Deals and People February 24, 2017

Retirement Industry People Moves

HealthSavings Administrators appoints industry vets to national sales team; The Standard hires plan consultant; American Benefits Council names new board leader; and more.
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Goldman Sachs to Acquire OCIO Business

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has entered into an agreement to acquire a portion of Verus Investors’outsourced chief investment officer(OCIO) business. The transaction is expected to close by mid-year 2017. Terms were not disclosed.

OCIO will become a part of GSAM’s outsourcing solutions business, which provides customized solutions including asset allocation, portfolio construction and risk management to various clients including corporate pensions, endowments and foundations, and insurance providers.

Verus Investors provides customized investment and risk management solutions to institutional clients. Based in Seattle, it has been a subsidiary of the Verus Advisory investment firm since 2011. Verus Advisory will retain its mid-market OCIO practice.

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Verus Investors CIO Jeffrey Scott will join GSAM and bring with him several team members with decades of experience. They will be based in existing Goldman Sachs offices in New York and Seattle.

“We’re committed to growing our outsourcing business to meet our clients’ growing needs,” says Timothy J. O’Neill and Eric S. Lane, co-heads of the Investment Management Division at Goldman Sachs. “The Verus team’s wealth of expertise and experience with risk management complements our existing outsourcing business.”

GSAM is the asset management arm of the Investment Management Division in The Goldman Sachs Group, which oversees $1.38 trillion in assets under supervision as of December 31, 2016.

Verus is an independent, employee-owned provider of non-discretionary consulting and discretionary management services to a wide variety of institutional investors representing more than $333 billion in assets as of December 31, 2016.

NEXT: HealthSavings Administrators Appoints Industry Vets to National Sales Team

HealthSavings Administrators Appoints Industry Vets to National Sales Team
 
Stewart Gooding joins HealthSavings Administrators team as its national sales director. He comes to the firm from FPA Trust, where he served as national sales director for the IRA rollover program. Beforehand, he spent more than 2 years in the retirement services industry. Past roles includeregional sales director for Third Party Distribution of Not-for-Profit Plans with AIG/VALIC, and senior vice president of PLANSPONSOR's Client Services and Pathfinder Divisions.

“I’m thrilled to lead the HealthSavings national sales effort,” says Gooding. “My work with plan sponsors over the years has emphasized the importance of including investment HSAs as part of a comprehensive retirement planning and benefits package. I’m excited to have the opportunity to spread the word.”

Danny Streiff will lead National Platform Development. He will be tasked with working with banks, recordkeepers, third-party administrators (TPAs), and wealth management firms on developing customizable private label investment HSAs. Streiff is the former founder and president of Matrix Communications Technologies (now part of Broadridge). He started MCT in 2003 and sold it to Matrix Financial Solutions in late 2007. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of sales at VWISE.

Mark Berman will head National Business Development, working with registered investment advisers (RIAs) to provide customized investment HSA solutions to their clients. Berman recently worked in business development for Handler Investment Consulting Group, a Raymond James office in Beverly Hills. 

HealthSavings President Kirk Hoewisch says, “We’re assembling a great team—one that’s focused on the investment and retirement benefits of HSAs. This is an exciting time for our company, and I’m looking forward to expanding our national reach.”

NEXT: The Standard Hires Plan Consultant

The Standard Hires Plan Consultant

Kate Tubesing has joined The Standard as a retirement plan consultant for its East Sales Region. She is based in the firm’s Cincinnati retirement plans sales and service office.

Tubesing has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry with an emphasis on retirement plans. She has worked for Nationwide and Fidelity, where she most recently served as the firm’s managing director of client relationships.

“Kate’s deep experience as a relationship manager, plan administrator, investment representative and plan education consultant make her uniquely qualified to serve as a resource to our adviser partners and their clients,” says Mark Bransford, regional sales director for The Standard’s East Sales Region. “With a keen understanding of plan sponsor and adviser needs, Kate is known in the industry for her ability to build and strengthen retirement plan relationships.”

Tubesing also served as an E4 Specialist in the U.S. Army, where she received an honorable discharge. She holds the Series 7, 63 and 65 securities licenses.

NEXT: American Benefits Council Names New Board Leader
American Benefits Council Names New Board Leader
 
The American Benefits Council has announced the new leader of its Board of Directors. Allison R. Klausner will step in as Board Chair. She is principal at Conduent and government relations leader for the company's HR Services Knowledge Resource Center.

"This is a landmark year for the American Benefits Council," says president James A. Klein. "Our 50th anniversary year aligns with seismic change in health, retirement and tax policy. Allison's extensive experience as a senior benefits professional in corporate America, coupled with deep knowledge of the policy process and contagious enthusiasm for the Council's mission makes her an exceptional leader at this critical time.

"Allison inherits an organization that continued to thrive under the stewardship of outgoing chair Bob Holcomb, Empower Retirement. With Bob's leadership, we expanded our communications and membership efforts while maintaining the Council's reputation for thoughtful, nonpartisan advocacy on behalf of employer sponsors of benefit plans," Klein says.

Also joining the Board are Vice Chair Jeffrey Mains, assistant vice president, health plans, AT&T; Vice Chair Vincent Kerr, president, care solutions, and chief clinical officer for national accounts, UnitedHealthcare; Treasurer Marianne McManus, director, benefits services team, IBM Corporation; Secretary Tresia Franklin, director, rewards and employee relations, Hallmark Cards, Inc.

"Our more than 400 member organizations and the nearly 7,000 benefits professionals within those organizations are the lifeblood of the Council and illustrate the vitality of the employer-sponsored benefit system," Klein says. "Our board leaders are nationally recognized benefits professionals. It is a privilege to work with them and on their behalf to improve the health and financial well-being of America's workforce."

NEXT: Alliance Bernstein Hires Global Director of Research 

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