Deals and People March 3, 2023

Principal Integrates Businesses With Renewed Focus on Retirement

Owais Rana was promoted to head of investment solutions for Principal Asset Management, which is merging previously separate businesses.   

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Owais Rana

Owais Rana was named head of investment solutions at Principal Asset Management in February, as the firm plots integrating the global asset management and international pension businesses under the Principal Asset Management brand, it announced this week in a press release.

Rana is now responsible for “all aspects” of the Principal outsourced CIO business, which includes building solutions and product offerings adhering to the firm’s investment model, a spokesperson said via email.  

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“Rana took on expanded leadership including the OCIO business for Principal effective February 11, 2023,” the spokesperson explains. “Within this role Rana will support all aspects of the existing OCIO business. There are no changes to OCIO solutions or investment process as a result of this change.”

In the new role, Rana reports to David Blake, Principal’s global head of public markets.

Rana joined Principal in May 2022 as a managing director and head of LDI Solutions, the spokesperson confirmed.

Integrating Businesses

Principal is “blending leadership, investment capabilities and client-facing teams,” this week’s release stated, with a goal of providing global and local investment capabilities and client support across more than 80 markets.

“The firm has begun to combine research, risk management and product strategy among its global, regional and local markets to create more value and efficiency,” the press release stated.

Integrating the businesses under Principal Asset Management formalized the partnership between previously separate units “to create a single business unit with the power of combined leadership, investment and go-to-market capabilities.”

“With the right strategy, structure, and teams—we can deliver greater differentiation and value to our clients,” stated Patrick Halter, president of Principal Asset Management, in the release.

Principal combined its global leadership team to reflect the integration, according to the release.

Kamal Bhatia was named head of global investments, in addition to his ongoing roles as COO and as president and CEO of Principal Funds, the press release stated.

Principal also reorganized its global and local investment capabilities under the single brand, segmented into private-market, public-market and multi-asset investments, according to the press release. Leadership personnel moves include:

  • Todd Everett is now global head of private markets, including corporate credit, real estate credit and real estate equity. Everett previously led the global real estate team.
  • David Blake becomes global head of public markets and is responsible for global equities and global fixed income capabilities and trading resources. Blake previously led the global fixed income team.
  • Todd Jablonski remains global head of multi-asset investing and oversees asset allocation and multi-asset investment capabilities; quantitative and indexed portfolio management; and supporting research.

“The new structure will bring together specialized investment teams under a single leader, enabling the teams to work more closely together, leveraging one another’s expertise and resources to deliver more for clients,” Principal stated.  

Renewed Retirement Focus

Principal said the reorganization reflects the firm’s renewed its focus on retirement plans and asset management, with a focus on the small to medium-sized business market.

In 2021, Principal exited U.S. retail fixed annuities—by discontinuing new sales of deferred annuities, payout annuities and indexed annuities—yet continues to sell variable annuities because these have an important role within the firm’s suite of retirement products.

Principal Financial Group ranked fourth for total nonqualified deferred compensation plan liabilities among plans governed by Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, according to the 2020 PLANSPONSOR Recordkeeping survey and fifth for total NQDC participants.

One year ago, Principal completed the integration of Wells Fargo custody clients, and in 2020 the company debuted a retirement plan designed for businesses with fewer than 100 employees.

Principal acquired the Wells Fargo retirement plan business in 2019.

In the U.S., Principal Retirement and Income Solutions serves more than 46,000 employers, nearly 12 million participants and has total retirement assets valued at $447 billion, as of December 31, 2022, according to data shared by a spokesperson. Worldwide, Principal has $635.3 billion in assets under management.

Products March 3, 2023

Investment Product and Service Launches

Alight’s expanded wellness programs allows employees’ families to join; ComplySci launches regulatory compliance guide for financial firms; Equitable adds volatility protection; and more. 

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Alight Lets Employees’ Family Members Use Workplace Wellness Platform

Alight Inc. has expanded its employee benefits platform, Alight Worklife, to be available for employees’ spouses and families. 

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Lincolnshire, Illinois-based Alight said the new features are intended to further personalize employee well-being tools related to finances and health. The key highlights include:

  • Team and individual challenges that gamify and incentivize wellness;
  • Expanded family access;
  • More personalized ranking and options for in-network healthcare provider recommendations based on an employee’s history and inputs; and
  • More personalized financial savings recommendations. 

“Our own data tells us that fewer than half of employees (44%) rate their overall wellbeing as positive,” Josh Welch, senior vice president of product management at Alight, said in a statement. “The combination of high-tech and high-touch is proving to be extremely effective in helping employees and their families make better, more informed decisions through complex moments that directly impact their physical, emotional and financial wellbeing.”  

