Deals and People January 17, 2023

Retirement Industry People Moves

Voya expands wealth solutions team with northeast hire; Transamerica names director of Institutional Sales; DFA names CEO for Australia fund advisement; and more.

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Transamerica Names Director of Institutional Sales

Transamerica has hired Scott M. Adams director of institutional sales, according to a spokesperson for the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based life insurance company.

In the role, he is responsible for delivering retirement plans and products to retirement specialist firms, businesses and organizations, in the large to mega plan market segment throughout the Western U.S, according to LinkedIn. Adams will report to Ryan Franken, national sales manager, institutional markets, according to the spokesperson. 

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Adams was previously vice president of business development at Corebridge Financial, where he was responsible for institutional retirement plan sales for west, southwest and great plains regions, according to LinkedIn.  

Voya Expands Wealth Solutions Team with VP Hire

Voya Financial Advisors Inc. has expanded the firm’s wealth solutions sales team by hiring Rod Toppin as regional vice president for the Northeast, the New York-based company announced in an email.

Toppin will be responsible for covering emerging markets in the Northeast and will also oversee new corporate and tax-exempt retirement business sales and building key distribution relationships within the Connecticut region. He will interact with wire houses, banks, independent firms and third-party administrators to help serve employers with retirement plan needs up to $50 million in assets, according to the company.

Toppin began in the position January 9 and reports to Chris Ekstrom, regional sales manager for the Northeast region.

“Rod brings a great track record of success, including many long-standing advisor and TPA [third-party administrator] relationships, into his new role here at Voya,” Bill Elmslie, a senior vice president and emerging market sales leader, said in the email.

DFA Names CEO for Australia Fund Advisement

Investment firm Dimensional Fund Advisors has appointed Bhanu Singh CEO for Dimensional Australia Limited, reporting to Jed Fogdall, the company’s global head of portfolio management, the company announced to clients in an email in December 2022, a spokesperson confirmed.

In addition to the new role, Singh will maintain his existing responsibilities as head of Asia Pacific portfolio management, according to the spokesperson. In Singh’s new role, “as well as his portfolio management role, he works closely with the investment team to help design and implement custom solutions,” according to the Dimensional message sent to clients.

Singh replaced Glenn Crane on January 1 after Crane stepped down from the role, although he continues to serve as executive chairman.

Singh has worked at Austin, Texas-based DFA since 2003, when he joined as an equities trader. 

Securian Announces Promotions and Hires, Including Asset Management Subsidiary CEO

Securian Financial Group Inc. has made several leadership promotions and a new hire as the company increases its strategic focus on priority markets, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based insurance, benefit and retirement solutions provider announced in a press release.

Securian made the announcement months after announcing it would sell its recordkeeping business with $17 billion of assets under administration to The Standard Insurance Company in October 2022. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Among the moves was the promotion of Sid Gandhi to executive vice president of employee benefits solutions, and Gandhi will report to Chris Hilger, the company’s chairman, president and CEO. Gandhi succeeds Bruce Shay, who recently retired after 37 years with the company. Gandhi assumes responsibility for Securian Financial’s largest business, which includes group life insurance and voluntary solutions offered through employers.

Lydia Jilek has joined Securian Financial as second vice president and voluntary benefits practice leader, reporting to Gandhi, according to the release. Serving in a new leadership position for the company, Jilek directs Securian Financial’s efforts to meet market demand for voluntary solutions.

Jennifer Lastine has been promoted to vice president of technology infrastructure and enterprise solutions, reporting to Pete Berlute, Securian’s senior vice president of enterprise technology. She led components of Securian Financial’s technology transformation, including application modernization and cloud conversion.

Sara Kaufman was promoted to second vice president and chief actuary, reporting to Bob Ehren, a senior vice president. Kaufman now leads the company’s actuarial function, including modeling and valuation, and also is a key strategic consultant to the company’s businesses.

Suzette Huovinen is the new president and CEO of Securian Asset Management, a Securian Financial subsidiary. She succeeds Sean O’Connell, who will serve as CIO until his retirement in July 2023. Most recently, Huovinen was Securian Financial’s senior vice president of finance, leading the company’s financial planning and analysis, tax, procurement and other finance functions. Huovinen joined Securian Financial in 1997 and was promoted to senior vice president in 2019 when named CEO of Canadian Premier Life Insurance Company and Canadian Premier General Insurance Company, Securian Financial’s Canadian insurance company subsidiaries.

Alerus Adds Jennifer Louie as Senior Business Adviser, Retirement Specialist

Alerus Financial Corporation announced that Jennifer Louie has joined the company as a senior business adviser and retirement specialist, the Minneapolis-based firm announced in a press release.

Louie will provide financial advice to business clients, specializing in retirement solutions such as defined contribution, defined benefit and non-qualified plans. She will work with plan sponsors to assist in plan design and provide them with solutions for the administration of retirement benefits.

Before joining Alerus, Louie served as a senior relationship manager at Principal Financial Group, as well as in various roles at Wells Fargo, for 20 years, including eight years as a participant education consultant and eight years as a relationship manager.

Alerus retirement and benefits plan administration hubs are located in Minnesota, Michigan and Colorado, according to the release. The firm also provides banking, wealth management and mortgage services.

