Seventy-eight percent of plan sponsors think that if 401(k)
plans moved to Roth-only participant contributions, it would negatively impact
participation, the Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets Inc. (CIEBA)
found in a membership survey. No members thought it would have a positive
impact.
Eighty-two percent said they thought participants would view
a change to a Roth-only system very or somewhat negatively.
Sixty-one percent of CIEBA members said they would not be comfortable
converting their participants who make pre-tax deferrals into participants who
make Roth deferrals without affirmative consent elections. Forty percent of
CIEBA members said it would be very or extremely difficult to explain the
Rothification of 401(k) plans to participants.
Today, 26% of CIEBA members don’t offer a Roth option to their participants. Even so, a movement to an all-Roth
platform would mean millions of participants would have to learn about this
option, CIEBA says. That is because even when a Roth option is available, CIEBA says, 90% of the dollars deferred
in the plans managed by CIEBA members are made through traditional pre-tax
deferrals.
Despite their concerns, 56% of respondents said if the
system was switched to Roth-only they would be very unlikely to consider
eliminating elective deferrals from their plans.
Lincoln Financial
Group hires Retirement Plan Services leader; Teachers Tax Service joins PlanMember; Retirement Advantage to acquire Retirement Planning Inc.; and more.
Doug Field has
been named chief growth officer of Veriphy Analytics, a firm aiming to
bring transparency and value measurement to retirement plan committees. He
brings to his new role more than 35 years of experience growing businesses and
committees serving the employee benefits and retirement planning market.
“We have known Doug for years and have seen first-hand the
innovative work he has done in the market” says Al Otto, Veriphy Analytics
CEO/Co-Founder. “He is an energetic and transformative thought leader who
will no doubt make a huge and immediate impact on the plan sponsor and
investment adviser community as we change the game for retirement plan
committees.
Veriphy is a web-based, business-intelligence platform. Its
Veriphy database along with its search, analysis, reporting tools and graphical
outputs measure the skill of an investment professional or plan committee based
on the investment decisions made over time.
NEXT:Newfleet Brings on Head of Institutional
Business Development
Newfleet Brings on
Head of Institutional Business Development
William A. Irvine
has joined Newfleet Asset Management
as senior managing director and head of institutional business development.
Irvine has more than 25 years of financial-services industry
experience concentrated on institutional fixed income strategies, as well as consultant
and client relationship management. In his new role, he will offer Newfleet’s suite
of fixed income portfolios. He will focus on multi-sector mandates to
institutional clients including foundations, endowments, public funds, and
multiemployer plans.
“We are delighted to have Bill join our team and believe his
experience in institutional fixed income business development, coupled with his
exceptional client relationship skills, will not only better support our
existing institutional clients, but allow Newfleet to expand its footprint in
these markets” says David L.
Albrycht, Newfleet’s president and
chief investment officer. “We
are committed to delivering a comprehensive array of fixed income
portfolios, and, together with our clients and partners, we want to build
portfolios that provide investors with solutions for their investment needs in
any market environment. The addition of Bill to the team is essential to
strengthening that commitment.”
Before coming on to NewFleet, Irvine served as managing
director leading institutional business development for RBC Global Asset
Management, where he worked closely with corporate, and government, endowment
and foundation clients including state government pension funds. He’s also held
similar roles at Dimensional Fund
Advisors, Eaton Vance Investment Management, and State Street Research and
Management. He started his investment career in institutional fixed income
sales at Lehman Brothers focusing on U.S. high-grade corporate debt.
Irvine is a graduate of Trinity College with a bachelor’s
degree in economics. He holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 65 licenses.
NEXT: Lincoln
Financial Group Hires Retirement Plan Services Leader
Lincoln Financial
Group Hires Retirement Plan Services Leader
Molly Garrett has
joined Lincoln Financial Group as senior vice president and head of operations
for its Retirement Plan Services (RPS) business.
Garrett is now responsible for overall strategy development
and execution for the operations function, which includes front-line customer
service and plan administration. She brings to her new role more than 30 years
of experience in the retirement-services industry, where she’s held leadership
positions at Voya, Prudential Financial and Cigna.
“The RPS business is focused on delivering a best-in-class
customer experience through a combination of high-tech and high-touch service
for all of our clients,” says Jamie Ohl,
president of RPS. “Molly is a proven
leader who will ensure that every interaction we have with a client from
implementation to ongoing maintenance is seamless and easy for our customers.
She is a strong addition to the RPS senior leadership team and to Lincoln
Financial.”
Garrett earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University
of New York at Plattsburgh and holds Series 7, 24 and 63 FINRA licenses.
