Retirement Industry People Moves

Veteran retirement industry professional Steve Niehoff has joined the Pension Resource Institute (PRI) as chief operating officer.

With more than 20 years of experience in financial services, Niehoff has performed in operations, business development and compliance roles. He has served in the retirement plans industry throughout the past decade, and has also worked with non-qualified plans, health care plans, life insurance and annuities.

“Steve’s real-world experience will be critical to assisting PRI with the development and rollout of our updated and expanded fiduciary compliance resources and with helping our member firms implement those solutions in an efficient manner,” says PRI CEO Jason C. Roberts.

“My goals in the next few months are to help PRI develop best in class resources to support the delivery of fiduciary services, streamline and strengthen our existing platform and accelerate the growth or company,” says Niehoff. “We have the right team to accomplish all three.”

NEXT: John Hancock Retirement Names Chicago Regional Manager

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services (JHRPS) has appointed Bridgette Rutter as regional vice president.

She will be replacing Jeffrey Ketwig, who has been promoted to national vice president of sales, a role that will see him focus on small-to-mid sized, open-architecture plans.

Rutter, who has more than 12 years of experience with JHRPS, will be responsible for sales and the development of relationships with financial representatives and plan consultants in the Chicago area. She will also focus on the under-$20 million market region.

“We are very pleased to have Bridgette taking on this important role on our core sales team,” says Kent Lepard, divisional vice president, JHRPS. “She has consistently been a top performer for us in Orange County, California, and now she is bringing her talents back to her hometown of Chicago.”

NEXT: Pinkerton Retirement Specialists Joins Triad Advisors

Pinkerton Retirement Specialists has transitioned to the Triad Advisors’ broker-dealer and hybrid RIA [Registered Investment Adviser] multi-custodial platform.

“Triad understands our comprehensive way of doing business – it's a perfect cultural match," says Dan Pinkerton, CEO of Pinkerton Retirement Specialists. “We were also attracted to Triad's relationship with Ladenburg Thalmann, which gives us access to investment banking, initial public offerings, private placements and other sophisticated investment products that are only available to accredited investors.”

Triad Advisors, an independent broker-dealer, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc.

Since its founding 29 years ago, Pinkerton has provided financial planning, wealth management and financial education services to a clientele ranging from high-net-worth individuals and families, to pensions, 401(k) plans and foundations.

“Pinkerton Retirement Specialists has consistently been recognized as one of the very top financial advisory firms in the Northwest, and among the leading independent firms in the nation,” says Nathan Stibbs, executive vice president at Triad Advisors. “We look forward to helping Pinkerton fulfill its vision for high-level client service and continuing on its steady growth trajectory."

NEXT: Financial Planning Association Hires New Public Policy Counsel

Financial Planning Association Hires New Public Policy Counsel

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has hired Josephine M. Colacci as its new public policy counsel.

In her new role at FPA, Colacci will work with FPA Advocacy Director Karen Nystrom and will oversee the development and implementation of FPA’s public policies and advocacy strategies, specifically as they relate to current and proposed federal legislation and regulations that impact certified financial planner professionals. She will also serve as FPA’s primary liaison to the Financial Planning Coalition and to the FPA Advocacy Committee.

“I am thrilled that we are able to retain someone of Josephine’s background for this key public policy position,” says FPA CEO Lauren M. Schadle. “Advocacy at the federal and state levels have become much more of a priority for FPA over the past few years and I am excited to add her to the team.”

Colacci joins FPA after spending the past six years as director of government affairs for the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM) in Chicago. Prior to that, she served as manager of government affairs for the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) in Denver. She also worked as the executive director and lobbyist for the Quality Healthcare Coalition in Englewood, Colorado.

NEXT: Voya Hires Two New Leaders

Voya Financial, a retirement products and services provider, has hired Miles Edwards as its senior vice president and leader of operations for its retirement business.

Michele White will join the company as senior vice president and leader of its Enterprise Contact Centers, effective September 6.  

In his new role, Edwards will be responsible for all functions supporting Voya’s corporate and tax-exempt markets retirement plan segments, as well as its retail phone-based investor channel and the Voya Financial Advisors broker-dealer operations.

Prior to Voya, Edwards served as senior vice president of the FASCore operations of Great-West Financial doing business as Empower Retirement. He led all administration and operations services. During his 20 years with Empower, Edwards oversaw various components including participant call center activities, transaction processing and plan implementation. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor’s degree from Bates College.

White will be responsible for strategy, processes and performance management across all customer service access points.

She comes to Voya from Mass Mutual Financial Group, where she most recently served as vice president of client services and senior leader of its West Coast operations. In this role, she managed an organization of more than 500 customer associates. White oversaw call centers, interactive voice response (IVR) correspondence, tax reporting and more. She earned a master’s degree in business administration from Western New England University and a bachelor’s degree from Charter Oak State College.

Edwards and White will be based in Voya’s Windsor, Connecticut, office and report to Nan Ferrara, senior managing director of Operations for Voya Financial.

NEXT: PCS Hires New Regional VP

PCS, a fiduciary recordkeeper, announced that Karen Benewith has joined the team as vice president of sales for the Western region. Benewith replaces Jordan Migneault, who will return to the company's Philadelphia headquarters and serve as executive vice president of client experience.

"We are thrilled to have Karen Benewith join our sales team," said PCS CEO Mark Klein. "She knows the retirement plan business and she understands the needs of our adviser and plan sponsor clients. Our business approach demands the highest level of service and expertise, and Karen is a great fit."

Benewith has more than 20 years of experience in management, client services, and business development in a number of industries. She spent the last six years working as a retirement consultant with Schwab. Benewith holds FINRA Series 7, 66 and 9/10 securities licenses. She has also earned the Qualified 401k Administrator (QKA) and Qualified Plan Financial Consultant (QPFC) designations from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA), as well as the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation from fi360.

"I am excited for the opportunity to work for a quality plan provider that prides itself on offering a complete and sophisticated retirement solution,” says Benewith. “PCS has a great story to share and offers plan sponsors and advisers state-of-the-art tools and top-notch fiduciary support. Reputation and outstanding product offering were a huge factor in my decision to join PCS."