Deals and People June 2, 2017

Retirement Industry People Moves

VMS selects Ascensus as recordkeeper; KeyBank to acquire Morningstar’s HelloWallet; Natixis adds retirement exec to support TDFs; and more.
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Great-West Investments Expands Leadership Team

Great-West Investments has appointed Robert G. Capone as its senior vice president of sales. Jeremy Hersch, CFA, has been appointed as the firm’s vice president of participant advisory services. Both individuals joined the organization May 30.

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Capone most recently served as managing director, head of defined contribution and sub advisory, at AQR Capital Management. Beforehand, he spent eight years at BNY Mellon Investment Management leading its defined contribution and sub-advisory businesses. In both roles, he built new business models. He also spent 10 years at Putnam Investments in a variety of retirement business leadership positions including managing director, participant services. He has a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and an master’s degree from Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business Administration.

Prior to joining Great-West Investments, Hersch served as head of advice, portfolio and planning services for Transamerica in Harrison, New York. There, he created and led a product management team for the institutional retirement plan market. He had direct oversight for managed account, advice services and custom model portfolio solutions as well as retirement planning tools. The Princeton University alumn also worked at financial advisory firm Trinsum Group in New York City, where he helped create a new managed account offering.

“As a firm that is committed to providing innovative investment products and services, Great-West Investments is taking the next step forward with talented new leaders who bring an experienced hand and fresh perspective to the needs of our clients,” says David L. Musto, president of Great-West Investments. “Our goals are to expand the reach of our products and services and to enhance their value to retirement investors. We’re confident Rob and Jeremy will help us reach these objectives.”

NEXT: VMS Selects Ascensus as Recordkeeper

VMS Selects Ascensus as Recordkeeper  

Vertical Management Systems (VMS) has selected Ascensus as the preferred recordkeeper for plan sponsors on the Retirement Revolution platform.

VMS says it chose Ascensus to be its preferred service provider due to its close working relationship and a shared commitment to the small 401(k) market. In addition, VMS will no longer service plans internally. It will focus on development of the Retirement Revolution platform, as well as its process-and-control and data-aggregation products.

“Ascensus was a natural choice for us because they have been using our process-and-control and data aggregation technology—the backbone of Retirement Revolution—since 2009,” says Kevin Rafferty, president and CEO at VMS. “By leveraging their existing infrastructure, Ascensus is well-suited to provide a seamless transition for the plan sponsors on our platform.”

NEXT: KeyBank to Acquire Morningstar's HelloWallet

KeyBank to Acquire Morningstar’s HelloWallet

Morningstar announced that KeyBank will be acquiring its finance software HelloWallet following customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Approximately 36 HelloWallet employees will join KeyBank. The employee teams will continue to be based in Washington, D.C., and Chicago.

HelloWallet runs finance software designed to help users improve their financial wellness. It offers an array of digital tools that provide user-friendly insights which KeyBank then combines with personalized guidance from bankers to help clients improve their financial wellness.

Through an exclusive relationship established in 2015, KeyBank became the only banking institution providing access to HelloWallet's personal finance platform. Morningstar notes that since then, hundreds of thousands of clients have utilized the program.

KeyBank proprietary research shows using HelloWallet's digital tools also boosted clients' financial confidence. Those who moved on to regular financial wellness reviews with their personal bankers stated they found high value in these services.

"KeyBank is transforming our clients' banking experience by embedding financial wellness into every interaction, whether digitally, at the branch, or via telephone,” says Dennis Devine, co-president, KeyBank Community Bank and head of Key Consumer and Business Banking segment. “We are committed to keeping our clients' financial wellness at the core of our relationship with them.”

"The decision to sell HelloWallet aligns with both Morningstar's and KeyBank's long-term strategy," says Brock Johnson, who heads up Morningstar's global retirement and workplace business. “Morningstar has significantly enhanced its overall capability set since the acquisition of HelloWallet more than three years ago and we will continue to incorporate many of the financial wellness best practices into our broad-based solutions. As HelloWallet's largest customer, KeyBank was HelloWallet's single greatest source of new users and this agreement allows them to advance their mission even further."

NEXT: Janus Capital Completes Merger

Janus Capital Completes Merger

Janus Capital Group and Henderson Group announced the completion of an all-stock merger of equals to form Janus Henderson Group. Janus Henderson lists its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “JHG.”

“At our core, Janus Henderson is focused on delivering for our clients,” says Andrew Formica, Janus Henderson’s co-chief executive officer. “Our work together since announcement has reinforced our shared culture and aligned business goals. The breadth and depth of investment professionals and the broad array of talented colleagues gives us an enviable position to meet our clients’ needs.”

Dick Weil, Janus Henderson’s co-chief executive officer, said: “The combined firm, Janus Henderson, creates a truly global active asset manager that is well-positioned to succeed in the investment marketplace, with expanded product suites, greater financial strength and better talent, benefiting our clients, shareholders and employees.”

NEXT: JPMAM Names Head of U.S. ETF Business

JPMAM Names Head of U.S. ETF Business 

J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) announced that Joanna Gallegos has been named head of its U.S. ETF business, reporting to Mike Camacho, global head of Beta Strategies. 

Gallegos has been instrumental in the firm's U.S. fund launches, which have included 13 product launches with more than $1 billion in assets under management. She joined the firm in 2013 as head of ETF Product Development, having previously worked at BlackRock iShares for 14 years, where she held a number of leadership positions, including managing director in the Strategic Product Initiatives Group. 

Gallegos succeeds Bob Deutsch in this role, who announced his retirement earlier this year.  She will also assume Deutsch's role as president of the U.S. ETF complex. Deutsch will continue in his role as chairman of JPM's ETF Board.

NEXT: Natixis Adds Retirement Exec to Support TDFs

Natixis Adds Retirement Exec to Support TDFs  

Natixis Global Asset Management has appointed Marla Skeffington to vice president of Retirement Strategies. Skeffington joins the firm from T. Rowe Price where she served as head of Client Services, U.S. Intermediaries. Previously, she worked for Western Asset Management as an Institutional Sales Executive.

In this newly created position, Skeffington will be responsible for business development for the Natixis Sustainable Future Funds, the recently launched target-date funds offered by Natixis, and supporting the firm’s growing defined contribution and personal retirement business efforts.

“We’re thrilled to bring Marla on board to support our ongoing retirement initiatives,” says Ed Farrington, executive vice president of Retirement Strategies at Natixis Global Asset Management. “With the recent launch of the Natixis Sustainable Future Funds, Marla will be instrumental in raising awareness around retirement savings strategies that can help plan participants align their investments with their personal values, and fostering dialogue among plan sponsors and investors looking for these options.”

Skeffington will be based in Boston. She has more than 20 years of investment industry experience, and earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of New Hampshire and her MBA from Suffolk University. She is FINRA Series 7, 63 and 24 licensed.

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