Providers, Industry Group Announce Adviser Connections

VALIC, a division of AIG and retirement plan provider for health care, higher education, K-12 and government institutions and other not-for-profit organizations, has named Robert Haverstrom vice president, Consultant Management.

In this newly created role, Haverstrom will focus exclusively on increasing visibility and growth with retirement consulting firms. He will report to Glenn Harris, executive vice president, Institutional Group Management, VALIC.

His initial focus in this new role will be to develop and execute a strategic plan for establishing and maintaining key consultant relationships for VALIC.

Haverstrom returns to VALIC after serving as vice president, head of Relationship Management, in Lincoln Financial Group’s Retirement Plan Services business. Prior to Lincoln, he worked at VALIC for nearly a decade in a variety of positions, including consulting associate, relationship manager and director Relationship Management.

Pentegra Retirement Services announced that Jesse Pettis has joined the organization as regional director for Pentegra’s qualified retirement plan sales.

Reporting to Pete Swisher, Pentegra’s senior vice president of National Sales, Pettis will spearhead the company’s business development efforts along the Gulf Coast.

Pettis brings deep knowledge and expertise to Pentegra, having worked in the retirement services industry for more than 16 years. Most recently, he served as vice president, Sales covering the Southeast for Newport Group (DailyAccess Corporation). He has also served as a trust officer with Regions Bank managing their Employee Benefits Conversion Team.

Pettis says, “Pentegra offers clear differentiators in the retirement plan marketplace. Their fiduciary solutions and multiple employer plan (MEP) offerings are unique in the industry today and provide a clear advantage. I look forward to working closely with financial advisers, consultants, and RIAs to help create customized retirement plan solutions for their clients.”

Pettis is a graduate of the University of South Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Business Finance. He also holds his FINRA Series 65 license.

Newport Group, hired Mike Brown as regional director.

Brown will be responsible for developing business relationships and identifying market opportunities to promote Newport Group’s retirement plan recordkeeping and administration services to third-party intermediaries. Based in the Northeast, he will cover New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He will report to Senior Vice President, Institutional Sales Micah DiSalvo.

“Mike knows how to partner with advisers and consultants to reset the narrative around retirement, and drive more positive retirement outcomes,” DiSalvo says. “His expertise includes qualified and non-qualified defined contribution and defined benefit plans, which makes him an ideal fit for Newport Group and our suite of products and services.”

Brown has nearly 15 years of experience in the retirement services industry and has held sales leadership roles with some of the industry’s biggest and best-known companies, including BMO and Empower. Most recently, he was a regional sales director with OneAmerica, where he was responsible for new business development in the Northeast.

Brown earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Bentley University in Massachusetts and holds his FINRA securities series 6 and 63 licenses.

The Financial Services Institute (FSI) announced the election of two new directors for its Board for 2017: Valerie Brown, executive chairman of the Board, Advisor Group, and Richard Bryant, president, Capital Investment Brokerage.

The Board also elected five of its directors to leadership positions—including Dean Harman, who will be the second financial adviser to chair the Board in 2018.

The directors elected to the 2017 Executive Committee are:

• Chair of the board: Richard Lampen, President and CEO, Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services;
• Vice Chair (Chair in 2018): Dean Harman, Founder and CEO, Harman Wealth Management;
• Immediate Past Chair: Amy Webber, President, Cambridge Investment Research;
• Finance Chair: John Rooney, Managing Principal, Commonwealth Financial Network; and
• PAC Chair: David Knoch, President & COO, 1st Global.

“Our strong and diverse Board will once again lead not only FSI but the entire industry forward into the future,” says FSI President & CEO Dale Brown. “Our critical advocacy agenda is more important than ever in the midst of both economic and regulatory uncertainty. I am also pleased that, for the second time, a financial adviser will chair our Board in 2018 as we further distinguish ourselves as the only trade association solely representing independent financial services firms and advisers.”

In addition to those elected to leadership positions, continuing on the board are Adam Antoniades, Cetera Financial Group; Scott Curtis, Raymond James Financial Services; Kent Christian, Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network; Bill Dowell (financial adviser); Joe Himelick (financial adviser); Tony Lajeunesse (financial adviser); Kimberly Kropp (financial adviser); Shawn McLaughlin, McLaughlin Ryder Investments; Seth Miller, Transamerica Financial Advisors; and James Poer, Kestra Financial.

Rolling off the board are Steve Chipman, Foothill Securities and David Stringer, Prospera Financial Services.