Retirement Industry People Moves

Putnam Investments announced that Angela Achatz joined the firm as director of Defined Contribution Investment Only (DCIO) Strategic Relationships. In this newly created role, Achatz will lead the effort in partnering with key representatives at defined contribution (DC) platforms and DC-focused intermediary firms across the nation. Based in Kansas, Achatz, who was formally head of DCIO for Ivy Funds, will report directly to Steven P. McKay, head of DCIO at Putnam Investments.

In her new position at Putnam, Achatz will work closely with a host of sales professionals and investment research teams and intermediary home offices across the country, as she represents the full line-up of Putnam mutual funds and collective investment trusts (CITs).

In her previous role as head of DCIO for Ivy Distributor, Inc., the distributor of Ivy Funds mutual funds, Achatz led a team of wholesalers and national account managers in all aspects of the firm’s DCIO business, working closely with broker-dealers (b/ds), independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers (RIAs), aggregators, consultants and retirement platforms. She joined Ivy Distributor in 2008 as vice president, National Accounts.

Achatz began her investment industry career in 1998 at a firm which would later become ADP Retirement Plan Services, holding a series of positions with increasing responsibilities in retirement operations. She received her bachelor’s of science degree in Business Administration and Communications from the University of Kansas. 

Ameritas Announces Officer Elections

Ameritas Chief Executive Officer JoAnn Martin announces 14 officer elections, effective June 1, 2018.

Sue Wilkinson, CPA, FLMI, was elected executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, Ameritas Mutual Holding Company, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. (Ameritas Life) and Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York. Previously she served as senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. Wilkinson holds a B.S. degree in accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Ryan Beasley, CFP, CLU, was elected senior vice president – agency and advisor distribution, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. Beasley was previously senior vice president – shared agency distribution. Beasley has a M.S. degree in financial services from the American College of Financial Services in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and a B.B.A. degree in business administration management from Georgia Southern University.

Jim Kais was elected senior vice president – retirement plans, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. Kais joined Ameritas in May. He earned his B.A. degree in economics and business administration from Ursinus College and he holds the FINRA Series 6, 63 and 26 securities licenses.

Carrie Weber was elected senior vice president – compliance and risk, Ameritas Mutual Holding Company, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. Her previous position was vice president – audit, risk management and compliance. Weber has a B.S. in accounting from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Thomas Fink, ChFC, CLU, was elected vice president – institutional sales, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. His previous position was national vice president – institutional sales. Fink has a B.A. degree from the University of Central Florida, CFP – Florida Institute of Technology and holds the FINRA 7, 9, 10 and 63 securities licenses.

Sharyn Marreel was elected vice president – sales operations for the group division, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. Marreel most recently served as second vice president – group field sales operations.

Kate McCown, CHC, was elected vice president – compliance for the group division, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. She previously served as second vice president – group compliance. McCown studied accounting and finance at Wayne State College and has a B.A. degree in paralegal studies from Doane University.

Gaurav Mehra was elected second vice president – user experience and web design – marketing, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. He joined Ameritas in March. He holds an M.S. degree in human factors and human – computer interaction from Clemson University and a B.S. degree in industrial engineering and management from the R.V. College of Engineering in India.

Niki Muller was elected second vice president – distribution operations and finance for the individual division, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. She previously served as director of compensation in human resources. Muller has an M.S. degree in professional accountancy and a B.S. degree in accounting from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Gail Perry was elected vice president, associate general counsel – legal/ HR, Ameritas Life. Perry joined Ameritas in March. Perry holds a J.D. degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law, an M.A. degree in social psychology and a B.A. degree in journalism, both from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Patty Reiners was elected second vice president – institutional sales and operations, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. Her previous position was assistant vice president – advisor services. Reiners has a B.S. degree in finance from University of Nebraska-Lincoln and holds the FINRA 6, 63 and 26 securities licenses.

Jason Summers was elected second vice president – financial business partner – group field sales, Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. He previously was director of group national accounts. Summers has a B.A. degree in journalism from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Mike Moss, CPA, CFP, was elected second vice president – wealth management services for Ameritas Investment Corp. He previously was director – fiduciary services for AIC. Moss holds a J.D. degree from American University, Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., and a B.S. degree in accounting and finance from George Mason University.

