USI Consulting Brings on DB Pension Exit Experts

The retirement consultancy brings on actuarial expertise with acquisition of Hooker & Holcombe.

USI Consulting Group, a retirement plan consulting and benefits administration firm, has acquired Hooker & Holcombe Inc. an actuarial, investment advisory and retirement plan consultancy, the Glastonbury, Connecticut-based USI announced Monday.

USI will bring on Hooker & Holcombe’s team of 68 employees, including the executive team led by Richard S. Sych. Bloomfield, Connecticut-based Hooker & Holcombe provides actuarial services, including winding down defined benefit pension plans, as well as 401(k) and 403(b) plan design, consulting, and participant education and engagement.

“For more than 67 years, through the expertise of our dedicated and knowledgeable professionals, H&H has built a strong reputation for delivering effective retirement plan solutions that exceed client expectations,” Sych, Hooker & Holcombe’s president, said in a statement. “We look forward to advancing this longstanding tradition of service excellence through our partnership with USI Consulting Group.”

The companies did not disclose terms of the deal; retirement M&A consultancy Wise Rhino Group represented Hooker & Holcombe in the transaction.

“Hooker & Holcombe has been one of the most well-respected names in actuarial and retirement services for many years,” Peter Campagna, a partner at Wise Rhino Group, said in a statement. “Partnering with a dynamic, growing and diversified firm like USI gives the H&H team an expanded base of resources and tools to take their already outstanding service to another level. These two firms are a terrific match and have a very bright future together.”

USI offers plan advice, consulting and administrative services to retirement plan sponsor clients and participants through 600 retirement advisers, according to its website. The firm currently has more than 3,800 retirement plan clients representing $33 billion in assets under advisement.

“We are thrilled to welcome the talented professionals from H&H to the USI family and look forward to strengthening USI’s retirement consulting expertise throughout the country,” Bill Tremko, CEO and president of USI, said in a statement.

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