Retirement Industry People Moves

Art by Subin Yang

Tech Experts Join PCS

Edmond Walters, founder and former CEO of eMoney Advisor, has joined the Board of Directors for Professional Capital Services LLC (PCS), while 18-year retirement industry veteran, Rishi Chaturvedi, has been named chief technology offer for the firm’s executive team.

Mark Klein, CEO of PCS, says the firm will call on Walters to build capabilities that help advisers deliver the retirement outcomes their clients hope for.

eMoney Advisor, a financial planning software platform for advisers, was acquired by Fidelity Investments in 2015.  

Prior to joining PCS, Chaturvedi was managing director, digital and analytical services at Anexinet. A holder of two U.S. patents, he has designed and led global rollouts of strategic enterprise level platforms throughout his career.  In 2014, Chaturvedi was honored with an American Financial Technology Award for best mobile strategy initiative.

DWS Group Adds Portfolio Management Head

Dokyoung (Dok) Lee has joined the DWS Group as the head of portfolio management for the U.S. multi-asset and solutions group. Based in New York, Lee reports to Mark Roberts, co-head of multi-asset and solutions and head of research and strategy for alternatives. In the newly created position, Lee oversees the U.S.-based team of portfolio managers for DWS’s multi-asset funds.

“We have seen increasing demand from clients for customized solutions that link our active, index investing and alternatives capabilities,” Roberts explains.

Prior to joining DWS, Lee co-managed a group funds at the global multi-asset group at Oppenheimer Funds. Earlier in his career, he has also held a series of positions at AllianceBernstein, leading research efforts in strategic asset allocation and serving as an equity portfolio manager across value strategies in emerging markets, Japanese and U.S. equities. 

CBIZ Purchases Sequoia Business Unit

CBIZ Inc. has acquired Sequoia Institutional Services (SIS), a business unit of Sequoia Financial Group LLC, effective December 1.

Founded in 2010 and based in Akron, Ohio, SIS provides retirement plan investment advisory services.

Jerry Grisko, president and CEO of CBIZ, says the addition of SIS to the existing team of retirement plan specialists will allow the firm to provide clients with a broader array of services backed by a larger team. 

Eagle Asset Management Names Managing Director

Eagle Asset Management has added James Camp as managing director of strategic income. Camp will also continue as managing director of fixed income, and his new title reflects an added focus on expanding the offering of specialized income products to meet the needs of investors. 

Camp has 29 years of industry experience with the majority spent at Eagle Asset Management. His current role includes portfolio manager of the Strategic Income Portfolio (SIP), a risk-focused investment program designed to seek stable and growing income as well as the potential for capital appreciation. Additionally, Camp is portfolio manager of the Vertical Income Portfolio (VIP), which aims to maximize an investor’s yield potential by using a capital-structure agnostic approach.

Ascensus Acquires TPA Firms for Solutions Division

Ascensus has entered into an agreement to acquire Moran Knobel and its subsidiary Means & Associates. The third-party administration (TPA) firms will immediately become part of Ascensus’ TPA Solutions Division.   

Based in Bellevue, Washington, Moran Knobel provides retirement plan consulting and administration services for safe harbor 401(k), profit sharing, cash balance, defined benefit (DB), 403(b), and all other Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-qualified plans. The firm also offers consulting and administration services for nonqualified and expatriate plans.

“Moran Knobel holds the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) seal of excellence for third-party administrators, as certified by the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence LLC (CEFEX),” states Jerry Bramlett, head of TPA Solutions. 

Raghav Nandagopal, Ascensus’ executive vice president of corporate development and acquisitions, says the firm is focused on expanding its footprint in the West and Pacific Northwest.

PenChecks Reveals Management Team Changes

PenChecks Inc., parent company to PenChecks Trust, has announced two changes to its management team. Spiro Preovolos, a member of the PenChecks team for 17 years, has been promoted to president. Bryan Pruden, a former senior executive for Intel Corporation, SAIC and Celergy Networks, has been hired to serve as the company’s new COO.

Preovolos, who most recently was vice president of strategic development for PenChecks, will now oversee the information technology, product management and sales and marketing functions in his new role as president. His responsibilities will also include cultivating strategic partnerships that can enhance the company’s product and service offerings.

As COO, Pruden will oversee the company’s day-to-day operations, as well as the finance, client services and human resources functions. He will also be responsible for ensuring that PenChecks continues to deliver quality services. Pruden will also lead the company’s increased focus on growth through targeted mergers and acquisitions.

To complete the management transition, company founder Peter Preovolos is stepping out of the role of president while maintaining his status as chairman and CEO. He will now focus on the future direction of the company and mentoring the next generation of management.