Deals and People August 20, 2012

Callan Hires Consultant for Fund Sponsor Group

August 20, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Callan Associates announced that Dana R. Brown joined the company's Fund Sponsor Consulting group as senior vice president on July 30.
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Brown is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and reports to James A. Callahan, executive vice president and head of Callan’s Fund Sponsor Consulting practice.    

Prior to making the move to Callan, Brown was a vice president and senior investment consultant with The Newport Group in Heathrow, Florida, responsible for providing investment and fiduciary consulting services to corporate retirement plans of Fortune 500 public and private companies.He was part of the management team of the practice and a senior member of the firm’s investment committee.    

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Brown also served as an investment consultant and analyst with Morgan Stanley Investment Consulting Services. His responsibilities included strategy development, asset allocation, manager searches and reporting to retirement plan clients, insurance companies and foundations/endowments.    

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Brown worked as an investment consulting analyst at the Smith Barney Consulting Group and as a trust representative at SunTrust Retirement Plan Services where he was responsible for managing retirement plan clients; including administration, recordkeeping, compliance and trustee/custodial services.  

Brown graduated with an MBA with Finance Concentration from The Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business, Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida, and a BBA in Finance with Investments Concentration at Stetson University.He holds Financial Industry Regulatory Authority series 7 and 66 licenses, and is a Level II candidate in the CFA Program.
Products August 20, 2012

Survey Identifies Improvement Opportunities for TPAs

August 20, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Communication is a leading driver of plan sponsor satisfaction with third-party administrators (TPAs), according to a report published by Transamerica Retirement Services.
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“Increasing Client Satisfaction in a Low-Margin World” includes findings of the 2012 Gregory Group Plan Sponsor Survey, which shows that among all factors influencing survey respondents’ perceptions of value delivered by their TPA, frequency of communication proved to be one of the most important. In general, plan sponsors who indicated they received more regular contact from their TPA gave a higher rating for the quality of service they received.   

Additionally, the survey finds that frequency of communication can impact satisfaction with a TPA both positively and negatively. Plan sponsors who indicated they are contacted quarterly by their TPA were most satisfied.   

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“The survey shows that plan sponsors want face-to-face interaction for both an annual visit and during problem resolutions. This face-to-face communication is a significant benefit for plan sponsors who utilize the services of a local TPA,” said Deb Rubin, vice president and national director of TPA Services for Transamerica Retirement Services. “The TPA, in turn, has a dynamic opportunity to be aware of the client’s business situation and to proactively help the client, resulting in higher satisfaction among plan sponsors.” 

The report also offers action items and best practices to help enhance TPAs’ business.   

More information about the survey is available to third party administrators by calling Transamerica at (877) 398-7526, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

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