Last week, I asked NEWSDash readers, “If age is only a state of mind, in what range is your mental age right now?” I also asked if this has changed from a year ago.
Nearly half (45.4%) of responding readers work in a plan sponsor role, 18.2% are recordkeepers/TPAs/investment consultants and 36.4% are advisers/consultants.
No responding readers said they feel like teenagers. More than one-quarter each selected the 30 to 39 and 60 to 69 age ranges. The ranges of 40 to 49 and 50 to 59 were each chosen by 17.6% of responding readers. And fewer selected 20 to 29 (8.8%) and 70 to 79 (2.9%).
Most respondents (58.8%) indicated that their mental age range has not changed since last year at this time, while 41.2% said it has.
Explanations for why they feel the age they do and tips for feeling younger were among the responses of the readers who left comments. Some lament the physical ability that matches their “mental age.” I appreciate the amusing comments such as “My wife tells me I’m stuck at 13, so I appreciate this opportunity to say otherwise.” Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who feels as I do: “I think I have mentally aged more in the last 3-4 months than I have in decades.”
A big thank you to all who participated in our survey.
Verbatim
One could say that, but can you please tell my body that!
I think I have mentally aged more in the last 3-4 months than I have in decades.
Working from home is rejuvenating. It’s help me feel more control of my time.
One size fits all, a concept we often use to try to explain things which cannot be done
TIRED!!!
My wife tells me I’m stuck at 13, so I appreciate this opportunity to say otherwise.
There are a couple of things I still have to come to terms with: my actual age and the betrayal of the physical body. I should have invested in wrinkle cream!
At 75 I’m happy to have a state of mind!
A positive outlook and a growth mindset is what drives the state of mind
It seems that everyone except me is getting older.
I’m in a new romantic relationship that has me feeling younger, with more energy. Pretty good in the middle of a pandemic!
Feel retired due to all my responsibilities kind of falling by the wayside since I am unable to do anything and have been building and saving my nest egg…since again, can’t do anything! 🙂
This was tough to answer. I feel younger than I am, but I am so looking forward to retirement that maybe I should be responding that my state of mind is older than I really am.
The insight of getting older but not necessarily feeling older, I never could have understood that in my 20’s. “I may be getting older but I refuse to grow up” 🙂
I am 59 and can taste those sweet retirement benefits on the horizon, so my mental age is older than I actually am, b/c I am looking forward to retiring! Can’t come soon enough for me!
My actual age is about 10 more years compared to my mental age. As I get closer to retirement, I think my mental age has advanced more quickly as I contemplate such a large life change.
Don’t look in the mirror – it will tell you something different 🙂
My chrono age is 45 but I believe that mental age is crucial to a long life. I try to exercise, learn new things all the time and keep up with current cultural happenings. I approach life with vigor and excitement of someone 10-20 years younger than myself, while keeping the levelheadedness and responsibility of someone my age. Life is to be lived and savored until the day you die—I regret nothing (not even dancing on tables!)
NOTE: Responses reflect the opinions of individual readers and not necessarily the stance of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) or its affiliates.
ISS ESG, the responsible investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), has appointed Bonnie Saynay to lead Global ESG research. She will be based in New York and report to ESG business head, Marija Kramer.
Saynay will assume responsibility for ISS’ ESG data strategy and research across the globe. In this new role, Saynay will lead teams tasked with evaluating ESG market standards and evolving ESG frameworks. She will also oversee and provide strategic guidance on the procurement and delivery of global ESG data underlying a variety of both existing as well as new ISS ESG research offerings.
“We are collectively delighted to have someone of Bonnie’s caliber joining the business as momentum towards ESG integration accelerates and institutions look to ISS ESG as the gold-standard in sustainability research, ratings and data,” Kramer says. “She and the entire global research and data team are deeply committed to delivering unrivaled solutions and services to our clients and I look forward to working with her in furtherance of this core objective.”
Saynay is the founder of Global ESG Advisors and former global head of Responsible Investment at Invesco Ltd.
“It’s an honor to join ISS ESG, a globally recognized leader in ESG offerings whose clients enjoy access to an unrivaled and highly talented ESG analyst team of nearly 200 spread across global financial centers,” Saynay says. “Our core mission will be to deliver differentiated bespoke data and research and superior investment information tools leveraging frontier technologies to meet the institutional investor community’s growing focus on sustainability and impact solutions.”
Newport Group Acquires PAi and Affiliate Company
Newport Group Inc. (Newport) will acquire Plan Administrators Inc. (PAi) and its affiliate PAi Trust Company Inc. (PAi Trust).
This transaction is anticipated to close within 90 to 120 days, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. At that time, PAi and PAi Trust will operate as wholly owned subsidiaries of Newport. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The team at PAi has produced some industry leading innovations such as CoPilot, an affordable and accessible retirement plan solution for small employers. We believe that joining forces with a provider like Newport will create an opportunity for a larger pool of customers and partners while adding other services Newport provides,” says Michael Kiley, PAi president and chief executive officer. “In addition, Newport shares our commitment to providing exceptional service, and we are excited for the opportunities this transaction will offer our clients and employees alike.”
