Retirement Industry People Moves

Nationwide Names Two Leaders for Public-Sector Sales 

Nationwide has named two new leaders to oversee public-sector sales, relationship management and acquisition efforts in the eastern region of the United States, underscoring the company’s focus on increasing market share while helping clients build successful retirement plans.

Jeff Francis’ promotion to regional vice president expands his sales and relationship management responsibilities in the eastern United States. He now leads a team of 60 sales professionals in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Francis has held several leadership roles within Nationwide’s public-sector retirement plans business, where he has consistently exceeded client goals.

Hazel Durand is the new institutional sales executive for the eastern region, responsible for directing all client acquisition efforts. Durand joins Nationwide after more than two decades as a sales leader in the retirement plans industry. She spent the last nine years working as a senior vice president at Fidelity, where she led a team of 25 business development consultants and relationship managers. Prior to working at Fidelity, Durand was employed by CitiStreet.

“Nationwide’s public-sector retirement plans business has a great deal of sales momentum. Jeff and Hazel will enable us to double-down on our efforts to increase sales while continuing to deliver the high-level of service our clients have come to expect from Nationwide,” says Eric Stevenson, vice president of public-sector retirement plan sales for Nationwide.

Francis received a bachelor’s degree in consumer services and advocacy from Syracuse University. He holds FINRA Series 6, 63, 26 and 65 licenses. Durand has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business from Northeastern University. Additionally, she holds FINRA Series 63, 7 and 24 and licenses.

NEXT: Firms Combine to Create Pavilion Alternatives Group

Investment services firm Pavilion Financial Corporation announced that it plans to acquire Altius Holdings Ltd., the parent company of Altius Associates Ltd. and Altius Associates (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., a global private markets advisory and separate account management firm with offices in the UK, U.S. and Singapore. 

Pavilion will combine the operations of Altius Associates with LP Capital Advisors, LLC (LPCA), the alternative asset advisory subsidiary of Pavilion headquartered in Sacramento, California.  The combination will be highly complementary, creating a larger global alternative asset class advisory platform with expanded depth and breadth of services and geographic footprint. At closing, the combined organization will be rebranded as Pavilion Alternatives Group and represent Pavilion’s global advisory platform specializing in alternative asset classes with total alternative assets under advisement of more than $60 billion, out of a total $570 billion.                      

Pavilion Alternatives Group will be comprised of approximately 70 dedicated professionals located in London, UK; Singapore; and across offices in North America (Sacramento, Richmond, Boston, Salt Lake City and Montreal). All senior management from Altius Associates and LPCA will remain in leadership positions in Pavilion Alternatives Group.

NEXT: P-Solve Adds Consulting Actuary and Investment Director

P-Solve hired two senior consultants for its U.S. solutions business. Kevin Morrison has joined as a director and consulting actuary, while James Walton has joined as an investment director.

Morrison will consult with P-Solve's corporate retirement clients on actuarial issues, helping them to make the best possible decisions for their firms. He will also serve as one of the senior leaders of P-Solve's U.S. actuarial practice.

Walton will consult with P-Solve's institutional investment clients, with a specific focus on investment risk management. In addition, he will play a key role in developing P-Solve's investment strategies and in the development of new investment solutions.

“We are seeing increased demand from clients for innovative solutions that combine actuarial, investment and risk management thinking,” says Ryan McGlothlin, global head of Strategic Relationships. “The skills that Kevin and James bring will be very useful in helping our clients to meet their various investment and risk management objectives.”

Morrison joined P-Solve from John Hancock Retirement Plan Services, where he was a consulting actuary. He started his career at Mercer. He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and an Enrolled Actuary. He received a B.A. in math and physics from the College of the Holy Cross.

Walton joined P-Solve from Legal & General, where he most recently managed investment portfolios designed to match long-term liabilities. Previously, he worked for Aon as an asset-liability risk management specialist. He is a qualified actuary and holds a first-class Masters degree in physics from the University of Oxford.

NEXT: Nationwide Names Head of Investment Strategies and CIO

Nationwide announced that Chris Graham has been named head of Investment Strategies and chief investment officer (CIO).

Graham had previously spent the past 11 years as a senior investment professional for Nationwide Investments. He will report to Mike Spangler, president of Nationwide Funds.

In his new role, Graham will oversee the research, selection, monitoring and risk management of Nationwide's retail, variable insurance and retirement products' investment offerings, including fixed income, equities, asset allocation and alternatives. He'll also oversee Nationwide's asset allocation solutions and portfolio construction for multi-manager products.