NEXT: Teachers Tax Service Joins PlanMember
Teachers Tax Service
Joins PlanMember
Teachers Tax Service
based in Rancho Mirage, California, has affiliated with PlanMember Securities Corporation as PlanMember Financial Center. The move allows the organization to
expand retirement-investment planning and financial education opportunities for
educators and employees of non-profits in the Coachella Valley area.
PlanMember is a nationally recognized broker/dealer,
investment adviser, and member of FINRA/SIPC, providing retirement planning to
the public education and non-profit sectors. The organization offers personalized
retirement planning services and various investment and annuity solutions. The
company is headquartered in Carpinteria, California. PlanMember specializes in
the fee-based 403(b), 457(b), and 401(k) marketplace.
By co-branding with PlanMember as a Financial Center, independent advisers such as Robert Torrie and John
Urrutia of
Teachers Tax Services have access to resources and preferred market
access of a national company while maintaining their own local identity.
PlanMember has established 31 Financial Centers in 19 states, with a goal of
expanding to 80 nationally. Last, July PlanMember partnered with United Financial NW.
“I’ve always enjoyed
helping others, and I cherish the opportunity to help educators,” says Urrutia.
“I look forward to employing PlanMember’s impressive array of products and services
to help my clients invest for a meaningful and enjoyable retirement.”
Torrie founded Teachers Tax Service in 1990 with his wife
Judy, both former professional educators. “Though I no longer teach students I
still consider myself an educator,” says Torrie. “Now I focus on helping
educators with all aspects of their financial and tax needs. PlanMember is an
indispensable partner in that mission.”
NEXT:Retirement Advantage to Acquire
Retirement Planning Inc.
Retirement Advantage to Acquire Retirement Planning Inc.
Employee benefits consulting
and technology provider The Retirement
Advantage has announced the acquisition of Retirement Planning Inc., an independently owned third-party
administration and consulting firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The collaboration will
allow TRA to continue supporting its financial adviser and recordkeeping
clients with new, customized retirement plan solutions.
"RPI has a strong
reputation as a premier third-party administration firm for privately held
businesses in the Great Lakes region," says Matt Schoneman, TRA's President. "The acquisition furthers our
corporate growth strategy and we are excited to welcome RPIs' clients and
consultants to TRA. Our goal is to ensure a seamless experience for clients
during the integration of our two firms."
RPI President Mark Whited adds, "We
are thrilled to be a part of TRA. They are one of the fastest growing,
independently owned, consulting and technology firms in the nation. Both
organizations share similar cultures and values focused on delivering a high
level of personalized customer service to clients. We believe we will be able
to better serve our clients and partners with the pro-active approach they
deserve."
NEXT:AndCo Consulting Names Senior Consultant in
Michigan Office
AndCo Consulting
Names Senior Consultant in Michigan Office
Mike Holycross
has joined AndCo Consulting, an independent
institutional-investment consulting firm, as a senior consultant in the company’s Southfield, Michigan
office.
Holycross will work with AndCo’s Michigan team to expand the
company’s growing presence in the region, while servicing institutional plans
including public, Taft-Hartley, foundations and corporate plans.
Holycross joins AndCo with more than 20 years of investment
consulting and leadership experience. Most recently, he was an executive
director and institutional consulting director at Graystone Consulting in
Birmingham, Michigan.
"As a firm, we are committed to Michigan and the
surrounding markets, and adding someone with Mike’s client service reputation
to our local team will help us continue to offer a high level of quality
service to our existing clients and prospects in the Midwest,” says Mike Welker, president and CEO of
AndCo, formerly Bogdahn Group. “Over the years, Mike has also worked with some of our Michigan-based
team members, so bringing him onboard was a good fit for both parties. We are
thrilled to have him on our team.”
Holycross received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from
Central Michigan University and his master’s degree in finance from Walsh
College. He also holds his Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA)
designation.
NEXT:Portfolio Evaluations Expands Leadership
Team
Portfolio Evaluations
Expands Leadership Team
Jennifer Putney
has joined Portfolio Evaluations (PEI)
as director of Retirement Plans Consulting.
She will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s research, while facilitating benchmarking
studies and recordkeeping vendor searches on behalf of clients.
Putney has more than 20 years of experience in the retirement
plans industry. She has practical knowledge surrounding Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), legislative and
regulatory issues, as well as defined contribution plan design for 401(k),
403(b) and 457 plans. Prior to joining the firm, she served as vice president of the Total Retirement Solutions Marketing Group at Prudential Financial.
Putney joined Prudential from Transamerica Retirement Solutions, where she ran
Participant Communications and Strategy. Prior to her role there, she worked in
the Retirement Services Division at Pentegra.
“We are excited about the addition of Jennifer to the team,” says Partner Michael Sasso. “Jennifer
brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, which will only enhance our
already deep pool of talent to better serve our clients and their retirement
programs.”