Retirement Industry People Moves

Northern Trust Expands Institutional Client Service

Northern Trust has made a series of senior appointments across its institutional client service and business development teams around the globe.

Shaun Flavin has joined as head of North American institutional sales. He will be responsible for asset servicing sales including global custody and transition management to large institutional investors in North America. Based in Chicago, Flavin has more than 25 years of experience in fund operations, institutional sales and relationship management, most recently in senior leadership roles at BNY Mellon.

Andrea Perry joined as senior client relationship manager at Northern Trust Canada for the Atlantic region serving both institutional investors and asset management firms. A 30-year veteran of the investment industry, Perry comes to Northern Trust from an investment management firm where she was responsible for developing and executing business development strategy and growth initiatives specifically in Atlantic Canada. Perry is a past president and current member of the CFA Society Atlantic Canada and member of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM).

Nigel Colgan joined Northern Trust’s institutional sales team in London in the newly created role of senior technology sales consultant, EMEA. Colgan will engage with strategic asset owners and asset managers across the region on the breadth and depth of Northern Trust’s technology solutions to support investment decision making, execution, oversight and analytics. Colgan brings more than 25 years of asset servicing experience, working with different client types across the region at BNY Mellon and ABN Amro Mellon.

Johnson Har joined as an institutional sales manager in Hong Kong. Har will focus on bringing Northern Trust’s capabilities and solutions to asset owners and asset managers across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. He joins from SS&C Fund Services and has worked for nearly a decade in business development and client relations for asset management, fund servicing and financial technology firms in the Hong Kong market.

“As our institutional client base grows across all regions, we continue to bring in talented professionals with the skills and experience our clients seek and the specific expertise to position our innovative technology in very competitive markets,” says Penelope Biggs, head of strategy, Corporate and Institutional Services at Northern Trust. “These appointments will drive our momentum and proactive approach in supporting the evolving needs of clients, through advanced operating models and scalable technology designed to deliver an optimum transparency and data governance experience.”

NEXT: FS Investments Appoints Head of Strategy 

FS Investments Appoints Head of Strategy

FS Investments, an alternative asset manager with more than $20 billion in assets under management, has hired Michael Carter as executive vice president and head of Strategy. Carter will be based in the firm's Philadelphia headquarters, serve on the firm’s Executive Committee, and oversee firm strategy and business development with a focus on growing FS Investments’ existing credit franchise and expanding into other alternative investment platforms.

“Mike Carter has had a broad, impressive career in financial services as a credit and hedge fund platform builder, operator and leader,” says Michael C. Forman, chairman and CEO of FS Investments. “Mike’s investment experience and strategic focus will be critically important as we continue to build our business to offer investors more alternative investment options.”

In his most recent role as chief operating officer at Magnetar Capital, Carter had direct managerial responsibility for all global operations, strategic planning and business development. Carter was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, Management Committee, Investment Committee, Valuation Committee and chair of the Operations Committee.

Prior to joining Magnetar, Carter spent 15 years at Lehman Brothers in various credit and investment banking roles, including leadership roles in the interest rate derivatives, securitization, and structured credit and CDO businesses. He was co-head of Lehman's Structured Credit Desk, co-head of its U.S. Structured Credit Sales group and a leader of the Hedge Fund Banking Group.  He also helped launch the firm's securitization business in London.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business with a minor in politics from Wake Forest University.

NEXT: JPMAM Expands DC Real Estate Team

JPMAM Expands DC Real Estate Team

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has appointed Jani Venter as executive director of the Defined Contribution Real Estate Portfolio Management team. Based in New York, Venter will focus on managing and growing J.P. Morgan Global Alternative’s suite of defined contribution (DC) real estate strategies in the U.S., where the firm has more than $3 billion in daily valued real estate assets.

“DC plans are increasingly adopting real estate strategies as they look to provide participants with the diversification advantages that defined benefit plans have enjoyed for decades, and we’re continually expanding our team to address this demand.” says Sue Kolasa, managing director and portfolio manager, Defined Contribution Real Estate, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “With her deep understanding of this rapidly growing space and a passionate focus on improving participant outcomes, Jani was a natural addition to the group as we continue our momentum and serve our clients.”

Prior to her appointment, Venter was an associate partner at Aon Hewitt, where she led the DC real estate research and consulting practice. She holds a master’s degree in Real Estate Development from MIT and Bachelor’s degrees in Building Science and Architecture from The University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. 

