Deals and People November 10, 2023

Retirement Industry People Moves

Voya hires Harrell as regional vice president; MissionSquare names Whiting SVP, chief sales officer; CAPTRUST adds Leddy as chief compliance officer; and more.

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Voya Hires Harrell to Support the West Division Wealth Solutions Sales Team

Cameron Harrell

Voya Financial has hired Cameron Harrell as a regional vice president for the company’s wealth solutions sales team, covering emerging markets in San Diego and Hawaii.

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In his role, Harrell is responsible for all sales supporting 401(k), 403(b), health savings account and non-qualified deferred compensation plans to intermediaries within the San Diego and Hawaii regions.

Most recently, Harrell served as a regional sales manager at Empower, where he was responsible for 401(k) sales with wirehouse partners in San Diego and Orange County, California. Prior to that, he held various roles at Empower supporting business development and internal sales.

“We are excited to welcome Cameron to our team here at Voya,” Bill Elmslie, Voya’s senior vice president and emerging market sales leader, said in a statement. “His expertise and proven strong relationships in the industry will make for a seamless transition to our team, and I look forward to seeing his continued success here at Voya within San Diego and Hawaii—and beyond.”

MissionSquare Retirement Names Whiting Senior VP, Chief Sales Officer

Andrew Whiting

MissionSquare Retirement has appointed Andrew Whiting as senior vice president and chief sales officer. Whiting, who has served in an acting capacity since April, joined MissionSquare Retirement in 2020 as the head of institutional sales.

“Andrew brings an exceptional combination of experience, determination, and integrity to lead MissionSquare Retirement’s sales and business development program,” Deanna Santana, CEO and president of MissionSquare Retirement, said in a statement. “For the past six months, Andrew has fostered robust relationships with customers and has astutely guided our sales team, surpassing our expectations.”

Whiting is responsible for a broad range of retirement savings, financial planning, investment-only and advisory programs (including government, education, health care and not-for-profit retirement plans). Additionally, he has overall responsibility for all revenue and client-facing sales teams across the organization.

Whiting has more than 16 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has an extensive background working with government sector retirement plans, including 457 and 403(b) retirement plans.

CAPTRUST Adds Leddy as Chief Compliance Officer

Ann Leddy joined CAPTRUST in September and she serves as chief compliance officer, based in New York.

Ann Leddy

She leads the firm’s compliance department, which is responsible for the firm’s regulatory compliance program, including the design and implementation of policies, procedures and controls to comply with applicable regulatory requirements; monitoring and testing for adherence to those controls; and furthering the firm’s culture of compliance.

CAPTRUST’s former chief compliance officer Denise Buchanan remains at the firm as the senior director of compliance. She will work closely with Leddy during the transition.

Leddy has broad experience across the financial services industry as a compliance leader and regulatory counsel. Most recently, she led retail client experience compliance at Vanguard and, before that, was global head of policies and procedures and compliance training at BlackRock.

Securian Financial Names Ferguson Senior VP

Securian Financial Group Inc. named Kristin Ferguson senior vice president in charge of individual solutions, which include the company’s individual life insurance and individual annuities business lines.

Kristin Ferguson

Ferguson reports to Chris Hilger, Securian Financial’s chairman, president and CEO. She succeeds longtime Securian Financial executive George Connolly, who is now serving as an executive adviser and chief strategy officer, also reporting to Hilger.

“I am excited about Kristin Ferguson’s new role leading Individual Solutions, one of our four priority solutions groups and key to our ability to serve the protection and retirement needs of individuals and families,” Hilger said in a statement.

Ferguson first worked for Securian Financial as a college intern in 2001. She joined the company full-time in 2002 and has since held various leadership roles. Most recently, Ferguson served as vice president, chief financial officer and actuary in the individual solutions group. She previously held various financial management and actuarial roles and was promoted to second vice president in 2019 and vice president in 2022.

Retirement Advisor Council Elects Board Members Famiglietta, Glynn

Kelly Famiglietta

The members of the Retirement Advisor Council elected Kelly Famiglietta, a partner in Charles Stephen and Co. Inc., as a board member representing advisers.

“The pandemic profoundly impacted the very nature of work in the United States and, by extension, relationships between employers and employees,” Famiglietta said in a statement. “I’d like to be at the forefront of our industry’s discussions of how qualified plans can adapt to this new dynamic and continue to add value for both participants and plan sponsors.”

