Retirement Industry People Moves

MetLife Investment Management to Acquire Affirmative Investment Management

MetLife Investment Management, the institutional asset management business of MetLife Inc., has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Affirmative Investment Management.

AIM is a global environmental, social and corporate governance impact fixed-income investment manager. The firm has capabilities in impact investing, verification, reporting and engagement. As of June 30, its assets under management were $1.01 billion.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. According to the firms, the acquisition seeks to advance MIM’s ESG investment and reporting capabilities as it aims to deliver client solutions and long-term risk-adjusted returns.

“MIM will maintain its fundamental investment processes, and AIM brings us additional capabilities to evaluate sustainability and risk considerations across our core competencies in public fixed income, private fixed income and real estate,” says Steven Goulart, president of MIM and executive vice president and CIO for MetLife.

Commonwealth Hires Deputy General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer

Commonwealth Financial Network has announced that Michelle Kelley is joining the firm as senior vice president, deputy general counsel and chief privacy officer. In this newly created position, Kelley will lead Commonwealth’s legal department and provide counsel on cybersecurity and privacy laws, partnering closely with Commonwealth’s information security team.

Kelley joins Commonwealth from LPL Financial and brings regulatory counsel to support Commonwealth’s growing efforts on fee-based business. With the increasingly necessary focus on data security and cybersecurity, Kelley will enhance Commonwealth’s privacy and data security alongside the firm’s chief information security officer, Mukund Ravipaty. She will report to Peggy Ho, senior vice president, general counsel and chief risk officer.

Kelley will provide guiding counsel to the firm and executive management team on strategic initiatives and regulatory matters. She will oversee the team responsible for commercial agreements, customer complaints, litigation and arbitrations, regulatory enforcement matters and contracts and vendor agreements.

Kelley graduated from Colgate University. She received her law degree from Boston College Law School and began her career as an associate at Ropes & Gray LLP. For the past 16 years, she has held various roles at LPL Financial, most recently as senior vice president, government relations, chief privacy officer and associate general counsel.

Millennium Trust Names Chief Marketing Officer

Millennium Trust Company has announced that it has hired Michelle Spellerberg as chief marketing officer and a new member of the firm’s executive leadership team. Spellerberg joins after more than eight years with Alliant, a digital credit union, where she held the position of vice president and chief marketing officer.

This new hire comes on the heels of Millennium Trust’s acquisition of PayFlex, a provider of health savings accounts and other consumer-directed benefits solutions, from CVS. The deal, completed in June, positions Millennium Trust to provide a full array of financial wellness services for clients at every stage of life.

Triton Pacific Securities Expands RIA Focus

Triton Pacific Securities has recently expanded its registered investment adviser capital markets team, adding Katie Hubbard as senior vice president of RIA channel and Western capital markets. Hubbard brings over two decades of capital-raising experience to the firm in this newly created role.

Hubbard will be joining Andrew Hurvitz, vice president of Eastern markets, and Kevin Kennedy, associate vice president.

In Hubbard’s previous role as senior manager of wealth advisory at Empower, she managed 40 retirement and wealth advisers. Prior to Empower, Hubbard was the national sales manager and partner at a large national registered investment adviser.

Hubbard graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in real estate and construction management and earned a master’s degree in finance from the University of Colorado. Hubbard currently holds her Series 7, 63, 65, 24 and SIE FINRA licenses.