ComplySci Launches Regulatory Compliance Buyer’s Guide for U.S.-Based Financial Firms

ComplySci, a Comply portfolio firm and the leading provider of regulatory technology and compliance for the financial services sector, published its 2023 Regulatory Compliance Buyer’s Process Guide for U.S.-based financial firms. The guide aims to help compliance teams navigate the technology procurement process.

Guide highlights include:

  • Defining the process and scope of work necessary for procuring new technology;
  • Assessing the needs of the compliance department and the firm at-large;
  • Incorporating technical and functional requirements;
  • Qualifying questions to assess potential vendors;
  • Analyzing vendor capabilities to determine a best-fit match.

“The procurement process of an integrated regulatory compliance technology system is a significant and detail-oriented process, especially for firms which have not purchased and integrated a regulatory compliance technology recently,” COMPLY President Eric White said in a statement. “Our guide aims to provide a roadmap for decisionmakers to move from idea to project to procurement successfully—and finally, successful risk mitigation and compliant operations.”

Equitable Enhances Market-Leading Buffered Annuity Suites

Equitable, the principal franchise of Equitable Holdings Inc., announced enhancements to its buffered annuity suites that will provide clients with partial protection against market volatility. The new investment options can also offer positive or enhanced performance even if market index returns are negative.

Equitable’s suites, Structured Capital Strategies PLUS 21 and Structured Capital Strategies Income, give clients shorter investment durations to reallocate underlying investments in times of uncertainty.

A notable enhancement is Equitable’s Loss Limiter, a novel registered index-linked annuity investment feature that ensures clients will never lose more than 5% or 10% of their investments due to index performance in the Loss Limiter segment at maturity. 

“Clients continue to face persistent economic uncertainty and decreased investment returns, but still need to provide for themselves and their loved ones in retirement,” said Steve Scanlon, head of individual retirement at Equitable. “That’s why we’re committed to constantly reimagining our products and rolling out new enhancements, including additional partial protection against market upheaval, increased flexibility or the option for monthly retirement income, that can help them meet their goals.”

Bogart Wealth Launches Advisor Growth Track

Bogart Wealth, an independent, fee-only wealth management and RIA firm, announced the launch of Advisor Growth Track, a professional growth and training program for both emerging talent and experienced financial advisers.

Advisers who are new to the field will be able to gain expertise in all aspects of holistic financial planning, including retirement planning, investment management, estate and multigenerational planning and more. For established advisers, Bogart Wealth creates a customized growth and succession plan for their continued growth.

“We are super excited to formally launch this program,” said James Bogart, president and CEO of Bogart Wealth, in a statement. “We’ve been training and developing our employees in the Bogart way for years, but we are officially launching Advisor Growth Track in order to help young and emerging professionals find their best fit by working a variety of roles within an established and rapidly growing wealth management firm, as well as experienced advisers create a glide path for the future.”

C2P Enterprises Launches ‘A Woman’s Clarity’ Program

C2P Enterprises LLC announced the launch of its latest program for financial advisers, A Woman’s Clarity. The program states its ultimate mission is to empower women to take charge of their own economic future and educate other financial professionals about the unique challenges facing female clientele.

Participants will gain knowledge through ongoing thought leadership and networking, including a podcast series, live events, blogs and more. The first special event for A Woman’s Clarity will be a panel and Q&A session held on March 8, International Women’s Day.

“With this supportive, empowering, and educational exchange of ideas, we are working to close the loop and help ease the transition into retirement so that more women have the financial confidence and clarity they deserve in every stage of life,” said in a statement by Kirsten Schlumbohm, vice president of insurance sales at C2P and program host of A Woman’s Clarity.

Realized Launches Expanded Commercial Real Estate Wealth Management Capabilities

Startup company Realized announced a series of enhancements to help create more informed decisions when constructing customized portfolios of commercial real estate investments.

Realized Platform Enhancements:

  • Automated portfolio construction with customizable portfolio inputs like property types, location or deal length to provide a more timely, seamless deal process;
  • Fee-based accounts are designed for individuals looking for an ongoing, long-term relationship to guide the development of their commercial real estate portfolio;
  • Confidence scores will provide an analysis of the likelihood a sponsor will reach the projected income distributions outlined in their Private Placement Memorandum; and
  • White labeled investment plans and investor portals will allow advisers to apply their firm’s logo, a headshot and contact information to the client portal and investment plans.

“We expect this flight to passive real estate investing to persist as individuals increasingly seek alternative asset classes that are less correlated to the broader stock market,” said David Wieland, CEO and co-founder of Realized, in a statement. “The solutions we’ve introduced across Realized are a direct output of this demand and a demonstration of our commitment to arm individuals and their advisers with technology and resources that were previously only available to institutional investors and commercial property owners.”

 

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