In addition, Amy Glynn, managing partner and chief financial wellness officer at Viking Cove Institute, has been elected as a board member representing practice leaders.

“RAC’s membership is diverse and engaged,” said Glynn in a statement. “We are positioned to help retirement plan consultants expand their practices, scope and reach while adding value and enhancing participant outcomes. It will be my privilege to lead the [Practice Leader] College and to discuss and reveal best practices and opportunities in this dynamic time.”

The RAC’s board provides leadership for all council activities and oversight to executive director Eric Henon. The five-member board includes representatives of each segment of the membership: advisers (two seats), practice leaders, service providers and investment managers.

Compliance November 10, 2023

EBSA Head Lisa Gomez Talks Broadening Access to Retirement Benefits

The assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration spoke to PLANSPONSOR about ‘Schoolhouse Rock,’ disparities in retirement benefits access and SECURE 2.0.

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Lisa Gomez was new to government when she joined the administration of President Joe Biden slightly more than one year ago. Following nearly three decades in private practice, most recently as a partner in New York law firm Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP. Gomez was confirmed as the assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of the Employee Benefits Security Administration in September 2022.

Her first year in government included the December passage of the Secure 2.0 Act of 2022, which set out a long list of rulemaking projects for her office. In a conversation with PLANSPONSOR in late October of this year, she explains how EBSA and the DOL are approaching that work and other priorities:

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PLANSPONSOR: The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 included several provisions to broaden access to retirement benefits, including a retirement account lost and found database. How are EBSA and the DOL prioritizing projects created by the law?

GOMEZ: We are definitely working really hard with a goal toward meeting all those various deadlines. I think over the next couple of months, you will definitely be seeing a lot coming out from us between now and the end of the year in keeping with the deadlines.

We are [currently also] reviewing our interpretive bulletin on pension risk transfers. We are [also] implementing certain provisions of the WORK Act [Worker Ownership, Readiness, and Knowledge Act, Section 346 of SECURE 2.0] that relate to worker ownership and valuation of employer stock for employee stock ownership plans, and there are a number of different deadlines within SECURE [2.0] that call for us to be delivering something by the end of this year.

PLANSPONSOR: How is the department staying on track to implement provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 on time?

GOMEZ: We are on track. Not everything is completely within our control. We are definitely hoping to get things out by the deadlines—or as close as possible—and we have been working hard toward that.   

One thing, being new to government, that I did not fully appreciate was all of the steps that it takes to [implement a bill], because I watched “Schoolhouse Rock” as a kid, but they do not explain all of the different pieces [of legislation].

PLANSPONSOR: Data shows persistent retirement savings gaps along both racial and gender lines. How is government policy addressing retirement savings and access disparities?

GOMEZ: At the Department of Labor, we are very focused on trying to understand what the source of these disparities is and how we can try to address them so that retirement benefits are more equitable and so that everyone has a chance at a secure retirement and to retire with dignity.

In the Biden administration, the president is always talking about building up the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, but too often people think about retirement as a luxury that not everyone has access to. With SECURE 2.0, that is a step in the right direction. We are constantly thinking about equity in retirement, and that is one step to have it be top of mind, to be thinking about with respect to any of these policies that we are implementing: How does it affect underserved communities? And how can we reach out to them?

But so much of it is employment-based, and [this is] driving where people land on the spectrum of having access to retirement benefits.

It relates to the occupation that one is in, because 70% of private sector workers had access to retirement benefits in 2023, but [disparities of access exist] when you look at different occupations. [Among] people who are working in service occupations, only 43% in the private sector have access [to retirement benefits], and minorities are usually overrepresented in those kinds of jobs. Looking at the access issue, there is clearly still a huge disparity, and then even for people who do have the ability to be able to participate in a retirement plan through their job, the level of participation varies greatly by race.

PLANSPONSOR: What can plan sponsors do to support building greater equity regarding access to retirement benefits?

GOMEZ: One thing that employers can do is—first of all—if they are not yet offering a retirement plan, think about why? What do they need and how can the government support them with information? There is support under these various laws to give incentives to be able to offer [retirement benefits], but from an employer standpoint, [plan sponsors] can think about: Are we offering a retirement plan? If not, why not?

We have benefits advisers across the country, who are available at our toll-free number—866-444-3272—or by sending an email, and those folks are great at just pointing you in the right direction.

There is a lot of information on the website regarding planning, both from a worker standpoint and from an employer standpoint. I just want to get on the mountaintops and let people know that there’s information out there that can be helpful to you.

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