Retirement Industry People Moves

Art by Subin Yang

Broadridge Acquires Custody Assets from TD Ameritrade

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire the retirement plan custody and trust assets from TD Ameritrade Trust Company, a subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Company. The acquisition is said to expand Broadridge’s suite of solutions for the growing qualified and nonqualified retirement plan services market and the support it provides for third-party administrators (TPAs), financial advisers, recordkeepers, banks, and brokers. 

“The TD Ameritrade trust and custody assets are a strong complement to Broadridge’s established mutual fund and retirement business, and uniquely positions us as one of the largest neutral, independent service providers of custodial and sub-custodial solutions,” says Broadridge Head of Mutual Fund and Retirement Solutions, Michael Liberatore. “The acquisition represents the next step forward in Broadridge’s strategy of serving a broader set of retirement stakeholders and unlocking new opportunities for our clients.”

“After careful consideration, we decided to exit a part of our retirement plan trust business, one that’s better served by a scale player dedicated to expanding and investing in this business. Broadridge is a leader in this space with the proven technology and experience to provide advisers with access to innovative solutions and high-level client service,” says Tom Nally, president of TD Ameritrade Institutional. “With this deal, TD Ameritrade Institutional can increase its focus on developing and delivering industry-leading technology, products and service that can help independent RIAs grow and compete.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the calendar year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

The Standard Promotes and Hires Industry Consultants

The Standard has promoted Joel Mee as senior director, Retirement Plans Sales. Shelly Cheng has been hired to fill Mee’s recent position as a retirement plan consultant serving advisers in Southern California, the Inland Empire, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Mee is a 29-year veteran of The Standard. As senior director, he will have responsibility for retirement plan business development, sales operations and communications. In his last four years with The Standard, Mee focused on selling and consulting. He has also previously served as director of Retirement Plans business development and director of Retirement Plans Sales Operations. 

Shelly Cheng is working closely with Mee and area advisers as she assumes retirement plan consultant responsibilities. Cheng has five years of financial services industry experience. In her recent role as a major account retirement specialist, she partnered with registered investment advisers, brokers, financial advisers, payroll teams and certified public accountants (CPAs) to generate recordkeeping business. Cheng received a bachelor’s degree from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. She also holds FINRA Series 6, 63 and SIE licenses.

Regional Sales Consultant Joins TRA

The Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA) has added Sean Czepiel to its regional sales consultant team, reporting to Jeff Schreiber, TRA’s director of Sales.

Czepiel will be partnering with financial advisers and wholesalers in this area to design and implement optimal retirement plan concepts for privately-held businesses. 

“This is a great time to join TRA, with several new initiatives, products and services in place, all of which align with this ever-growing market,” says Czepiel.

Czepiel has worked in the financial and retirement plan industries for more than 13 years. Prior to joining TRA, Czepiel was a financial adviser with Edward Jones and prior to that he held various roles with MassMutual.

We are delighted to add an experienced and accomplished professional to the TRA team,” says Schreiber. “With his background as a retirement plan advisor, Sean will enhance the service and support we’re able to provide to our advisers and plan sponsors in the region. We are confident that his experience, leadership and ability to establish successful business partnerships will help TRA to increase retirement readiness for more U.S. employees.”

Czepiel acquired his bachelor’s from American International College and holds his FINRA Series 6, Series 63 and 66 licenses.

Symetra Life Promotes Retirement Division Lead

Symetra Life Insurance Company has named Daniel Guilbert as president of its Individual Life and Retirement Divisions.

“Leading Symetra is very much a team effort. Dan’s new title recognizes the significant role he plays in developing Symetra’s long-term strategic plans and his ongoing contributions to the successful execution of our strategy,” says Margaret Meister, president and chief executive officer of Symetra Financial Corporation.

Since taking on overall responsibility for the Individual Life Division (ILD) in 2017, Guilbert spearheaded the unit’s launch of its first indexed universal life product. He has worked closely with the ILD leadership team to prioritize systems and processes modernizations.

Voya Financial Adds Support for Tax-Exempt Market

Voya Financial’s retirement business has hired Christopher Engelhardt as the newest leader to join its Strategic Relationship Management (SRM) team to support the company’s tax-exempt market business (TEM). In his role at Voya, Engelhardt will serve as vice president, client relationship director for TEM and primarily focus on executing plan retention and growth goals to support large plan sponsors (in excess of $100 million in AUM /AUA) in the health care and nonprofit segment.

Engelhardt previously spent the last 17 years with Transamerica where, most recently, he served as regional vice president, client engagement and healthcare markets. He was also involved in developing request for proposal (RFP) responses and creating the service delivery model for Transamerica’s large and mega health care clients. 

“Voya is laser-focused on continuing our momentum and expanding its footprint in the tax-exempt market,” says Heather Lavallee, president of TEM for Voya Financial. “After an extensive search, it became clear that Chris was the best individual to fill this key role at Voya. He has the drive, the talent and the expertise to successfully partner and expand our existing relationships with some of Voya’s largest and most important plan sponsors in the health care and nonprofit markets—while also helping us win new business. We’re lucky to have him as part of TEM’s Strategic Relationship Management team.” 

