Deals and People December 21, 2018

Retirement Industry People Moves

DWS Group adds portfolio management head; CBIZ purchases Sequoia business unit; Eagle Asset Management names managing director; and more. 

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Art by Subin Yang
Art by Subin Yang

Art by Subin Yang

DWS Group Adds Portfolio Management Head

Dokyoung (Dok) Lee has joined the DWS Group as the head of portfolio management for the U.S. multi-asset and solutions group. Based in New York, Lee reports to Mark Roberts, co-head of multi-asset and solutions and head of research and strategy for alternatives. In the newly created position, Lee oversees the U.S.-based team of portfolio managers for DWS’s multi-asset funds.

“We have seen increasing demand from clients for customized solutions that link our active, index investing and alternatives capabilities,” Roberts explains.

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Prior to joining DWS, Lee co-managed a group funds at the global multi-asset group at Oppenheimer Funds. Earlier in his career, he has also held a series of positions at AllianceBernstein, leading research efforts in strategic asset allocation and serving as an equity portfolio manager across value strategies in emerging markets, Japanese and U.S. equities. 

CBIZ Purchases Sequoia Business Unit

CBIZ Inc. has acquired Sequoia Institutional Services (SIS), a business unit of Sequoia Financial Group LLC, effective December 1.

Founded in 2010 and based in Akron, Ohio, SIS provides retirement plan investment advisory services.

Jerry Grisko, president and CEO of CBIZ, says the addition of SIS to the existing team of retirement plan specialists will allow the firm to provide clients with a broader array of services backed by a larger team. 

Eagle Asset Management Names Managing Director

Eagle Asset Management has added James Camp as managing director of strategic income. Camp will also continue as managing director of fixed income, and his new title reflects an added focus on expanding the offering of specialized income products to meet the needs of investors. 

Camp has 29 years of industry experience with the majority spent at Eagle Asset Management. His current role includes portfolio manager of the Strategic Income Portfolio (SIP), a risk-focused investment program designed to seek stable and growing income as well as the potential for capital appreciation. Additionally, Camp is portfolio manager of the Vertical Income Portfolio (VIP), which aims to maximize an investor’s yield potential by using a capital-structure agnostic approach.

Ascensus Acquires TPA Firms for Solutions Division

Ascensus has entered into an agreement to acquire Moran Knobel and its subsidiary Means & Associates. The third-party administration (TPA) firms will immediately become part of Ascensus’ TPA Solutions Division.   

Based in Bellevue, Washington, Moran Knobel provides retirement plan consulting and administration services for safe harbor 401(k), profit sharing, cash balance, defined benefit (DB), 403(b), and all other Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-qualified plans. The firm also offers consulting and administration services for nonqualified and expatriate plans.

“Moran Knobel holds the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) seal of excellence for third-party administrators, as certified by the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence LLC (CEFEX),” states Jerry Bramlett, head of TPA Solutions. 

Raghav Nandagopal, Ascensus’ executive vice president of corporate development and acquisitions, says the firm is focused on expanding its footprint in the West and Pacific Northwest.

PenChecks Reveals Management Team Changes

PenChecks Inc., parent company to PenChecks Trust, has announced two changes to its management team. Spiro Preovolos, a member of the PenChecks team for 17 years, has been promoted to president. Bryan Pruden, a former senior executive for Intel Corporation, SAIC and Celergy Networks, has been hired to serve as the company’s new COO.

Preovolos, who most recently was vice president of strategic development for PenChecks, will now oversee the information technology, product management and sales and marketing functions in his new role as president. His responsibilities will also include cultivating strategic partnerships that can enhance the company’s product and service offerings.

As COO, Pruden will oversee the company’s day-to-day operations, as well as the finance, client services and human resources functions. He will also be responsible for ensuring that PenChecks continues to deliver quality services. Pruden will also lead the company’s increased focus on growth through targeted mergers and acquisitions.

To complete the management transition, company founder Peter Preovolos is stepping out of the role of president while maintaining his status as chairman and CEO. He will now focus on the future direction of the company and mentoring the next generation of management.

Benefits December 21, 2018

HDHP Enrollees More Engaged With Their Health Plan

They also have many characteristics equated with greater financial stability than those not in a HDHP.

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The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald & Associates have released their findings on the impact of high deductible health plans (HDHP) on the behavior and attitudes of health care consumers. The findings show that consumers of HDHP are more engaged with their plan than those not in a HDHP, and that they have many characteristics equated with greater financial stability.

For instance, they have higher incomes and education than those enrolled in more traditional health coverage. Nearly 30% of those in a HDHP had a household income of $150,000 or more, compared to 17% of enrollees in more traditional health coverage. Forty-five percent of HDHP enrollees have a college degree and another 27% have a graduate degree. They are also more likely to report being in very good health.

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Thirty-nine percent of those in a HDHP sought out cost information in the past two years before receiving care. This is true for only 25% of those in a traditional health care plan.

Fifty-five percent of those in a HDHP have checked whether the plan would cover care or medication. This is true for only 41% of those in a traditional plan. They are also more likely to have checked the quality rating of a doctor or hospital before receiving care (41% versus 32%), to have asked for a generic drug instead of a brand name (41% versus 32%) and to have talked to their doctor about prescription options and costs (37% versus 31%).

Furthermore, they are more likely to have asked their doctor about less costly prescriptions (31% versus 22%), to have used an online cost-tracking tool provided by the health plan (25% versus 14%) or to have developed a health care budget (25% versus 14%).

One-third of HPDP enrollees delayed health care in the past year because of cost. This is true for only 18% of those in a traditional plan. They are also more likely to have participated in a wellness program. HDHP enrollees are more likely to report that their employer offered biometric screenings, financial wellness resources and reimbursement for all or part of fitness club memberships. However, they are less likely to report that they do not have any financial concerns.

EBRI and Greenwald & Associates defined HDHPs as those plans with deductibles of at least $1,350 for individuals and at least $2,700 for family coverage. They say that the percentage of individuals enrolled in such plans increased by 17.4% in 2007 to 46% in 2018. And nearly half of those in a HDHP are in a plan paired with either a health savings account (HSA) or health reimbursement arrangement (HRA).

EBRI and Greenwald & Associates’ findings are based on an online survey conducted by Ipsos among 2,010 privately insured adults between the ages on 24 and 61. Of these participants, 1,235 were in a HDHP and 775 in a more traditional health plan.

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