Retirement Industry People Moves

The Wagner Law Group Hires Attorneys Quinn and Burwick

The Wagner Law Group has hired attorney Candace Quinn as a partner and attorney Michael Burwick as of counsel. Quinn has extensive experience in tax law, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), employee benefits and compensation law. She has more than 25 years of experience advising clients on domestic and international tax, ERISA regulatory and operational compliance of qualified retirement plans, non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements and employee benefits, executive compensation, strategic tax optimization plan design, and equity and non-equity employee incentive plans. Quinn also advisers on executive compensation in mergers and acquisitions and compensation benchmarking.

Burwick is experienced in tax and securities law, real estate. He has considerable knowledge and experience with the Internal Revenue Code, state and local tax regulations, ERISA, the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, the Investment Company Act of 1940, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules and FINRA rules. He is highly skilled in legal and compliance issues with respect to broker/dealers, registered investment advisers (RIAs) and asset managers.

Independent Retirement Hires Retirement Plan Consultant

Independent Retirement, a woman-owned company that provides 401(k), defined benefit and cash balance plan third-party administration, as well as compliance and consulting services to small and medium sized companies in the pacific northwest, has hired Anna Valencia as a retirement plan consultant. In this role, she will support new sales, internal staff training and development and corporate communications.

Valencia has 34 years of experience, most recently as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) compliance officer for an independent third-party administrator in southern California, where she ensured that plan operations were compliance with ERISA and Department of Labor (DOL) rules and regulations.

“After a long search process, we are very pleased to have Anna join our team of highly experienced plan administrators and plan consultants,” says Linda Burnside, president at Independent Retirement. “Her extensive knowledge and diverse background will not only add value for our clients and partners, but it will also create opportunities to expand our current service offerings in the months and years to come.”

SageView Hires Managing Director

Tom Demko has joined SageView Advisory Group as a managing director in Southern California. Demko has worked with retirement plans for more than 13 years and provides retirement and fiduciary services to plan sponsor and private wealth clients. He acts as an outside chief investment officer (OCIO) or 3(38) fiduciary on pensions, defined contribution (DC) plans, global retirement organizations and OPEB benefits.

Demko was previously president of Bay Mutual Financial, a registered investment adviser (RIA) in Santa Monica, California. There, he was a member of the plan advisers, endowments and entertainment groups. Before that, he was an executive with several entertainment management and production entities.

“Tom’s fiduciary knowledge is complemented by his leadership and educational experience, making him an asset to both our clients and SageView advisers around the country,” says SageView CEO Randy Long. “We are excited to have Tom on board and working closely with our home office and national wealth management teams.”

The PFE Group Hires Senior Retirement Plan Consultant

Adam Dani has joined The PFE Group as senior retirement plan consultant. In this role, he will focus on business development with corporate retirement plan sponsors and growing the firm’s client base. He has 11 years of experience selling in the corporate retirement plan space. He has worked both as an adviser and with recordkeepers, giving him a deep knowledge of the retirement industry.

Prior to joining The PFE Group, Dani worked for John Hancock, Lincoln Financial Group, Wells Fargo Advisors and Merrill Lynch.

RightCapital, Betterment for Advisors Enter Business Partnership

RightCapital, a financial planning tool that allows advisers to create custom, comprehensive financial plans, has entered a strategic business partnership with Betterment for Advisors, a digital wealth management platform that enables advisers to combine robo advisor technology with their personal touch.

The partnership, which includes a joint go-to-market strategy with cross-selling components, complements the integration that RightCapital and Betterment for Advisors rolled out last year. Both companies have been busy learning the details of the respective platforms in an effort to help identify right-fit advisers.

“At RightCapital, we’re constantly pushing ourselves to challenge the status quo,” says Shaung Chen, chief executive officer. “In doingi so, we look to other pioneers in the industry who, together, can help us elevate our advisers’ capabilities to keep up with the rapidly evolving consumer landscape. We’ve had a great relationship with Betterment in recent years, and we’re excited for this partnership, which will enable advisers to service an even broader spectrum of clients, expand their value propositions and stay competitive.”