Engelhardt started his new role at Voya on April 15. He will be based in the Chicago area, and reports directly to Frederick Blue, SVP and head of client relationship management for TEM. Engelhardt holds FINRA Series 6, 63 and 24 and Life Insurance licenses.

Stone Harbor Appoints Chief Market Economist

Stone Harbor Investment Partners LP (Stone Harbor) has selected Seamus Smyth to the role of chief developed market economist. Based in the firm’s New York office, Smyth will report to report to Peter Wilby, managing partner and co-CIO and Jim Craige, co-CIO and head of emerging markets.

According to Wilby, Seamus will be responsible for developing Stone Harbor’s outlook on advanced economies and will contribute to the firm’s investment policy discussions. Previously, Smyth served eight years as a managing director and senior economist for Caxton Associates where he was responsible for assessing the market implications of his economic views for the firm’s portfolio managers across rates, foreign exchange (FX), equities, credit and commodities. Prior to joining Caxton in 2009, Seamus spent just over three years at Goldman Sachs as part of its U.S. economics team and, while in graduate school, spent time at the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Smyth holds a Pd.D. in economics from Harvard University and a master’s in statistics from Stanford University. He graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s in economics with honors and distinction and a bachelor’s in mathematical and computational sciences with distinction.

Jackson Announces Changes Within Company Leadership Roles

Jackson National Life Insurance Company announced that Aimee DeCamillo, who has been serving as head of Retirement Plan Services at T. Rowe Price, has been named chief commercial officer and president of Jackson National Life Distributors LLC (JNLD), the marketing and distribution arm of Jackson. DeCamillo will be based in the company’s Franklin, Tennessee office, a commercial hub near Nashville, and will assume her new role effective June 3.

DeCamillo held her current role at T. Rowe Price since 2014, where she led the growth of the company’s full-service defined contribution (DC) recordkeeping business. She previously served as the head of product and marketing for retirement plan services at T. Rowe Price and prior to that was head of personal retirement solutions for Bank of America, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. She is the former chair of the LIMRA/LOMA Secure Retirement Institute Board and currently serves on the board of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Spark Institute.

“I am pleased to welcome Aimee to the Jackson team,” says Michael Falcon, chief executive officer, Jackson Holdings LLC. “Aimee’s insights and expertise are an outstanding complement to our already strong capabilities. Her proven track record of driving growth and innovation will help us broaden and deepen our success, expanding our reach into new areas that can position Jackson to even more effectively serve Americans seeking to build their financial freedom.”

“I am delighted to join the Jackson team,” DeCamillo adds. “I look forward to helping build on their already strong track record of proven success as an industry leader, both in the eyes of advisors and the clients they serve.”

DeCamillo’s announced arrival coincides with the upcoming departure of Greg Cicotte, EVP and chief distribution officer of JNLD, who recently announced he will be leaving Jackson to pursue other interests.

Meketa and PCA Complete Integration

Investment consulting and advisory firms Meketa Investment Group, Inc. (Meketa) and Pension Consulting Alliance, LLC (PCA), have formally combined. This follows the January announcement that the two organizations had signed an agreement to join forces, to be known as Meketa Investment Group, Inc.

The blended firm’s collective client assets under advisement now represent approximately $1.8 trillion, including over $100 billion in private markets and real estate assets. Meketa serves a variety of public and private institutional investors, including defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans as well as nonprofits and corporations, in non-discretionary and discretionary capacities.

“Having collaborated on client relationships for many years, and with a similar approach to capital markets and institutional investing, we believe the combination of Meketa and PCA is a logical step in the evolution of both organizations,” says Stephen McCourt, co-CEO, Meketa. “We thank all those at both firms who worked so diligently over the past several months to make this combination a reality, and sincerely thank our clients for helping make possible our continued success.”

In keeping with the planned integration, PCA Founder and Managing Director Allan Emkin, and PCA Managing Director Christy Fields, have now joined Meketa’s Board of Directors, while PCA Managing Directors Judy Chambers and Neil Rue are now members of Meketa’s Executive Committee. In addition, other management committees now include representatives from Meketa and PCA, and all members of PCA’s board have become Meketa shareholders. Meketa will continue its tradition of extending ownership to top-performing employees, with staff of both legacy firms eligible to become Meketa shareholders. New Meketa shareholders will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We believe the sharing and building upon of best practices developed by Meketa and PCA over many decades offers an opportunity to enhance our organizations’ resources, geographic coverage, and services,” says Peter Woolley, co-CEO, Meketa. “We remain confident that leveraging our combined institutional knowledge and client experience will help ensure we continue as thought leaders in the industry and further our goal of consistently providing best-in-class service to our clients.”

The newly expanded Meketa is now serving clients from six cities across the United States, as well as London. The firm will continue to operate as an independent fiduciary and remain fully employee-owned.