Retirement Industry People Moves

Art by Subin Yang

Janney Montgomery Scott Acquires Atlanta-Based Firm

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC has agreed to acquire FIG Partners LLC, an Atlanta-based investment banking and research firm.

The transaction, expected to close in the second quarter, is Janney’s second investment bank acquisition in less than 12 months, following the addition of HighBank Advisors in May 2018.

“This is a unique opportunity for two firms with shared values and similar cultures to join together,” says Timothy Scheve, Janney’s president and CEO. “The acquisition reflects Janney’s goal to be a leader in comprehensive financial advisory services and provides FIG Partners with access to an enhanced platform and geographic reach to continue their growth.”

This addition gives Janney a total of more than 200 capital markets professionals, who provide investment banking, equity, and fixed-income expertise to corporate, institutional, and municipal clients.

The current executive team at FIG Partners will assume new leadership roles at Janney.

“Our team is excited to join Janney. We always knew we would need a larger platform to meet and enhance client needs. Janney is the right partner at the right time; a firm with a shared vision for serving clients, communities, and employees,” says Geoffrey Hodgson, FIG partner, co-founder and CEO. “This is an opportunity to bring our community bank clients a powerful combination of scale, sophistication, and expertise. As part of Janney, FIG will help clients raise more capital, advise on more deals, and offer more research and insight to investors.”

Investment Advisory Firms Join CAPTRUST

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors (CAPTRUST) has added Watermark Asset Management and Rogers Financial to its team of advisers.

Led by Mark Miller, Watermark Asset Management is an independent investment adviser located outside of San Francisco. The firm holds $400 million in assets under management (AUM) and close to 400 clients. Miller joins CAPTRUST, along with four other financial advisers and three staff members.

Headquartered in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Rogers Financial is an institutional advisory firm that advises on more than $2.5 billion in assets for 35 retirement plans. Founded in 1994, the firm is run by Ken Rogers, who has worked in the retirement plan industry since 1987. Rogers joins CAPTRUST along with Jenifer Nesselrodt, also an adviser. Additional terms of both deals are not being disclosed.

“We see both of these organizations as complements to our existing culture and growth trajectory,” says Rick Shoff, managing director of the CAPTRUST Advisor Group. “Their cultures align perfectly with ours, and they bring top-notch talent and experience to our wealth management and institutional retirement advisory businesses.”

CFO Hired at PCS

Professional Capital Services LLC (PCS) has hired Scott Billups as chief financial officer (CFO). Billups will help set strategic direction as well as oversee financial planning, analysis and human resources for the firm.

“Scott is a well-respected leader in the industry, with the experience we need to continue fueling growth,” says Mark Klein, CEO of PCS. “We will immediately benefit from his expertise and vision as we work to build an even better experience for the advisers we serve—and their clients.”

Billups brings with him more than 20 years of experience in financial and management roles from companies including NBC Universal and GE Aviation. Prior to joining PCS, Billups acted as CFO at FTJ FundChoice, an asset management platform that serves as an adviser’s back office and provides tools for advisers to manage accounts for clients. In that role, he helped lead business development and strategy to maximize enterprise value.

“I understand how a firm like PCS needs to operate both financially and strategically to continue, and improve upon, the growth trajectory they’ve experienced through most of their history,” says Billups. “And I really enjoy helping advisers build their brand and maximize their practice to reach more clients. PCS has the right mix of product, technology and services to help them be even more effective than they already are.”

Billups earned his bachelor’s in business administration, accounting, from Miami University and his M.B.A from California State University, Los Angeles.

Schroders Makes Promotions and Hires to Distribution Team

Schroders has announced changes to its distribution team, as part of the firm’s strategy to enhance its North American distribution platform.  As part of these changes, Marni Harp has been promoted to head of Institutional Consultant Relations for the U.S. and Scott Garrett has joined the firm as an institutional sales director, focused on Taft-Hartley.

Harp brings over two decades of experience in the investment industry and will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s relationships with local and global investment consultants and their institutional clients.  She joined Schroders in August 2016 to lead coverage of investment consulting firms in the firm’s western region. Harp is based in Los Angeles and will report directly to Marc Brookman, deputy CEO of North America. 

As an institutional sales director, Garrett will be responsible for new business development and relationship management for Taft-Hartley clients in the U.S. He joins from Systematic Financial Management, where he was a senior vice president and was responsible for developing and maintaining client relationships with Taft-Hartley, public funds, foundations and endowments and corporate plans. Garrett will be based in Southern California and will report to Rock Wilkinson, head of U.S. Institutional Sales. 

Niles Lankford Group Rebrands to Latitude

Niles Lankford Group Companies, a third-party retirement plan administration group, has changed its name to Latitude Service Company Inc.

A leading third-party retirement plan administration firm specializing in quality retirement plan administration, Latitude has offices nationally and serves more than 2,500 employer-sponsored plans.

“Latitude is as much an idea as it is a destination. It reflects our national presence as well as our flexibility in crafting retirement plan solutions that meet each client’s needs,” says CEO Brad Lankford.

Latitude operates as Latitude Retirement and unifies the branding of Niles Lankford Group (NLG), Pension Systems (PS), Retirement Systems of Arizona (RSA), and Retirement Systems of California (RSC). In addition to providing plan consulting and administration services, the company offers actuarial, compliance, payroll integration and fiduciary services to help employers achieve their goals with less work and lighter responsibilities.

Franklin Templeton Names PM on Emerging Markets Team

Franklin Templeton has appointed Nicole Vettise as senior vice president, institutional portfolio manager, within the Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity (FTEME) investment team. Reporting to Manraj Sekhon, her primary responsibility will be to support FTEME’s full suite of strategies for clients in Europe and North America. Vettise is based in London.

Vettise brings over 20 years of experience in the investment industry and joins the firm from Blackrock, where she managed a team of product strategists for a range of equity strategies including natural resources and thematic funds. Prior to this, she was institutional portfolio manager, emerging markets and natural resources, at RBC Global Asset Management and previously worked at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Vettise has also held communication and investor relations roles in Asia, Europe and London.

Vettise obtained a BSc qualification in European studies from the Institute d’Etudes Politiques in Grenoble, France, and the University of Hull and is a CAIA Charterholder.