Corporate Roundup: FINRA Appoints Public Governor, Lincoln Financial Taps CTO
FINRA Appoints Public Governor
FINRA has appointed Stephen Luparello as a public governor on its Board of Governors.
“Steve’s deep understanding of securities regulation and markets, combined with his experience across the public and private sectors, will be invaluable as the Board continues to help FINRA advance its mission of protecting investors and safeguarding market integrity,” said FINRA Board Chair Scott Curtis.
“The Board of Governors plays a crucial role in helping FINRA continuously enhance our effectiveness and efficiency in pursuing our mission,” said FINRA CEO Robert Cook. “I extend my congratulations to Steve, and look forward to his input in helping us move FINRA forward.”
Luparello most recently served as managing director and general counsel of Citadel Securities from 2017 until his retirement in 2022. He was director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Trading & Markets from 2014 to 2017, where he oversaw policy related to secondary markets and intermediaries.
Prior to the SEC, Luparello was a partner at WilmerHale, specializing in broker-dealer compliance and regulation, securities litigation and enforcement. He previously spent 16 years at FINRA, and its predecessor, the National Association of Securities Dealers. While at FINRA, Luparello held senior regulatory positions, including as vice chairman responsible for FINRA’s examination, enforcement, market regulation, international and disclosure programs. Luparello also served as chief of staff to then-Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro from 1994 to 1996.
He currently serves as a public director and chairman of the Options Clearing Corporation’s Board of Directors. Luparello is also an independent director on the Board of Bloomberg Swap Execution Facility. He has also served on the board of The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation.
FINRA is overseen by a 22-member Board of Governors, with the majority or 12 seats designated for public members, 10 seats designated for industry members and one seat reserved for FINRA’s CEO. Public governors are appointed by the Board from candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee. They must have no material business relationship with a broker-dealer or a self-regulatory organization. FINRA Governors are appointed or elected to three-year terms and may not serve more than two consecutive terms.
Lincoln Financial Taps CTO
Lincoln Financial has named Tom Anfuso as senior vice president and chief technology officer of the organization.
Anfuso will provide direction and vision for IT infrastructure at Lincoln, with a focus on anticipating and responding to current and evolving business needs, opportunities and trends. He will report directly to Jennifer Charters, executive vice president, chief information officer, and will be a member of the company’s Corporate Leadership Group.
Prior to joining Lincoln, Anfuso served as managing director and chief technology officer at JPMorgan Chase, where he led the technology integration of acquired companies in Chase’s Connected Commerce line of business. He brings more than 30 years of deep technology and engineering experience to the role.
“At Lincoln Financial, we are investing in technology to drive innovation, unlock new growth opportunities and power the next chapter of our transformation,” said Charters. “With a strategic leader like Tom, we are well-positioned to accelerate this journey and deliver even greater impact for our customers and employees.”
NAPA Launches 401(k) Managed Accounts Certificate Program
The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) on Wednesday announced the launch of its new 401(k) Managed Accounts Certificate program.
The certificate program is aimed at empowering plan advisors with the knowledge and tools to evaluate, implement, and manage managed account programs within employer-sponsored retirement plans.
The course covers fiduciary and operational considerations to help advisors strengthen service models, stay competitive, and deliver greater value to clients.
What Plan Advisors Learn:
- Grasp key terminology, fiduciary roles, and the evolution of managed account programs.
- Establish a prudent process for selecting, monitoring, and replacing managed account providers, including fee benchmarking.
- Operationalize managed account programs within their practice, including both proprietary and third-party solutions.
- Navigate plan transitions effectively while identifying opportunities to integrate managed accounts into broader business strategies.
- Update core documentation and develop targeted communication strategies for plan sponsors and participants.
More information on the program can be found here.
Hightower Acquires $2B Smith Anglin
Hightower has made a strategic investment in Smith Anglin, a financial planning and wealth management practice based in Dallas, Texas, with approximately $2 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Founded in 1967, the 34-person Smith Anglin team provides an integrated retirement preparedness and tax preparation experience for the aviation industry.
“We are really excited to welcome the team at Smith Anglin to Hightower,” said Hightower Chairman and CEO Bob Oros. “The storied organization has built a distinct business model and client focus, with deep experience serving the airline industry, and has demonstrated impressive organic growth over the last few years. We’re looking forward to helping them accelerate their growth as a respected aviation brand in the wealth management space.”
Smith Anglin marks the second strategic investment for Hightower in 2025. With a range of value-added services, including a national in-house trust company, business owner specialty services and inorganic growth support, Hightower provides its advisors the resources to better align with client needs and offers the next phase of growth and support for their practices.
“Our focus has always been on delivering wealth management for life, and our advisors work diligently to help our clients achieve their goals, dreams, and financial security,” said Steve Anglin, partner at Smith Anglin. “We’re really excited to be able to take advantage of Hightower’s resources, including its integrated tech stack and value-added services, which will allow us to continue to grow our business and help deliver on our mission to secure the financial well-being of our clients over the course of their lives.”
In the transaction, Smith Anglin was advised by Berkshire Global Advisors LP and Scheef & Stone, LLP, provided legal counsel. For Hightower, Polsinelli PC provided legal counsel.
The nationwide Hightower advisor community now comprises 140 advisory businesses in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Hightower offers business development consulting, leadership and team development, talent acquisition, marketing support, technology, investment management resources, compliance, accounting, payroll, and human resources.
Summit Acquires Parsons Broach
Summit Financial is acquiring Parsons Broach Financial Services.
Summit made the strategic investment through its partnership model, Summit Growth Partners. Since early 2024, Summit has invested in 26 firms.
“For over 40 years, we’ve championed advisors who embrace independence as a better way to serve clients and take ownership of their life’s work,” said Stan Gregor, Chairman and CEO Summit Financial Holdings. “We’re thrilled to bring such high-quality advisors as Todd Parsons and Robbie Broach into the Summit family. They serve values-driven clients who wish to grow, protect, and use their wealth meaningfully.”
Established in 2011, Parsons Broach is led by founding partners and wealth advisors Todd Parsons and Robbie Broach, CFP, CPFA. The Montgomery, AL, firm manages more than $250 million in assets and offers financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, estate planning, risk management, and charitable giving strategies.
“Joining Summit is a strategic move that enables us to offer even more resources, technology, and support to enhance the level of service we provide our clients,” said Broach. “We’re now better positioned to drive strong, sustainable growth while keeping our focus exactly where it belongs – on our valued clients.”
Congruent Solutions Partners with Finch on Benefits Integration
Congruent Solutions, a specialist technology partner to the U.S. retirement industry, announced its partnership with Finch, a platform that integrates HR, payroll, and benefits to HRIS and payroll systems.
Through this partnership, Congruent’s customers can access Finch’s suite of integration capabilities, including automatically importing company census and pay data to the CORE platform and writing deductions and contributions back to the sponsor’s payroll system.
This access is said to help plan providers and sponsors reduce manual processes, improve data accuracy, and deliver more timely and personalized retirement plan services to their participants.
“This partnership underscores our commitment to innovation and customer-centricity,” said Balaraman Jayaraman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Congruent Solutions. “By integrating Finch into our CORE platform, we are simplifying data connectivity, streamlining operations, and enabling our clients to focus on what matters most — delivering superior participant experiences.”
“Congruent Solutions is reimagining how the retirement industry operates through its API-first CORE platform,” said Jeremy Zhang, CEO and co-founder of Finch. “We’re thrilled to power this transformation by enabling automated, secure access to employment data, reducing manual effort and boosting operational efficiency across the board.”
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