Deals & People October 16, 2023

Retirement Industry People Moves – 10/13/23

Vestwell names Rettig to board of directors; Star Mountain Capital adds DeAngelis as senior adviser; Club Vita appoints Gleed as head of U.S. business development.

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Vestwell Names Rettig to Board of Directors

John Rettig

Vestwell announced it has appointed John Rettig, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Bill Operations LLC, a cloud-based software provider, to its board of directors. Rettig will work closely with Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm and CFO Dave Sheen.

“We’re delighted to welcome John to the team as an innovator who shares Vestwell’s vision and commitment to serving small and medium-sized companies,” Schumm said in a statement. “Adding John’s extensive operational, strategic, and analytical experience to our board of directors is a key element in our strategy to scale our businesses.”

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Rettig has more than 20 years of strategic finance and operational leadership experience in both private and public companies. Before joining Bill, he was the CFO of Exponential Interactive Inc., a digital media company.

“It’s hard not to see the vast impact Vestwell has on the industry today,” said Rettig in a statement. “I’m thrilled to join the board of directors at Vestwell and help champion the firm’s next phase of growth.”

Star Mountain Capital Adds DeAngelis as Senior Adviser

Steve DeAngelis

Star Mountain Capital LLC, a specialized investment manager, announced that Steve DeAngelis has joined as a senior adviser.

“Steve’s experience with alternative investment distribution, investor reporting, communications and talent management is a great addition for all our stakeholders, including continuing to provide differentiated capabilities and reliable capital for the high-quality businesses we invest with,” Brett Hickey, Star Mountain Capital founder and CEO, said in a statement.

DeAngelis’ experience includes founding and building a technology-based wealth management platform to more than $100 billion in assets and selling to PFPC Worldwide, a division of PNC Financial. Previously, he was managing director and head of the U.S. advisor solutions group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and first executive vice president and head of distribution and later president at FS Investments.

“I appreciate the opportunity to focus time and capital on differentiated investment value propositions for financial advisors, especially at Star Mountain Capital, an organization that aligns with my values and team-oriented culture,” DeAngelis said in a statement.

Club Vita Appoints Gleed as US Head of Business Development

Natalie Gleed

Club Vita LLP, which specializes in longevity data analytics, announced the hiring of Natalie Gleed as its head of U.S. business development.

“We are thrilled to welcome Natalie to the Club Vita,” Jennifer Haid, Club Vita’s CEO, said in a statement. “She is a highly qualified and experienced professional with a passion for driving understanding and engagement with actuarial analytics.”

According to Club Vita, Gleed’s hiring came in response to growing demand for longevity analytics to support pension risk transfer activity in the U.S. and Club Vita’s increasing presence in the PRT market. She will be responsible for driving the adoption of Club Vita’s product suite and analytics.

Gleed brings more than 20 years of actuarial experience, having previously held a variety of roles across insurance companies in the U.K. and U.S., most recently as a key account manager at the Swiss Re Group. “I’m excited to get started,” Gleed said in a statement, “My previous experience in the industry, both in the U.S. and in the U.K., has prepared me perfectly to bring Club Vita’s offering to the U.S. market and to help develop further innovations within Club Vita.”

Client Service October 16, 2023

How to Stay Safe From Evolving Cybersecurity Threats

Experts discussed the SEC’s new cybersecurity rules and the importance of having an action plan at PLANADVISER’s Cybersecurity livestream.

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To minimize the impact of potential cyberattacks, organizations should work with investment managers on complying with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new cybersecurity rules, should adopt prevention measures against threats and should be prepared to respond if an attack happens, experts said at the “Best Practices for Cybersecurity Protection” session of PLANADVISER’s Cybersecurity livestream on October 12.

Percy Lee, an associate at Ivins, Phillips & Barker, Chartered, discussed the SEC’s new cybersecurity rules, which apply to public companies, registered investment advisers, investment companies and broker/dealers.

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“These rules have generated a lot of conversation since they were introduced last year, some backlash, so the rules have been delayed for now [for certain organizations],” said Lee.

There are two sets of new SEC cybersecurity rules. The first set of rules governs publicly traded companies and was finalized on July 26, despite industry pushback. This rule takes effect this year, with initial disclosure requirements effective December 18, with later dates for smaller reporting companies.

The second set of rules governs registered investment companies and investment advisers and would require them to adopt cybersecurity policies and report digital incidents. This rule was proposed in 2022 and remains on the SEC’s rulemaking agenda but the specific timeline for finalization remains unknown.

“According to the rules, which were brought forward by the SEC in July, registered investment advisers, investment companies and broker/dealers would have to adopt written cybersecurity procedures and report cyber security incidents,” Lee said.

Although these investment advisory rules do not apply to retirement plan fiduciaries in general, he recommended that producers ask their investment managers about their compliance.

“As far as the SEC rules goes, it’s important to understand … that’s for public companies now, but obviously I think that’s going to make its way to even private firms that aren’t traded,” said Nick Brezinski, director of information security and network at CAPTRUST.

Brezinski urged firms to adopt good cybersecurity practice now to get to a “good spot” before the SEC settles on its requirements, and Roger Grimes, a data-driven defense “evangelist” at KnowBe4 Inc., agreed.

“I think it’s always good for any organization to think about what the rules are that apply to you and how you would respond if you got hit by some cybersecurity incident,” Grimes said. “Just a ton of people have been hit by ransomware over the last couple of years.”

Grimes proposed that firms have a plan in place for if a cybersecurity incident were to hit. He recommended to the virtual audience that they know who to reach out to, whether it be a communications team or a group of consultants.

“You don’t want to be making those sorts of decisions in the midst of the crisis,” he said. “It’s nice to have a thoughtful plan ahead of time. If the worst happens, you can approach it in the best way.”

Grimes said institutional investors, plan sponsors and advisers should:

  • Be cautious of social engineering such as fake emails and websites;
  • Mend unpatched software;
  • Regularly update software, firmware and routers; and
  • Use multifactor authentication and different passwords for every site as preventative measures.

“Those four things,” he said. “If you can do them, it will probably mean that you’re very unlikely to get compromised.”

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