Deals and People July 10, 2015

Newport Group Expands BOLI/COLI Business

BOLI and COLI are used to recover the costs of supplemental employee health and nonqualified retirement plans.
Reported by

The Newport Group, Inc. and its affiliates will be acquiring the Greensboro, North Carolina, operations of Clark Consulting, LLC, and its broker-dealer Clark Securities, Inc.

This will make Newport the largest administrator of bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) and corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) in the nation, according to the announcement. BOLI and COLI are used to recover the costs of supplemental employee health and nonqualified retirement plans.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

“We are excited about the opportunity to leverage our combined capabilities and best practices, which will provide our clients with deeper resources and service offerings,” says Newport President Peter Cahall. “Clark Consulting has been an innovative leader in BOLI and COLI service for decades, and we look forward to welcoming their Greensboro team to Newport.”

In combination with the Clark business, Newport’s COLI/BOLI client assets will rise to more than $65 billion. Newport will maintain its current office in Greensboro, while exploring opportunities to leverage the combined COLI and BOLI operations. Following the closing of the transaction, the Clark business will continue to be serviced by the same team.

“This acquisition is part of our broader strategy to position Newport and our affiliate Verisight as leading providers in retirement, insurance, and consulting services,” Newport Chief Executive Officer Greg Tschider says. “Not only does this firmly establish Newport as the leader in the BOLI marketplace, it better positions our organization for continued growth across all of our business lines.”

The transaction is expected to be completed in 30 to 60 days, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Products July 10, 2015

Financial Wellness Firm Rolls Out Voluntary Option

Four Seasons Financial Education has created an employee-paid financial wellness program.
Reported by

A financial wellness vendor, Four Seasons Financial Education (FSFE), has introduced a voluntary option to its corporate financial wellness programs. According to FSFE, this offering is the first of its kind in the U.S. and gives employers an alternative to traditional programs for which plan sponsors generally cover the cost.

The voluntary program, called PlanWell, was unveiled after FSFE discovered that 59% of its own employees said they would be likely to share “some cost in a financial wellness program if it could help them toward their financial goals” in a company financial wellness survey. Another 25.8% of employees answered “possibly” to the same question.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

Most employers want to offer some type of financial wellness program to their employees, according to Travis Freeman, president of FSFE. A program that has employees pay some or all of the cost may make it possible for more plan sponsors to offer financial wellness.

PlanWell is being offered on a limited basis through the rest of the year. For more information, email Anna Fruits at Anna.Fruits@FSFE.com.

«