’s president and head of global investing, starting in July. She will lead the global investing team and oversee Cambridge’s global investment platform to ensure that clients’ return and partnership expectations are satisfied, according to the release. Davidson was previously a senior partner in, and U.S. investments leader at, Mercer.