Retirement Industry People Moves

Nationwide Hires Brokerage Annuity Distribution Leader

Richard Porter has been selected to lead the brokerage annuity distribution channel for Nationwide. In this role, Porter is responsible for distributing annuities through all broker/dealer channels, including banks, wirehouses and independent B/Ds.

Porter previously served as the divisional vice president for Prudential’s adviser channel, focusing on expanding the distribution of Prudential’s annuity retirement income solutions while leading a team of wholesalers. Prior to this role, Porter practiced corporate law at the largest regional law firm in Louisville, Kentucky.

Porter fills the position previously held by Rona Guymon, who was selected to lead Nationwide’s annuity distribution team earlier this year.

Porter received his J.D. from the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law, and holds the Series 6, 7, 26, 63 and 65 licenses.

LPL Financial Names Chief Product Officer and National Sales and Marketing Leader

LPL Financial LLC has announced leadership updates to the firm’s management committee.

Kabir Sethi will join LPL in early May as chief product officer, taking on responsibility for LPL’s technology capabilities and wealth management platforms. He will lead product strategy, development and management.

Additionally, LPL managing director Matt Enyedi will shift from LPL business solutions to head national sales and marketing. He will lead the teams focused on growing LPL’s relationship with its advisers and institutions, with the goal of helping advisers deepen their relationships with their clients. Both Sethi and Enyedi will report to LPL President and CEO Dan Arnold.

Sethi joins from Merrill Lynch, where he was head of digital for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and oversaw the wealth management business’s digital platforms. Prior to that, Sethi was responsible for Bank of America’s consumer banking digital platforms and capabilities. He holds graduate degrees from Columbia University and the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India, and holds Series 7 and 24 designations.

Enyedi began his career as a financial adviser. He joined LPL in 2003 and has served in numerous roles since, most recently as managing director, LPL Business Solutions, where he was responsible for developing and deploying a suite of professional services to support advisers as business owners. Previously, he served as executive vice president, national sales, where he led the firm’s data analytics and business intelligence efforts and oversaw a team focused on helping advisers grow their businesses and reach new segments of clients. He was also previously responsible for teams supporting LPL’s RIA custody and high-net-worth solutions.

Schroders Appoints Senior Sub-Advisory Sales Professional

Schroders has announced that Tiffany Summers has joined the sub-advisory sales team as a sales director, reporting to Chris Moran, head of U.S. sub-advisory. Summers will be located in Denver.

In her new role, Summers will focus on building Schroders’ ability to directly address client needs and grow the firm’s sub-advised sales efforts. She will manage existing strategic relationships and develop new partnerships across the insurance and financial services markets.

Summers joins Schroders from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where she served as an executive director, national accounts, insurance and sub-advisory. In that role, she managed enterprise relationships and developed the client strategy to expand sales and partnerships across product investment management, distribution and marketing.

Previously, Summers was at Deutsche Asset Management, where she served as a director and head of defined contribution investment only business. She has over 25 years of experience in financial services, and holds a B.S. in finance from Southern Illinois University. 

Congruent Solutions Elevates North American Chief Operating Officer

Congruent Solutions, a technology solutions and outsourced plan administration services provider to the retirement plan industry in the U.S., has announced the promotion of Lucas Soucy to the role of chief operating officer, North America. Soucy previously served as the vice president, North America, and has over 22 years of experience in operations and plan administration.

Moving forward, Soucy will oversee all back-office operations, both onshore and offshore, as well as sales, product support and relationship management. To strengthen Soucy’s team in North America, Congruent has also brought on Michael Kiernan as the sales vice president.

Soucy joined Congruent Solutions in 2005 to help set up a back-office delivery center for retirement services that focuses on providing plan providers, recordkeepers and TPAs support for transaction processing and compliance testing. He helped develop Congruent’s CORE platform, a cloud-based modular technology solution, and is a board member of the SPARK Institute.

Kiernan brings to his role over 15 years of experience in the retirement plan industry, having worked in sales and account management for qualified plan recordkeeping, administration, DCIO, software and technology solutions.

Edelman Financial Engines Appoints Chief Financial Officer

Edelman Financial Engines, an independent wealth planning and investment advisory firm, has announced that Suzanne van Staveren has joined the firm as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately.

With more than 20 years of experience in leadership positions within the financial services industry, van Staveren will oversee a team of more than 90 professionals across the finance, strategy and small retirement plans teams.

Van Staveren will serve as a member of the executive leadership team and work with them to develop the firm’s long-term growth strategy and financial objectives. She joins Edelman Financial Engines from Goldman Sachs, where she was CFO of the firm’s personal financial management group and helped integrate Ayco, the firm’s workplace financial planning business, and United Capital.

Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, van Staveren worked at Fidelity Investments and AXA in a variety of functions, including developing and executing strategic plans, implementing new financial tools and processes, optimizing sales channels, improving product roadmaps and working with clients.

Van Staveren earned a B.S. from Johnson & Wales University and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Verity Asset Management Names Director of Participant Engagement

Verity Asset Management, a registered investment adviser, has announced the appointment of Jae Di Lorenzo as director of participant engagement and ambassador for their newly launched business unit, the plan governance platform Vynntana.

Serving the 403(b) and 457(b) plan space, Vynntana provides a comprehensive suite of tools and expert guidance. The platform will support employer sponsors and the non-ERISA retirement vehicles they provide for their eligible public school, college, church, governmental agency and nonprofit employees.

Di Lorenzo joined Verity Asset Management in June 2020 and focuses on improving participant engagement by creating and delivering financial webinars. She has nearly two decades of experience in marketing, and has worked with both for-profit and nonprofit entities.

Moving forward, Di Lorenzo will be responsible for messaging, marketing and the production of content designed to encourage participants to take control of their financial success. She earned her J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law and her B.S. in neuroscience from Furman University.