Joe Lionberger was elected vice president and managing director – strategic investments and surplus for Ameritas Investment Partners. He was portfolio manager – surplus investments. Lionberger has an M.B.A. in management information systems and a B.A. degree in business administration and management, finance, both from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Jennison Associates Adds Consultant Relations Professionals

Jennison Associates announced that Christine Schneider and Greg Weissman have joined the Global Distribution team as consultant relations professionals. The senior roles will be primarily responsible for the management of consultant relationships and secondarily, as relationship management for select clients in the promotion of Jennison’s capabilities across the U.S. and global markets.

“We are delighted to welcome Christine and Greg to Jennison,” says Lori McEvoy, Jennison’s global head of distribution. “Their professional experience and long-standing personal relationships within the consultant community will strengthen and deepen Jennison’s efforts with clients and distribution partners. We are confident that their expertise and consultative approach will integrate well into Jennison’s team including Kerry A. Shanley and P. MacKenzie Hurd. We believe these hires provide support for our strategic goal of expanding our global reach into new markets and client segments.”

Schneider joins Jennison Associates as a managing director from UBS Asset Management, where she was executive director and head of consultant relations for the Americas region. She began her investment career at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette before moving to roles at Oppenheimer Capital and Deutsche Asset Management – DB Advisors. She received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer and information sciences from SUNY Potsdam and an MBA from New York University.

Weissman joins Jennison Associates as a managing director from Putnam Investments, where he was a director, Consultant Relations. Prior to Putnam Investments, he spent several years at Old Mutual Asset Management in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as Cowen & Company, Pacific Crest Securities and Jefferies & Company. He received a bachelor’s in business administration from Southern Methodist University.

Sales Directors Join Lincoln Financial

Lincoln Financial Group announced that two industry leaders are joining the Retirement Plan Services (RPS) Institutional Retirement Distribution team. Sam McGibbon and David Nastasi, both sales directors, report to Jayson West, vice president, Institutional Retirement Distribution, RPS.

Dedicated to the Pacific Northwest region, McGibbon joins Lincoln Financial from Empower Retirement where he most recently held the position of regional sales director. Earlier in his career, he held sales and consulting positions at Cammack LaRhette Consulting, LLC and Great-West Retirement Services. McGibbon earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Colorado and a bachelor of science degree in Business Management from Metro State College of Denver. He holds series 6, 23 and 63 FINRA registrations.

Nastasi, a seven-year Lincoln Financial veteran, will serve the Northern Central region. Nastasi first joined Lincoln in 2011, and most recently served as a retirement sales consultant.

Previously, he held positions at Voya Financial and New York Life Insurance Company. Nastasi earned a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration from Villanova University. He holds series 6, 63, 65 FINRA and Pennsylvania State Life and Health Insurance registrations.

Voya Hires VP Focused on 403(b), 457 and 401(a) Plans

Voya Retirement has hired Denise Fortune as a vice president of Institutional Clients for the company’s Tax Exempt Markets business. 

Based in Maryland, Fortune will be responsible for generating new 403(b), 457 and 401(a) business as well as building key distribution relationships in Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., Virginia and North Carolina.

Most recently, Fortune served as a relationship manager with Empower. She comes to Voya with more than 20 years of sales and service experience in the retirement plan space with several well-known recordkeepers.

Fortune graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.

OneAmerica Selects Past Board Member as Retirement Services President

OneAmerica appointed Sandy McCarthy as president of Retirement Services. A new addition to the OneAmerica team, McCarthy brings more than 30 years of industry experience, including key leadership roles at Mercer, ING (now Voya) and CitiStreet. 

Before joining Mercer, McCarthy was a 14-year contributor at ING, now Voya, and its legacy companies, serving as president, Institutional Plan Services. Prior to the acquisition of CitiStreet by ING in 2008, she served as president and board member of CitiStreet, LLC, representing $265 billion assets under administration, over 11 million participants and a workforce of about 3,600. Her past leadership positions also include service with Fidelity Investments, Bank of America and State Street. 

