Retirement Industry People Moves

Jon Graff has joined Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust to lead its Participant Services team.

As director of Participant Services, he will provide leadership for participant communications, education, and advice for more than 3.4 million defined contribution participants to help them prepare for a better retirement.

Graff comes to Wells Fargo with 22 years of industry experience having served in several retirement industry leadership positions including marketing, relationship management, and operations. He most recently served as managing director at Charles Schwab, where he led a team of marketing professionals focused on client retention and organic growth through active engagement of plan sponsors and participants. Previously, Graff spent 19 years at Fidelity Investments where he held numerous leadership positions.

He has a B.S. in Economics from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and an MBA from the University of Connecticut.

“Jon has a proven track record of success that has been achieved through a focus on cross-functional partnership and a thorough mastery of this complex industry,” says Joe Ready, director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. “This background will enable him to propel our work to help drive better outcomes for participants.”

Ascensus has appointed Rick Irace as chief operating officer (COO) of the company's retirement division.

In this newly created role, Irace will be responsible for Ascensus' retirement service and operations teams.

Prior to joining Ascensus, Irace served as managing director and head of institutional retirement and benefit plan relationship management and communications consulting for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He was responsible for delivering integrated benefits and investment solutions to mega- and large-market companies, including proprietary 401(k), non-qualified deferred compensation, and defined benefit plan administration. His team was also responsible for providing strategic expertise, thought leadership, and best practice communication solutions to enable plan sponsors to promote the value of their plans and help plan participants achieve financial wellness.

Previously, Irace served as head of integrated benefit solutions, where he first developed a relationship with Ascensus. Rick connected with members of Ascensus' adviser network first-hand and was introduced to the company's sales and service model.

Irace earned a bachelor's degree from Monmouth University in Long Branch, New Jersey, and holds FINRA Series 7 and Series 24 certifications.

John Krieg has joined UBS Asset Management as managing director, head of Institutional Client Relationship Management, Americas.

Krieg will lead UBS Asset Management's institutional client relationship teams across the United States and Canada and will also work directly with selected clients. He will report to Susan Small, managing director and head of Institutional, Americas.

Krieg joined UBS Asset Management from Northern Trust Asset Management in Chicago. There he was most recently managing director, Global Head of Institutional Distribution and Consultant Relations, and before that he led Northern's EMEA business from London. Krieg joined Northern Trust as senior vice president and director of Global Product Management and Development. He also previously held roles in New York with TimesSquare Capital Management and Credit Suisse Asset Management. He holds the CFA and CAIA designations.

Prudential Retirement announced that Ryan Tucci is the new VP, regional sales director covering the midwest region which is primarily Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. He joined the firm May 2.

Tucci was previously an adviser at Innovest Portfolio Solutions where he served both corporate and public sector retirement clients. He was also a member of Innovest's investment committee and has spent more than 12 years in the retirement industry working in various roles including marketing and business development, client service, plan administration, employee communication, investment analysis, RFP management as well as managing vendor relationships and leading provider and investment searches for plan sponsors. 

Tucci graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in International Business. He holds an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation from the University of Pittsburgh, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.

Scott Daniel is the newest team member to join Pensionmark.

He joins the WealthPath Group and fellow partners, including Richard Newland, Clay Kendall, Jim Mote, Jim Edmiaston, Erik Berry and Brent Harless.

Daniel comments, "I am excited to be partnered with the highly respected team at WealthPath Investment Advisors. As a member of the WealthPath team, my clients have access to their proprietary investment methodology. The WealthPath Smart Risk Portfolios have turned in exceptional performance returns over the past 15 years as verified by outside auditors. In addition, use of the Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investment custody and trading platforms, my clients' accounts are held with two of the largest and most competitively priced firms in the world. This move has me where I hope to be for the remainder of my career, and I trust my clients feel the same."

The WealthPath team brings more than 90 years of industry experience to Pensionmark and has a 15-year track record of managing portfolios for clients. It will be bringing its proprietary risk-based asset allocation models to the Pensionmark network of advisers.