“PAi has carved out a unique niche in our industry by providing small businesses with best-in-class retirement plans,” said Newport Chief Executive Officer Greg Tschider. “We look forward to providing these clients with additional offerings and welcoming the PAi team to Newport.”
BNY Mellon Announces New CEO of Investment Management
Mitchell Harris, CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management has announced his retirement effective as of October 1.
BNY Mellon has appointed Hanneke Smits as CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management, and Catherine Keating will continue in her role as CEO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Both Smits and Keating will report to Todd Gibbons, CEO of BNY Mellon, and Smits will join BNY Mellon’s Executive Committee.
Smits has been CEO of Newton Investment Management, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., since August 2016. Her career spans close to three decades in financial services, including serving as a member of the executive committee at private equity firm Adams Street Partners from 2001 to 2014, and chief investment officer from 2008 to 2014. Smits is a non-executive director to the Court of the Bank of England and serves on the board of the Investment Association. She is chair of Impetus, a venture philanthropy organization that supports charities that aim to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people, and, as part of this appointment, she is Trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation, founded in 2011 by The Sutton Trust in partnership with Impetus. She is co-founder and former chair of Level 20, a not-for-profit organization set up in 2015 to inspire women to join and succeed in the private equity industry.
Smits will continue as CEO of Newton until October 1. A search is currently underway for her replacement.
Originally from the Netherlands, Smits has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Nijenrode University and a master’s degree from the London Business School.
R&M Adds Actuarial Professionals to Denver Region
River and Mercantile (R&M) has added three actuarial professionals to the firm’s Denver office: Craig Pedersen, Andrew Lape and Caytee Sellers.
“Bringing these three professionals on board is an instrumental step in allowing River and Mercantile to continue making strides in market expansion here in Denver and the intermountain West,” says Michael Clark, managing director at River and Mercantile, who is also based in Denver and leads the firm’s business in the West. Pedersen joins River and Mercantile as independent consulting actuary. In his role, he is focused in areas involving retiree medical plans, defined benefit (DB) plans and other post-employment benefit plans. He has worked with many clients to help them understand and manage their post-employment benefits, financial requirements and the needs of their current, future and former employees. His previous experience includes actuarial consulting work at Philadelphia American Life Insurance Company, Towers Perrin, Mercer, Chicago Consulting Actuaries, Watson Wyatt, Towers Watson and Willis Towers Watson. Additionally, Pedersen serves as an adjunct instructor with the Colorado Community College System. He is an associate of the Society of Actuaries and an enrolled actuary. Lape will be an associate director and consulting actuary, responsible for consulting with clients on their day-to-day retirement benefit needs including DB pension plans, supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs) and retiree medical plans. He also consults on clients’ plan design, administration, risk transfer opportunities, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and overall risk management. Lape joined River and Mercantile earlier this year from Willis Towers Watson, where he provided consulting services to retirement plans across multiple industries, including international organizations, and of various sizes. He is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and an enrolled actuary as well. Sellers joins R&M as a senior actuarial analyst. Sellers provides support in funding and accounting valuations for pension, SERP and retiree medical plans, along with preparation of benefit statements, government form filings and other plan administration. She also assists with pension risk transfers (PRTs) and other special projects. Sellers joined River and Mercantile from Willis Towers Watson, where she assisted in multiple actuarial projects for mid- to large U.S. and international corporations. She has experience in data clean-up, pension risk transfers and overall plan administration. Sellers is an associate of the Society of Actuaries.
Alight Appoints Chief Customer Experience Officer
Alight Solutions, provider of human capital and business solutions, announced Cesar Jelvez has been named chief customer experience officer (CXO). In this newly created role, Jelvez will lead Alight’s customer experience and delivery organization and will be responsible for creating a world-class, end-to-end experience for the more than 30 million people around the world whom Alight serves.
“This global pandemic has accelerated the future of the workforce at a breakneck speed and our ability to create a meaningful experience that addresses the needs of our clients’ employees is a differentiator. Cesar and his team will be instrumental in shaping that complete, omnichannel experience, backed by data, insights and the latest tools and technologies, to help our clients stand out as employers of choice,” says Stephan Scholl, CEO of Alight.
Jelvez brings decades of experience in helping large, complex organizations transform through digital capabilities. His leadership background spans transformation consulting services for both SaaS ERP [enterprise resource planning] and non-ERP solutions, in addition to business process outsourcing, infrastructure, data and analytics and cybersecurity. Over the last 22 years, he has served in a variety of executive and strategic consulting positions at top global services and software firms, including as global leader of strategic programs and global delivery services at Infor and vice president of digital enterprise application services at DXC Technology.
