This week in our corporate roundup, Morningstar Wealth announces its new CIO for the Americas, while Empower appoints Morningstar’s former CIO to a newly created role. Also, Goldman Sachs Asset Management names a new lead to head its DC team, and more.
Morningstar Wealth names CIO
Morningstar Wealth has announced the appointment of Philip Straehl to chief investment officer for the Americas.
Straehl first joined the Morningstar Development Program in 2007. As CIO, he is part of a leadership team responsible for $294 billion in assets under management (AUM) and advisement (AUA).
Most recently, Straehl served as chief investment officer for quantitative strategies as part of the Morningstar Investment Management team, where he was responsible for the firm’s systematic strategies and direct indexing capability. Prior to that, he was global head of research for Morningstar Investment Management, managing the research and risk capability for all global investment offerings. Since joining Morningstar, he has served in various other positions including head of capital markets and asset allocation, and a portfolio manager and senior researcher responsible for managing asset allocation portfolios.
Straehl is a member of the Global Investment Committee. His research has been published in the Financial Analysts Journal and Journal of Asset Management and has been featured in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Straehl received a Graham and Dodd Scroll award from the CFA Institute for his research.
Straehl holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), Switzerland and a master’s degree in business administration, with honors, from the University of Chicago – Booth School of Business with concentrations in analytic finance and economics.
Former Morningstar CIO joins Empower
Empower has appointed Marta Norton, CFA, as chief investment strategist.
In this newly created role, Norton will work within the firm’s asset management unit, Empower Investments, to provide macroeconomic and investing commentary, thought leadership and market analysis. She will work closely with business teams to share perspectives with the company’s client base, the financial advisor community and the firm’s investment and client teams. In addition, Norton will provide public commentary on broad trends, economic factors and events impacting markets.
“As Empower broadens its reach to investors, advisors and employers we have the duty to help explain how we see the markets and the macroeconomic trends that are essential to financial decision-making,” said Edmund F. Murphy, III, president and chief executive officer for Empower. “Marta is widely respected and brings the expertise and experience to help Empower’s stakeholders better understand the factors impacting markets.”
Norton will join Empower on June 17 and report to Jonathan Kreider, executive vice president and head of Empower Investments.
“Empower is a mission-oriented company aiming to provide financial freedom for all. I consider it a privilege to join this mission and am inspired by the company’s client-oriented culture,” said Norton. “I look forward to working alongside the broader Empower team as we collectively serve the needs of investors, advisors and employers.”
With more than 20 years of experience in the investment management industry, Marta arrives at Empower from Morningstar, where she most recently served as chief investment officer for the Americas. In this role, she helped oversee more than $57 billion in assets under management and advisement, as of March 31, 2024. She directed strategies aimed at delivering a wide range of investment objectives, from income to capital appreciation.
Norton held a series of senior leadership positions with Morningstar during her 18-year tenure with the firm. Prior to her career with Morningstar, Norton served as a research analyst at LECG, LLC and previously worked for the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C. in support of the agency’s work on the monthly Producer Price Index, among other projects. Norton appears regularly in the media, including the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Bloomberg.
Norton has a degree in economics from Wheaton College in Illinois and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
GSAM appoints DC head
Goldman Sachs Asset & Wealth Management (GSAM) has named Heidi Walsh as managing director in Retirement Solutions, to lead the Defined Contribution (DC) Large Market Institutional Sales team.
In this role, Walsh will focus on building and maintaining client relationships across the largest institutional DC plan sponsors in the industry. She will partner closely with teams across the Client Solutions Group, including the Institutional Client Business, Liquidity Solutions and Consultant Relations, as well as the firm’s personal advice and guidance solutions, and DC product and investing teams.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Walsh was a senior sales director within the Global Investment Services Group at T. Rowe Price. She also held roles as director of Consultant and Advisor Relations and Strategic Marketing. Walsh also served as executive director with J.P. Morgan Asset Management leading Platform Distribution and Sales as well as leading the Consultant and Advisor Relations teams.
Walsh earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park, and her bachelor’s degree from Hood College focused on Economics. She holds FINRA 3,6,7 and 63 licenses.
Allianz Life taps former iJoin head to lead DC team
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) has hired Ben Thomason to lead its expanding Defined Contribution Distribution team.
Thomason will be responsible for the distribution strategy, business development and distributor relationships of the company’s defined contribution (DC) business. Allianz Life entered into the market for employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s with its Allianz Lifetime Income+ Annuity in November 2022. Allianz Lifetime Income+ is a fixed index annuity that offers innovative design features including growth potential, protection from market loss, and guaranteed lifetime income through the Lifetime Income Benefit.
“The demand for in-plan guaranteed income continues to increase and building out our distribution is key to helping us bring our solution to more people to help them attain their retirement goals,” said Matt Gray, head of employer markets, Allianz Life. “Ben will play a pivotal role in helping us build on our momentum and make our solution more widely available in employer-sponsored retirement plans.”
Most recently, Thomason led sales at iJoin, which provides recordkeepers an integrated experience to support the enrollment, education, financial planning and advice needs of the plans and participants they serve. There, he worked with industry partners to use iJoin’s platform, managed account, participant engagement, and analytics capabilities. Allianz Lifetime Income+® is available through iJoin’s network of recordkeepers.
Prior to iJoin, Thomason was at Vestwell Holdings and Goldman Sachs. He also has experience in defined contribution and workplace retirement revenue at Securian Financial Group, J.P. Morgan, and Fidelity Investments.
“Allianz Life offers an innovative product that draws on the company’s depth of retirement income experience,” said Thomason. “I’m excited to join the team to help meet the need so many Americans have for reliable income to help them manage risks in retirement.”
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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.