"We're extremely excited to have Chris transition to his new position," says Spangler. "Over the past eleven years at Nationwide he has gained a reputation as a strong collaborator with expertise in portfolio and risk management, which will be beneficial to the strong relationships we've established with our subadvisors and firm partners."

Prior to joining Nationwide Graham served as a private wealth consultant, helping clients determine appropriate asset allocation, use of alternatives and tax planning. He earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Hampton University and a master's of business administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

NEXT: Alger Expands Sales Team

Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated (Alger) announced five new additions to its external sales team calling on financial advisers and the home offices of Alger’s largest wealth manager relationships.

May Poon joins Alger as senior vice president, director of National Accounts, with responsibility for managing the relationships for Alger’s largest accounts. May has more than 10 years of industry experience and was previously national accounts director, Active Strategies-All Channels at Van Eck. Prior to that, May served as a financial adviser at Morgan Stanley. May holds a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University and holds Series 3, 7, 31 and 66 securities registrations.

Alger additionally welcomes four new regional marketing managers to its team calling on financial advisers:

• Patrice Franco, vice president, regional marketing manager, for the New York Metro market, including New York City, Westchester and Long Island. Franco has 27 years of industry and asset management experience and previously held the position of vice president, investment management consultant at BlackRock. Prior to that, she was a vice president, asset management adviser at Merrill Lynch Investment Management in the New York Metro area. She graduated with a B.S. from Penn State University and holds Series 7, 9, 10 and 66 securities registrations.
• Bradley Grulke, vice president, regional marketing manager, covering Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Grulke, who has 16 years of experience, was regional sales director at WBI before joining Alger. Prior to that, he held sales roles at ING Individual Retirement. He earned a B.A. from Brown University.
• Jeremy Jackson, vice president, regional marketing manager, for the Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri markets. Jackson brings more than 14 years of investment industry experience. Previous to joining Alger, he served as regional vice president at Transamerica Capital, Inc. in Minneapolis. He earned a B.S. from Truman State University and holds Series 7 and 66 securities registrations.
• William (Bill) Kennedy, vice president, regional marketing manager, covering Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. Kennedy has 19 years of experience in the industry. Prior to Alger, he served as wealth management client adviser at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Bill earned a B.S. from Wagner College and holds Series 7 and 63 securities registrations.

NEXT: Northern Trust Names Global Head of Consultant Relations

Rob Joseph has joined Northern Trust Asset Management as global head of Consultant Relations, leading U.S.-based relations with institutional consultants and collaborating with partners in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific to coordinate outreach across regions.

A 26-year veteran of the institutional asset management business, Joseph is returning to Northern Trust, where he had worked in sales and investment product roles earlier in his career. Most recently, Joseph was managing director of investor and consultant relations at Evanston Capital Management for the past seven years. Joseph also held senior sales and product management roles at the former Allegiant Asset Management, and began his career as a researcher and consultant at Ennis Knupp & Associates.

“Rob specializes in consultant relations and sales for both traditional and alternative strategies and has demonstrated leadership in establishing relationships with leading investment consultants,” says John Abunassar, head of Sales and Distribution in North America for the Institutional Group at Northern Trust Asset Management. “Rob’s addition to our team demonstrates the Institutional Group’s commitment to building productive, long-lasting relationships with the investment consulting community.”

Joseph earned a Bachelor of Science from University of Illinois, Chicago and an M.B.A. from DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.

NEXT: RBG Adds Two Advisers

Retirement Benefits Group (RBG) has added two advisers to its office in Irvine, California, from TriEqua Wealth Management of Tustin, California.

William Caldwell and Bryan Murphy bring to RBG a combined total of 78 years of experience in retirement plan advice and private wealth management. The firm now has 56 advisers in 15 offices across the country.

“We are excited to welcome Bill and Bryan to our team,” says RBG Partner Michael Castner. “They add several more decades of retirement plan experience to our already well-seasoned team of advisers that will help us educate all of our clients about the best path to a fruitful retirement.”

Caldwell, a graduate of University of California at Berkley and UCLA, first entered the financial services industry in the early 1970s, following his service in the U.S. Marines, which included a tour of duty in Vietnam. In 1983, he founded TriEqua, which he ran as an independent broker-dealer until he decided to go under the LPL Financial platform in 2008.

Murphy, who attended the University of Southern California, brings to RBG significant experience with financial management with both qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, plan management as well as family and corporate succession planning and insurance. Murphy is a founder and chairman emeritus of the Orange County Forum, a group that hosts non-partisan public affairs forums at which the community interacts with important decision-makers.