NEXT:TRA Expands Mid-Atlantic Sales Consultant Team

TRA Expands Mid-Atlantic Sales Consultant Team

Employee benefits consulting and technology firm The Retirement Advantage(TRA) has hired Tiffany Hanks as their latest regional sales consultant. She will be responsible for providing service to the firm’s Mid-Atlantic territory. Hanks will report to Craig Mazzini, national sales manager of TRA.

Hanks joins TRA with more than 28 years of experience in the financial services and insurance industries, specializing in retirement plans. She began her career working in a family-owned Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) consulting firm, which she led for several years. After relocating from Salt Lake City to the Washington, D.C. area, she worked as an administrator for a local TPA firm. She was then appointed by VOYA when it was known as ING to the position of TPA Regional Manager. From there, Hanks progressed to the role of National Practice Leader for the TPA channel for MassMutual. She will be tasked with partnering financial advisers and wholesalers to design and implement optimal retirement plans for privately-held businesses with 1 to 1,000 employees.

"Throughout her career, Tiffany has been a results-driven leader. She has demonstrated her expertise, serving in various roles within the retirement plan industry, which makes her a well-rounded addition to the team," states Mazzini. "Tiffany has a unique understanding and depth of experience in this marketplace and we are proud to welcome her to our team and look forward to her valuable insights and contributions."

Hanks will be taking over for Nina Trottwho is retiring at the end of July. Trott has spent more than 35 years in the retirement plan industry. While at TRA, Trott focused on providing consulting to financial advisers and plan sponsors throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Prior to joining TRA, Trott founded Capital Pension Services (CPSI) in Woodbridge, Virginia.

NEXT:Putnam Hires Consultant Relations Director

Putnam Hires Consultant Relations Director

Putnam Investments announced that Anicia Mendez has joined the firm as director of Consultant Relations. She will be responsible for representing the company with institutional asset management consultants in the western United States. In this new role, Mendez will report to Jeffrey L. Gould, head of Putnam Global Institutional Management.

“The institutional marketplace is an important priority for Putnam Investments, and we are always seeking to enhance our support to this vital constituency,” says Gould. “Anicia has more than two decades of industry experience and an outstanding track record of helping consultants and their institutional clients identify meaningful investment strategies across asset classes to help achieve their unique objectives.”

Mendez joins Putnam from Janus Henderson. While there, she had a senior consultant relations role focused on business development. Beforehand, she worked at Sage Advisory Services, an independent investment management firm where she built new institutional relationships in the Western U.S.

Earlier, she led Dwight Asset Management Company’s efforts to cultivate relationships with pension fund consultants, plan sponsors, insurance companies and other institutional investors.

Mendez has also held positions at Roxbury Capital Management and Metropolitan West Asset Management. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a master’s degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.  

NEXT:Mesirow Financial Partners with T. Rowe Price on Fiduciary Services

Mesirow Financial Partners with T. Rowe Priceon Fiduciary Services

Mesirow Financial is providing 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary partnership services to plan sponsors and advisers working with T. Rowe Price Plan Services.

The 3(21) offering is an investment advisory program that provides a broad menu of investment options of which MFIM takes fiduciary responsibility. The 3(38) service option gives MFIM full discretion for selecting, monitoring, and replacing investment options within plan line ups if necessary.

“We’re excited to work with T. Rowe Price, its client plans and advisers,” says senior managing director, Michael Annin. “We’ve developed a fiduciary service integrating our newest automation, technology, and reporting capabilities with their platforms to create a solution that supports and complements financial advisers.”

NEXT: FinMason Collaborates with the Fintech Sandbox

FinMason Collaborates with the Fintech Sandbox

Boston-based financial technology and investment analytics firm FinMason is partnering with FinTech Sandbox, a non-profit accelerator providing its partners’ financial data and infrastructure to FinTech start-ups at no charge.

FinTech Sandbox participants will now have access to FinMason’s enterprise solution FinRiver, a set of investment analytics APIs with access to more than 700 analytical data types including risk and performance metrics, aggregate factor exposures, scenario analyses and stress testing.

“Analytics is an essential building block for startups developing a quality financial technology products,” says Jean Donnelly, executive director of FinTech Sandbox. “FinMason has a solid reputation in delivering world-class data and we are certain that their partnership with the Sandbox will be greatly utilized by our participants.”

FinMason joins a variety of companies contributing to FinTech Sandbox program participants. Others include Fidelity Investments, F-Prime Capital, Thomson Reuters, and State Street.