Retirement Industry People Moves

Voya Hires Retirement Strategist

Voya Investment Management has hired Joseph M. Labella as a retirement strategist. In this new position, he will be tasked with helping financial advisers address their clients’ retirement planning issues. He will also help advisers meet specific goals.

“According to GDC Research and Practical Perspectives, 75% of advisers report that retirement clients make up more than half of their business,” says Voya Senior Vice President Paula Smith. “Given that retirement advice is such a critical need, the unprecedented challenges advisers face and our commitment to professional development around this issue, we wanted to provide advisers with a resource who can offer investment guidance as well as portfolio evaluation and analysis.”

Labella brings more than 20 years of financial services experience. Most recently, he worked as a consultant for Markola LLC, helping high-net-worth and institutional clients construct asset allocation strategies with an emphasis on alternative investments. Previously, he worked for UBS Wealth Management and served as director for investments at 3 Dimensional Wealth Advisory.

“Voya Investment Management is focused on helping clients invest for their retirement,” says Smith. “Joe’s passion and expertise will be a great resource to financial advisers looking for support to meet the retirement demands of their clients.”

NEXT: Multnomah Group Hires New Consultant 

Multnomah Group Hires New Consultant

Multnomah Group, an independent retirement-consulting firm, has hired Stephanie Roupe as its newest consultant. Roupe will advise clients on benefit design, fiduciary governance, and investment management. She will also serve on the Vendor Services Committee and lead business development initiatives in the Puget Sound region.

Roupe has 10 years of experience in the employee-benefits industry. Her roles span various organizations from non-profits to government entities. Her mission is to enhance financial literacy in every organization she joins, as well as to provide engaging and transparent retirement programs to her clients throughout the retirement plan marketplace.   

She earned her master’s degree in business administration from Seattle University and her bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Multnomah is a fee-for-service consulting firm serving investment-consulting clients as fiduciaries to their plans.

NEXT: TIAA Moving Forward in EverBank Acquisition

TIAA Moving Forward in EverBank Acquisition

TIAA, a financial services provider, announced an agreement to acquire EverBank, a nationwide consumer and commercial bank with $27.4 billion in assets.

This acquisition will expand TIAA’s offerings of banking and lending products, while complementing its suite of retirement, investing and advisory services.

“I am very excited to welcome EverBank to the TIAA team,” says Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., president and chief executive officer at TIAA. “EverBank’s complementary capabilities and two decades of profitability make this an excellent investment and a great strategic fit for TIAA. Together, we look forward to bringing an enhanced level of service and an expanded range of financial solutions to our millions of loyal customers and the institutions we serve.”

The acquisition will also expand TIIA’s services in the Jacksonville, Florida, community as well as in other key markets. 

EverBank’s board of directors unanimously approved the acquisition following a comprehensive review of the proposal as well as strategic and financial alternatives. The transaction is subject to closing conditions including the receipt of regulatory approvals from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the approval by EverBank’s common stockholders.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2017.

NEXT: New Consultant Joins the Hyas Group 

New Consultant Joins the Hyas Group

The Hyas Group has added Rasch Cousineau as a senior consultant in its institutional-plan consulting team. He is tasked with expanding the firm’s clientele in the government, corporate and non-profit sectors. He specializes in portfolio construction, retirement plan design, vendor management, plan governance, fee negotiation, RFP management, and fiduciary training.

“We think Rasch’s previous experience of managing the third-party administrator RFP process will be a great asset to our clients who are looking to monitor plan costs and renegotiate favorable contracts,” says Dale Parker, chief operating officer and senior analyst in charge of RFP analysis and platform structure. “The Hyas Group is already an industry leader when it comes to recordkeeping RFPs and vendor evaluation projects, conducting one per month on average, and Rasch’s inside knowledge of the industry should prove invaluable to Hyas Group clients.”

Cousineau brings more than 20 years of experience in the retirement services industry. He previously served as national vice president of defined contribution markets for an industry-leading provider. He has worked closely with industry consultants, investment advisers, plan sponsors, unions, and investment committees. Cousineau has spoken about topics such as defined contribution industry trends, plan design, fiduciary responsibility, and best practices at leading industry organizations including the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA). He earned a bachelor’s degree from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

NEXT: Northwest Plan Services Acquires Recordkeper 

Northwest Plan Services Acquires Recordkeper

Northwest Plan Services (NWPS), a recordkeeper and administrator for 401 (k) plans, has announced the acquisition of Seattle-based Trautmann, Maher & Associates (TMA).

Founded in 1991, TMA is an independent provider of 401(k) and retirement plan recordkeeping, administration, actuarial, communication and participant services for more than 175 clients and plans.

“We have tremendous respect for TMA, its principals and employees,” says Tim Wulfekuhle, president and chief executive officer of NWPS. “As the 401(k) landscape continues to shift toward unbundled solutions, it makes strategic sense to combine the resources of our firms and leverage our strengths to support continued, strong growth. TMA brings the same flexibility, obsession with quality, and high-touch client service that are the hallmarks of NWPS. We are confident the strong alignment of our strategies will facilitate a smooth transition for employees, advisers and clients. We will not be making any changes to TMA staff or office location.”

NWPS provides a suite of services for various plan types including 401(k), profit sharing, and defined benefit (DB) pension plans. With the acquisition of TMA, NWPS will now serve about 900 plans nationwide with 300,000 participants and more than $20 billion of assets under administration.