Credit Suisse Asset Management Appoints Head of Product

Scott Ebner has been appointed head of product at Credit Suisse Asset Management, effective November 21. Ebner will become part of the management committee of the asset management division and will be based in New York.

Ebner brings over two decades of experience in product strategy and development for institutional and wholesale clients. Prior to joining Credit Suisse Asset Management earlier this year in the product function, he held various product development roles at State Street Global Advisors, most recently as head of global institutional product. Previous professional positions were with NYSE Euronext and the American Stock Exchange.

In his new role at Credit Suisse Asset Management, Ebner will be responsible for further developing and implementing the product strategy, in close partnership with the investment and distribution departments, ensuring continuous alignment with client needs and the division’s strategic priorities.

Milliman Expands Employee Benefits Administration Sales Team

Milliman, a global consulting and actuarial firm, has announced that Jim Quartarone has joined the Employee Benefits Administration sales and marketing team as a regional sales manager. In this role, he is responsible for sales of retirement plan administration and consulting services, and for building strategic relationships with consultants and advisers across the Western region of the U.S.

Based in Colorado, Quartarone has more than 30 years of experience with ERISA qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, most recently with T. Rowe Price. His expertise includes plan design, compliance, communication, consulting, administration, implementation, relationship management, and investment advisory services for defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plans. Before entering the retirement industry, he served as a captain in the U.S. Army.

Strategic Investment Group Hires Head of Non-U.S. Equity

Strategic Investment Group is pleased to announce that Jackie O. Gifford has joined the firm as a managing director and head of non-U.S. equity, to co-head the public equities team with Ted Joseph, managing director and head of U.S. equity. Gifford joins a team of nine senior investment professionals that have an average of 28 years of industry experience and 16 years of collaboration at Strategic.

Gifford earned an MBA from Loyola University Graduate School and a B.A. in economics with a minor in finance from Pennsylvania State University. She joined Strategic from The Annie E. Casey Foundation, where she spent over 10 years, most recently as director of marketable investments, and prior to that, director of hedge fund investments. She also served for over a decade in leadership roles within the board of directors for the Baltimore Child Abuse Center including vice president, treasurer, and secretary.

Northwestern Mutual Adds to Pillar Financial Group

Northwestern Mutual has announced that Trudy Leen and her two-person team have joined Seattle-based Pillar Financial Group, part of Northwestern Mutual’s Private Client Group. Coming from Gateway Financial Partners with LPL Financial, Leen and her team officially joined Pillar Financial Group on October 27.

With over 30 years of experience in the finance industry, Leen has extensive knowledge in financial planning, wealth management, investment services, legacy building and insurance programs. Leen’s expertise will add to the 200 years of combined experience already represented at Pillar Financial Group.

In addition to Leen, Ashley Scribner and Dara Fogg will lead the office as service coordinators. Pillar Financial Group now has offices in Seattle, WA, Phoenix, AZ, Chicago, IL, Sandpoint and Priest River, ID.

This transition is in partnership with Northwestern Mutual’s distribution growth ventures team and other supporting functions. Northwestern Mutual’s DGV team is focused on nontraditional ways to grow the company’s distribution system.

UBS Hires Las Vegas Financial Adviser

UBS Wealth Management USA today announced that Sara McCue has joined the firm as a financial adviser. She joins the UBS Desert Mountain market, managed by Charles Powers, and is based in the Summerlin office

McCue manages $145 million in client assets for high-net-worth individuals and families. She focuses on providing clients with wealth management advice to address their individual financial needs, including insurance and retirement planning, trust and estate services and philanthropy.

McCue joins UBS from Merrill and brings more than two decades of financial services experience. She began her career in 2002 as a bond analyst for Babson Capital, where she worked with institutional and ultra-high-net-worth clients, before joining State Street Bank as a private equity analyst. In 2006, Sara joined Morgan Stanley as a financial adviser and then joined Merrill in 2009. By 2014, McCue was the lead portfolio manager for a high-net-worth physician-based clientele in Beverly Hills. She relocated to Las Vegas in 2015 to be closer to family to raise her two children.

Sara graduated magna cum laude with a degree in finance from Boston University’s School of Management and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

AIG Announces Five-Year Employment Agreement with CEO

American International Group, Inc., has announced that AIG and Peter Zaffino, president and chief executive officer and chairman of the board, have entered into an agreement securing Zaffino’s employment through November 10, 2027.

Lincoln Financial Network Hires 2 Financial Professionals

Lincoln Financial Network, the retail wealth management affiliate of Lincoln Financial Group, has announced that Scott LoPresti and Dean DiPierro have joined the firm. As part of the LFN community, LoPresti and DiPierro are empowered to deliver independent, comprehensive financial advice to clients, with the support, services, network and strength of Lincoln Financial to grow their practice and have an even greater effect on their clients, community and the industry.

LoPresti and DiPierro will continue to operate as partners in their independent wealth management practice specializing in helping clients preserve wealth and manage risk, with nearly $500 million in client assets under management. The team brings approximately 30 years of combined financial planning experience, both most recently with LPL Financial, and prior to that, Ameritas Investment Corp. Based in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, LoPresti and DiPierro are registered with LFN’s independent broker-dealer Lincoln Financial Advisers.

Northern Trust Adds to Foundation & Institutional Advisors Practice

Northern Trust has announced that Michael Janko has joined the Foundation & Institutional Advisors practice as a senior investment adviser in Boston, where he will support the firm’s foundation, endowment and institutional nonprofit clients.

Janko, who has more than three decades of investment experience, was most recently part of BNY Mellon’s outsourced chief investment officer team, working with a broad range of nonprofit organizations. Prior to that, he led BNYM Wealth Management’s Endowment & Foundation practice group. Previously, he served as a portfolio manager at SunTrust Investments in Florida and as a portfolio manager at BayBank Investments (Bank of America).

Janko graduated from Suffolk University with an MBA in finance from the Sawyer School of Management and a B.A. in industrial and organizational psychology. Janko has authored articles on topics specific to investing for non-profits and is a frequent panelist and speaker on these topics.

He is on the Advisory Board of The Copernicus Institute for the Arts, Sciences, and Law of New England. Previously, he served at a Lynn, Mass. non-profit organization seeking positive outcomes for at-risk youth on Boston’s North Shore.