Starting out the month of May, Franklin Templeton increases its alternatives distribution team with two new hires, Strongpoint Partners announces a new partnership with Retirement Planners and Administrators (RPA), and The Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) honors winners in the signature awards and lifetime achievement categories.
Franklin Templeton expands alternatives distribution team
Franklin Templeton has appointed Candice Kemeny as senior vice president, national account manager of alternatives, and Jared Abert as director of alternative investments for the midwest region of the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) & Bank Trust channel.
In their new roles within Franklin Templeton’s U.S. Wealth Management alternatives distribution team, Kemeny and Albert will serve as key liaisons with clients to increase the adoption of comprehensive alternative investment solutions within the U.S. market. Kemeny joined the firm at the end of March, and Abert joined in May. Both are based in Chicago.
“We believe the benefits from diversification, income and risk management that private markets and alternative investments can add to a portfolio are becoming increasingly important, especially against the backdrop of current market conditions,” said Jeff Masom, Hhead of U.S. distribution for Franklin Templeton, in a statement. “We are pleased to have Candice and Jared join our distribution team as we continue to expand the roster of talent to support our dedicated Alternatives by Franklin Templeton platform. Their work will help to further our reach and introduce an even wider audience of U.S. advisors and investors to Franklin Templeton’s specialist investment managers and their deep expertise across alternative investments.”
Kemeny will report to Dave Donahoo, co-head of U.S. wealth management alternatives, and Abert will report to Rick Stravato, director, alternative investments, who leads the RIA and Bank Trust channel and also covers the Northeast region.
Kemeny has more than 18 years of financial services experience, most recently serving as senior vice president, national account manager and international business development at LaSalle Investment Management, where she was responsible for developing the firm’s strategic national account relationships. Prior to that, she worked as a business development specialist at Invesco.
Abert has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry, joining from Goldman Sachs as a vice president where he served in a variety of roles including RIA business development, structured products and asset management. Prior to that, he worked with Apex Oil Company as a commodity trading advisor (CTA). He is a chartered financial analyst (CFA) and chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA) charterholder.
Strongpoint announces collab with RPA
Strongpoint Partners is affiliating with Retirement Planners and Administrators, a retirement third-party administrator (TPA) headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia.
The partnership with RPA comes on the heels of Strongpoint’s recently announced partnership with Retirement Strategies Group, an independent, TPA firm headquartered in New Orleans
Founded in 1969 by Hans Banziger, RPA provides retirement plan compliance administration and open-architecture valuation daily recordkeeping. With the addition of RPA, Strongpoint now has over 3,200 plans under administration, serves clients in more than 35 states, and manages more than $6 billion in total assets under administration.
PSCA announces lifetime achievement honor and signature awards
The Plan Sponsor Council of America announced its winners for the 2023 signature awards and honored industry veteran Annette Grabow in its lifetime achievement category, during its national conference on May 4.
Winners of PSCA’s lifetime achievement award are nominated by PSCA members and then voted on by the PSCA leadership committee.
Grabow is the retirement plan manager for Sonepar USA. She received separate nominations from three PSCA members who have worked with her throughout the years.
Tony Verheyen, former PSCA executive director shared, “In the past 30 years, Annette has done more than anyone associated with defined contribution plans to showcase plan sponsor commitment to helping employees become retirement ready through leading-edge and time-tested workplace education and communication strategies.” This commitment to education and communication has garnered Ms. Grabow approximately 70 industry awards including multiple PSCA Signature Awards, P&I Eddy awards and Plan Sponsor Magazine’s Plan Sponsor of the Year Award, among others.
The signature award program recognizes exemplary plan education with an emphasis on creatively targeting education to an employer’s workforce, resulting in tangible positive outcomes. A panel of 23 business leaders evaluated and selected the winners of the 2023 Signature Awards from 66 entries in eight key categories. The 2023 signature award winners are:
Conversions
- 1st Place – Acrisure with Principal Financial Group
- 2nd Place – Duquesne University with TIAA
- 3rd Place – Nestlé with Financial Finesse
Emphasizing Diversity and Inclusion
- 1st Place – ADP TotalSource with Voya Financial
- 2nd Place – Fidelity National Financial with Principal Financial Group
Events and Workshops
- 1st Place – Edward Jones with Empower
- 2nd Place – City and County of San Francisco with Voya Financial
- 3rd Place – Rolex Watch U.S.A. with Principal Financial Group
Financial Wellness
- 1st Place – L’Oréal USA, Inc. (SalonCentric) with T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services
- 2nd Place – Medical College of Wisconsin with Transamerica
- 3rd Place – Muncie Power Products with OneAmerica
Investment Education
- 1st Place – Dell Technologies with Fidelity Investments
Overcoming Obstacles
- 1st Place – Sonepar USA with Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services
- 2nd Place – Trek with Transamerica
- 3rd Place – Schneider National, Inc. with Principal Financial Group
Plan Changes
- 1st Place – University of Pittsburgh with TIAA
- 2nd Place – UPS with Voya Financial
- 3rd Place – Northern Arizona Healthcare with Transamerica
- 1st Place – Muncie Power Products with OneAmerica
- 2nd Place – Ryan Specialty
- 3rd Place (tie) – Highgate Hotels with Principal Financial Group
- 3rd Place – Uline with Principal Financial Group
More detailed information about these campaigns can be found in the summer 2023 issue of PSCA’s Defined Contribution Insights magazine and on www.psca.org.
SEE ALSO:
- Corporate Roundup: Generations Retirement Group Opens Mass. Location; Milliman Moves
- Corporate Roundup: OneAmerica Joins Retirement Advisor Council, Industry Hires
- Corporate Roundup: TIAA and RCH Consortium, Upwise and Savi Collaboration
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with over six years of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. Amanda received her degree in journalism and government and politics at St. John’s University. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado with her partner. In her free time, Amanda enjoys running, cooking, and watching the latest drama show.