Retirement Industry People Moves

Capital Fiduciary Advisors TeamJoins Bronfman E.L. Rothschild 

Rockville, Maryland-based independent advisory firm Bronfman E.L. Rothschild LP welcomes a team from Capital Fiduciary Advisors. The team will be led by Capital Fiduciary Advisors CEO John H. Wolff. He will become a principal and managing director of Bronfman E.L. Rothschild. Also joining the team is Capital Fiduciary Advisors Managing Director Ted Leasure.

“John, Ted, and their team are a perfect fit for us,” says Neal Simon, CEO of Bronfman E.L. Rothschild. “They are true wealth managers who use an investment approach similar to ours. Like us, they have a reputation for putting clients’ interests first, and I believe their clients will benefit from our scale and resources.”

Wolff adds “Our firms operate with a similar philosophy towards our clients’ advice and service. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild has smart and talented people, excellent technology and a recognizable brand. By joining their firm, we can expand the services we offer to clients; the firm has deep resources to serve wealth management clients, institutions, and retirement plans. Most importantly, we can continue to take care of our clients in the fashion they have become accustomed to and deserve, and that means everything to us.” 

Bronfman E.L. Rothschild manages more than $4.5 billion in assets. In January, the firm announced the acquisition of TriCapital Advisors in Maryland. In March, it added Marilyn Napoli to its New York office.

NEXT: CIEBA Appoints Executive Director

CIEBA Appoints Executive Director

The Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets (CIEBA) announced that Dennis Simmons has been appointed by the CIEBA Board as their new executive director. Simmons joins CIEBA with more than 20 years of experience in government policy, legal and plan administration. He’s worked with all types of employee benefit plan sponsor clients. He’s most recently worked at Vanguard, the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based mutual fund provider.

"The CIEBA Board is very excited to have Dennis join us at such an important time in CIEBA's history,"says Andrew T. Ward, CIEBA's Chair. "CIEBA has a growing membership of plan fiduciaries who oversee over $2 trillion on behalf of 15 million hard-working retirement plan participants. CIEBA's voice will be critical as important fiduciary and tax changes are being considered by the new Administration. Dennis' advocacy experience will help CIEBA maintain a strong presence as new public policies directly impacting plan fiduciaries and their participants are contemplated."

Simmons will succeed Ray Kanner, the former CIO at IBM 

"We'd encourage anyone who works with benefit plan investments to consider joining up with CIEBA to take advantage of the world-class network of investment fiduciary plan sponsors," says Simmons. "We'd be glad to talk to anyone who is interested in discussing our mission and values for strengthening the private sector retirement system and enhancing retirement plan investment management effectiveness."

NEXT: United Financial NW Joins PlanMember Securities Corporation

United Financial NW Joins PlanMember Securities Corporation

Jim Mustard and Nick Hankerson, partners of United Financial NW in Portland, Oregon, have announced their affiliation with PlanMember Securities Corporation as a PlanMember Financial Center.

This collaboration will allow the firm to expand retirement investment planning and financial education opportunities for educators and employees of nonprofits in Portland and the surrounding metropolitan area.

United Financial NW has about 700 clients in and around Portland with $55 million in assets under management. In addition to specializing in the 403(b) and 457(b) education market, the firm intends to provide enhanced products and services to the 401(k) market and individual investors as part of PlanMember.

Hankerson says, “We see PlanMember as an opportunity for stability and consistency in leadership so we can grow our Financial Center. They provide a team we can work with to help us service our school districts and give our client base some consistency as well.”

PlanMember is a nationally recognized broker/dealer, investment adviser, and member of FINRA/SIPC. It has established 30 Financial Centers in 19 states, with a goal of expanding to 80 nationally. For more information about PlanMember’s retirement solutions, visit www.planmember.com.

NEXT: Financial Management Network Expands Retirement Business

Allianz Life Hires COO

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America has hired Tobias Fritsch as chief operating officer for the Allianz Investment Management (AIM) division. He will tasked with enabling all hedging, investment strategy, and portfolio management activities for AIM.

Fritsch will lead the functions responsible for middle and back office accounting and operations support, strategic IT systems, and overall program and financial management. He will report to Allianz Life Chief Investment Officer Todd Hedtke

“Tobias brings a strong understanding of global Allianz initiatives, which is hugely beneficial as our team collaborates with colleagues around the world to direct our company-wide investment strategy,” says Hedtke. “We are excited to utilize his vast leadership experience in both operations and investment management in order to make AIM a more efficient and effective organization.”

Fritsch joins Allianz Life from Allianz Global Investors (AGI) in Berlin, Germany, where he was an executive program manager responsible for leading a strategic initiative to redesign and transform the target operating model of AGI. He was also responsible for an acquisition and post-merger integration of Rogge, a global fixed income asset manager, into AGI. Fritsch joined Allianz in 2009. He holds multiple advanced degrees in the areas of business administration, eTechnical engineering, computer science, economics, political science and government.  

NEXT: Industry Vet Returns to SSGA to Lead DC Business

Pinnacle Acquires TPA

Pinnacle Plan Design announced that it has acquired Kollman & Associates, a local third-party administration and actuarial consulting firm. The company brings employer-sponsored retirement plan expertise to the team and will continue to serve current clients. With the addition of Kollman, Pinnacle now has four enrolled actuaries and 23 professionals on staff to design and administer customized 401(k), profit sharing plans and defined benefit (DB) plans.

"As a Baby Boomer, I see people in my generation aging, experiencing health issues and moving on to a different life," says Barbara A. Kollman. "Although I do not foresee an interruption in the services I am able to provide, it is a concern to me as to what would happen to my clients' retirement plans in the event I was unable to continue providing on-going services, even if the disruption in service was for a short period of time. Therefore, I have decided to join a larger pension company that has an excellent reputation and together we will provide full administration and actuarial services to my clients."

Amanda Iverson, CEO at Pinnacle Plan Design adds: "Barb is a very well-respected member of the retirement plan industry and the Phoenix community. We are very excited to welcome her and her clients to the Pinnacle family as we continue to expand our footprint in the Valley."

NEXT: T. Rowe Price Expands DCIO Business

T. Rowe Price Expands DCIO Business

Heidi (Walsh) Delauter and Victoria Fung are now senior defined contribution plan specialists with the North American Global Investment Services division of T. Rowe Price. Delauter will be based in Baltimore and support clients in the northeast; meanwhile, Fung will be based in San Francisco and support clients across the western U.S. 

Delauter rejoins T. Rowe Price from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where she served most recently as executive director and client adviser in the firm’s defined contribution institutional group. Prior to her time at J. P. Morgan, she spent 15 years at T. Rowe Price, where her roles included vice president and director of consultant and adviser relations for the firm’s retirement plan services division. Delauter holds an undergraduate degree from Hood College and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland.

Fung comes to T. Rowe Price from BlackRock, where she was vice president and senior account manager of institutional sales within the firm’s defined contribution retirement group. Prior to her time at BlackRock, Fung worked with Fisher Investments where she was a client account coordinator and account executive. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

T. Rowe Price’s Global Investment Services division offers investment management services to institutional investors and financial intermediaries around the world.

“T. Rowe Price’s DCIO business is a significant priority for the firm,” says Michael Davis, head of defined contribution plan specialists for GIS. “Heidi and Victoria are great additions to our outstanding team of institutional defined contribution plan specialists, who channel the firm’s global defined contribution expertise to work with our clients in a strategic, solutions-oriented manner. We are excited to welcome them to T. Rowe Price, and in Heidi’s case, to welcome her back.”