MassMutual CIO Corbett to Retire, Partlan to Succeed Him

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company announced that Tim Corbett, CIO, will retire after leading the company’s investment strategy and overseeing its General Investment Account for the past 12 years, the Springfield, Massachusetts-based company announced in a press release. Eric Partlan, currently head of portfolio management, will succeed Corbett, effective March 1.

Corbett joined MassMutual in 2011 and built a leading investment management model and team, the announcement said. During his tenure, the company doubled its GIA to more than $220 billion and drove new investment opportunities, the company said. In partnership with MassMutual’s global institutional asset manager, Barings LLC, the company’s portfolio grew to include a wide range of diversified investments, including private equity and renewable energy. Corbett also oversaw the addition of Rothesay Life PLC, the UK’s largest specialist pensions insurer, to MassMutual’s portfolio of strategic businesses and investments.  

Following Corbett’s departure, Partlan will join MassMutual’s executive leadership team and report to Roger Crandall, MassMutual’s chairman, president and CEO.

Partlan, a 19-year veteran of MassMutual, most recently served as head of portfolio management, leading a team that is responsible for the company’s global asset allocation, asset liability management, overall portfolio hedging and quantitative research and development.

ASA Names Jessica Giroux General Counsel, Head of Fixed Income

The American Securities Association announced on its website the hiring of Jessica Giroux as general counsel and head of fixed income policy, overseeing ASA’s legal, regulatory and fixed income affairs.  

“Jessica’s industry knowledge, legal background and experience in both the public and private sector are second to none,” ASA CEO Chris Iacovella said in the post. “She is a complete professional, and we are incredibly pleased to welcome Jessica to the ASA. Jessica’s policy and regulatory expertise will be invaluable to our advocacy on the Hill and at financial services regulatory agencies.”

Before joining Washington, D.C.-based ASA, Giroux was director of government and public affairs at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), where she was responsible for developing and implementing the organization’s external relations. Prior to her time at MSRB, Giroux served as director of governmental affairs at the National Association of Bond Lawyers.

In addition to her industry experience, Giroux also served as chief of staff and counsel to former New York State Senator James Alesi, leading the office’s legislative initiatives. Prior to her time leading Alesi’s staff, she spent four years in the Washington, D.C., offices of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, working on issues related to transportation, energy, environment, census and immigration.

Deals and People January 15, 2023

BlackRock Invests in Fintech 401(k) Provider Human Interest

Human Interest CEO says minority stake from BlackRock will help hiring in areas including product, engineering, and customer acquisition.

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Asset management powerhouse BlackRock has invested in Human Interest, a San Francisco-based recordkeeper for small business 401(k) plans, according to a press release on Friday. The firms did not disclose the amount.

Human Interest CEO Jeff Schneble said by email response that the firm’s started talking last year, and that BlackRock’s investment will support Human Interest’s next phase of growth.

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“Our primary costs are people, so we plan to use this new capital to accelerate our hiring in product and engineering, customer acquisition, compliance and operations that scale as our customers do,” Schneble said. “It’s not a major departure from our previous plan, just an acceleration.”

The investment comes just weeks after the passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act, a series of retirement saving reforms targeted in large part at advancing new retirement plan creation through a combination of tax incentives and mandates in areas such as automatic enrollment. That legislation could further retirement plan uptake among small business employees in particular, CEO Schneble said.

“Less than 50% of small businesses with fewer than 50 employees sponsor a plan in which workers can save for retirement,” he wrote. “We partner with many small to medium sized businesses, and we’re pleased to see that legislators share our passion for giving them more options. In 2022, we doubled our customer base.” 

Human Interest, which was founded in 2015, touts itself as providing affordable 401(k) and 403(b) plan services catered to small and medium-sized businesses unequipped to take on the many administrative and fiduciary burdens that come with offering a plan. Since a fundraising round in 2021, the company has grown to have 12,000 customers, and covers more than 200,000 plan participants, Schneble said. The BlackRock investment brings Human Interest’s total funding to $500 million to date.

The company saw more demand in underserved sectors like restaurants, home services, and construction, he noted. In Q4 it announced a partnership with Neighborly, which franchises over 4,400 tradespeople with over 2/3rds being first-time 401(k) plans.

Human Interest also has a host of competitors who also have recently discussed a sector surge. In interviews last month, small business 401(k) providers Vestwell, Ubiquity Retirement + Savings and Icon Savings Plan all discussed client growth in part due to market demand, state mandates and their low-cost models offering 3(38) investment and 3(16) administrative fiduciary services.

BlackRock’s investment in Human Interest “reflects a continuation of BlackRock’s efforts to make strategic minority investments in companies that operate adjacently to our core business,” according to a spokesperson’s email.

BlackRock’s defined contribution division develops and distributes plan strategies and services for institutional as well as retail clients, reaching 65,000 plan asnd 35 million people, according to the company’s website. It also pioneered an in-plan target-date lifetime income strategy called LifePath Paycheck, which uses annuity contributions within retirement plans.

“Getting people on a path to a secure retirement is core to BlackRock’s purpose, from pioneering target-date funds 30 years ago to managing retirement assets for more than 40 million Americans today,” Anne Ackerley, head of BlackRock’s retirement group, said in the release. “We look forward to helping Human Interest close the access gap.”

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