McCarthy graduated with honors from Tufts University, earning both her undergraduate in sociology/education and Master of Arts degree in education, then completing an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. She served on the board of directors of the American Benefits Council, Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), Spark Institute and Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County Massachusetts. She was also a founding member of the Superannuation Industry Leadership Group in Australia. She currently serves on the board of trustees for the Children’s Center for Communication Beverly School for the Deaf as well as a mentor for the Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) program. 

Franklin Templeton Adds SVP for Multi-Asset Solutions

Franklin Templeton Investments announced the appointment of May Tong as a senior vice president, portfolio manager for Franklin Templeton Multi-Asset Solutions (FTMAS). Tong is based in New York and reports to Tom Nelson, senior vice president, director of Portfolio Management for FTMAS.

“May’s retirement and solutions experience make her a valuable addition to our FTMAS investment team, and her quantitative and qualitative research background are a complementary fit with our core FTMAS processes and capabilities,” says Nelson. “We are excited to have May on board and look forward to leveraging her ideas and expertise. We anticipate adding her as a portfolio manager to certain US products over the coming months.”

Prior to joining FTMAS, Tong was a portfolio manager and head of portfolio implementation and management at Voya Investment Management. In that role, she was responsible for multi-asset strategies and solutions including asset allocation, target date/risk, 529 plans and multi-manager and retirement income portfolios.

Layton Road Adds Managing Director for San Francisco Office

The Layton Road Group has added industry veteran Daniel Cohen, as managing director of the firm’s newly established San Francisco office. Layton Road’s expansion to California will help the firm further meet the needs of the West Coast’s alternative investment managers and institutional investors.  In addition to the firm’s headquarters in New York City, Layton Road will also have professionals in New Jersey and Dallas, Texas.

Cohen will serve the West Coast’s alternative investment manager and institutional investor communities, and additionally, will seek to introduce and expand Layton Road’s outsourced capital introduction solutions to the prime brokerage and custodial services industries.

Cohen joins the Layton Road Group after leading sales teams at Cantor Fitzgerald, J.P. Morgan and Bear Stearns. He has contributed more than two decades in the prime brokerage industry having held senior roles in sales and risk management. 

intellicents Opens Branch offices in Central Iowa  

intellicents has added two new branch offices in Des Moines and Pella, Iowa, led by Devin Reimer.

“We have always been actively involved with both educating and giving advice to our clients’ 401(k) participant base.  Most of this effort has focused on the accumulation phase of retirement planning,” says Brad Arends, CEO of intellicents.  “Our plan sponsor clients now want us to assist their employees with the distribution phase, too. Devin and his Focus 50 team will now be able to provide local retirement income planning and full financial planning services to our participant base in central Iowa.”

Reimer founded Focus 50 in 2011 along with his business partner, Bryan Borchert.  Prior to launching Focus 50, Reimer worked for ING for 20 years in various senior management and sales positions.  Borchert will continue in his current role of providing financial planning and investment solutions to current and prospective clients. Lindsay Stout has also joined the firm and will work out of the Pella branch.

“Starting up and leading an intellicents branch is a great opportunity to provide better service to our existing clients and to expand our business,” expresses Reimer.  “The intellicents philosophy is consistent with the Focus 50 philosophy which was a top priority to us as we performed our due diligence. Brad and his team have unique technology and effective marketing that we will use to help our clients plan for the future.”

Ascensus Acquires TPA Firm

Ascensus has entered into an agreement to acquire QBI, LLC (QBI). The third-party administration (TPA) firm will immediately become part of Ascensus’ TPA Solutions division. 

Based in Woodland Hills, California, QBI is one of the largest administrators of defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) plans in the country. The firm works with more than 3,500 plans and employs over 80 employees—most of whom are long-tenured due to the company’s high employee retention rate. 

“QBI is a fast-growing company whose expertise in defined contribution and defined benefit plans is matched by their passion for building solid, long-lasting relationships with clients,” states David Musto, Ascensus’ president. “These traits—along with the culture of corporate and associate responsibility that they’ve created—will make QBI a meaningful contributor to Ascensus’ mission to help Americans prepare for the future.”