Deals and People September 13, 2024

Retirement Industry People Moves

OneDigital welcomes Andrea Madonna as benefits consultant in Florida; Bitzer, Cox Cuerington join Franklin Templeton; IRALogix taps Haas as CFO; and more.

Reported by

OneDigital Welcomes Andrea Madonna as Benefits Consultant in Florida

Andrea Madonna

OneDigital has announced Andrea Madonna as a new benefits consultant. Joining the firm in Bonita Springs, Florida, Madonna has more than 20 years of strategic employee benefits experience.

“Andrea excels in building strong stakeholder relationships and possesses a robust analytical background. Her expertise spans COBRA, FMLA, Health, Life, Disability, Section 125, and ACA,” OneDigital shared in a statement. “Andrea’s passion for her role is driven by her commitment to innovative problem-solving and decision-making, ensuring her clients receive the best possible benefits solutions.”

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

Bitzer, Cox, Cuerington Join Franklin Templeton as Client Advisers

Todd Bitzer

Franklin Templeton announced the appointment of Todd Bitzer, Emily Cox and Andre Cuerington as senior vice presidents and client advisers on its U.S. institutional team, all of whom joined the firm in August.

In their new roles, they will be responsible for managing the firm’s partnerships with existing and prospective institutional clients. Bitzer is based in Atlanta. Cox, who additionally serves as an alternative specialist, is based in Southern California.

Emily Cox

Cuerington is based in Northern California.

Bitzer and Cuerington report to Mike Foley, head of U.S. institutional, who oversees Franklin Templeton’s U.S. institutional direct sales, consultant relations and relationship management teams. Cox reports to John Ivanac, senior vice president and head of U.S. institutional alternatives on Foley’s team, focusing on the firm’s alternative investment capabilities.

“We continue to add experienced talent to further strengthen our team’s ability to create partnershi

Andre Cuerington

ps with institutional investors who are increasingly seeking to access the full value our firm can provide to them across both public and private investment markets,” Foley said in a statement.

WTW Appoints Horn as Missouri/Kansas Market Leader, Senior Retirement Consultant

Patty Horn

WTW, a global advisory and solutions company, announced the appointment of Patty Horn as Missouri/Kansas market leader and senior consultant in its retirement business within the health, wealth and career segment in North America.

In her dual role, Horn will serve as a strategic adviser to retirement clients and prospects within and beyond Missouri and Kansas. She is based in St. Louis. Horn will report to Pierre Jraiche, WTW’s managing director of retirement.

“We are delighted to welcome Patty to the WTW team,” Jraiche said in a statement. “Her extensive experience and exceptional leadership skills will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our presence in the Missouri and Kansas markets.”

Horn joins WTW with more than 25 years of experience in retirement consulting. Prior to this, she served as the Missouri/Kansas Retirement practice leader and U.S. retirement innovation lead at Aon.

IRALogix Taps Haas as CFO

Keith Haas

IRALogix, a retirement industry fintech provider, announced the appointment of Keith Haas as chief financial officer. Haas assumed his new position September 3 and reports to Peter de Silva, CEO.

“We are excited to welcome Keith to the IRALOGIX team and are eager to leverage his passion, expertise, and financial acumen to drive our continued growth,” said de Silva in a statement. “With his extensive background in the tech industry and a proven track record of financial leadership, Keith is the perfect fit to help us achieve our strategic objectives.”

Most recently, Haas served as CFO of FutureView Systems, a provider of solutions that empower financial transformation of management and accounting processes through innovative technology.

“I’m excited to join IRALOGIX as CFO, especially at such a transformative time for our technology solutions to benefit the massive individual retirement account space,” Haas said in a statement.

AmericanTCS Welcomes Mike McAleer as Strategic Account Director 

Mike McAleer

AmericanTCS, the outsourcing partner to retirement-focused financial services firms, announced the appointment of Mike McAleer as strategic account director.

McAleer joins AmericanTCS with 25 years of experience in the financial services industry and has held high-level sales and sales leadership roles across firms such as Lincoln Financial Group, Clark Capital Management Group, Charles Schwab and Russell Investments. McAleer’s diverse background includes experience in asset management, custody and trading, and qualified plans.

“I’ve had the pleasure of partnering with Mike for many years, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with him as a teammate,” said Brian Lenz, chief sales officer for AmericanTCS, in a statement. “He brings a wealth of experience, a wide network and a proven track record of success that will be instrumental in helping us continue to be the go-to partner in the retirement marketplace. Most importantly, he has an impressive repertoire of dad jokes.”

McAleer will be responsible for managing an existing book and growing key accounts across all of the firm’s retirement-centric business lines. He will support AmericanTCS partners, including retirement plan recordkeepers, TPAs, asset managers and banks.

Data and Research September 13, 2024

Improvement Needed in Retirement Plan Digital Experience

Despite improvement from last year, J.D. Power found that digital channels are often lacking and urges advisers to improve online experiences.

Reported by

As retirement plan customers increasingly rely on digital channels for managing their financial futures, the quality of those digital experiences has become crucial. However, according to the newly released J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Retirement Plan Digital Experience Study, most retirement plan providers still have significant room for improvement.

Only 21% of retirement websites and mobile apps met customer expectations for delivering a valuable digital experience, far behind other industries and potentially jeopardizing assets under management, the researchers found. For plan advisers, this could provide an opportunity to work more closely with clients and their participants.

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

“The first and most important thing advisers should be doing when it comes to digital is to get familiar with the tools and resources their firms provide to clients,” says Craig Martin, managing director and global head of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power. “This will allow them to spotlight capabilities that are aligned with their clients’ needs.”

Martin says advisers should also be asking participants about their digital usage habits and experiences. Having a good understanding of what participants are using and not using in the site, or app, can spotlight knowledge and awareness gaps the adviser could help fill that will increase the perceived value of the digital experience.

Financial wellness has become a key focus for many retirement plan providers, who aim to offer more than just basic financial products, according to Martin. However, without strong digital engagement, many customers fail to recognize or appreciate these efforts. This disconnect results in wasted resources and missed opportunities for business expansion, as providers struggle to communicate the value of their offerings to digitally disengaged users, Martin says.

On the plus side, J.D. Power did find that overall satisfaction with the retirement plan digital experiences has increased to 703 (on a 1,000-point scale), up 18 points from 2023. But those platforms still lagged behind other sectors such as insurance, automotive finance, utilities and banking. Retirement plan apps and websites struggled with ease of use and making information easy to find—critical aspects of a successful digital experience, according to the consumer research firm.

J.D. Power’s digital experience hierarchy rates retirement plan websites and apps across three performance levels: foundational, functional and valuable. Foundational experiences prioritize design, security and access to key information, while functional experiences focus on usability and navigation. Valuable experiences go further by offering personalization and proactive engagement. According to the study, 21% of retirement plan digital experiences did not meet the basic criteria for a foundational experience, and only 21% delivered what would be considered a valuable experience.

There is a clear connection between strong digital offerings and customer loyalty, according to the researchers. The study showed that customers are nearly twice as likely to retain their assets with a provider during a job change if the provider delivers a valuable digital experience. Furthermore, 40% of customers are more likely to roll over funds from other retirement accounts when they enjoy a superior digital experience.

The study, conducted from May through July, was based on responses of 5,638 retirement plan participants.

«