Retirement Industry People Moves

Art by Subin Yang

Newport Purchases PAi

Newport Group Inc. has completed its purchase of Plan Administrators Inc. (PAi), a third-party administrator (TPA) and recordkeeper headquartered in De Pere, Wisconsin.

PAi—along with its affiliate PAi Trust Co.—is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Newport, and will continue to operate under the PAi name. 

“PAi has pioneered a unique, small business 401(k) offering that further complements the services that Newport provides to employers nationwide,” says Newport Chief Executive Officer Greg Tschider. “Our two organizations also share a commitment to service, and we look forward to working with this team of client-focused retirement services professionals.” 

“Our passion for delivering unique savings solutions with exceptional customer-focused care remains strong,” says Tracy Ruh, chief operating officer at PAi. “As our resources continue to grow and evolve as a Newport company, together we are able to offer a wider breadth of services to new and existing clients as they plan for the future they deserve.” 

HUB Acquires Leading Edge Businesses

HUB International Limited has acquired the assets of Leading Edge Benefit Advisors LLC, Raimey Corp., Leading Edge Human Resource Services LLC, Leading Edge Companies LLC, Leading Edge Financial Group LLC, Leading Edge Retirement Plan Advisors LLC and Leading Edge Wealth Advisors.

These firms are collectively known as Leading Edge. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Located in Fort Myers, Florida, Leading Edge specializes in employee benefits, retirement planning and wealth management solutions. Donald C. Raimey Jr., founder and managing member of Leading Edge, and Kerri Sisson, Leading Edge’s managing partner, will continue to support the business and its clients. They will report to Scott Millson, president, employee benefits, HUB Florida.

“Leading Edge strengthens Hub’s depth and expertise with employee benefit and retirement services in Florida and expands our talent to an important part of our state,” says Chris Gardner, chief executive officer for HUB Florida.

Voya Takes on G Squared Capital Technology, Leadership Team

Voya Investment Management announced that it has acquired the technology and hired the founding team of G Squared Capital LLP (G2), a London-based investment manager that serves institutions and other sophisticated investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed and are not material to Voya’s financial position.

G2’s technology applies machine intelligence to fundamental investing. The company’s proprietary technology is built to identify persistent patterns in company data. The firm was founded in 2011.  

As a result of this transaction, G2 Principals Gareth Shepherd, Gabriel Andraos and Yana Kramer will form the new Equity Machine Intelligence (EMI) group within Voya Investment Management’s quantitative equities business. Based in London, they will report to Vincent Costa, head of quantitative equity for Voya Investment Management.

“This transaction supports our focus on building best-in-class equity portfolios that meet our clients’ long-term investment needs. Further, our new EMI team has the knowledge base and tools to accelerate Voya’s efforts to incorporate environmental, social and governance [ESG] factors in our investment selection process,” says Michael Pytosh, head of equities, Voya IM.

Under Shepherd and Andraos, the EMI team will continue to build out its proprietary approach to equity investing, while offering new active equity and environmental, social and governance (ESG)-integrated solutions.

With the addition of the G2 team, Voya Investment Management’s quantitative team consists of 13 investment professionals.