The week saw multiple retirement industry hirings, promotions, merges, and partnerships, with a new CEO at the U.S. Retirement & Benefits Partners (USRBP), DCIIA announcing a long-planned leadership change to its Retirement Research Center (RRC), Ubiquity unveiling its partnership with 401(k) provider DriveWealth, and more.
USRBP names new CEO
U.S. Retirement & Benefits Partners (USRBP) has promoted Megan Schneider to chief executive officer, effective as of January 1.
“I am honored to lead USRBP, comprised of our incredible team of dedicated colleagues who serve our clients and the communities in which we work,” said Schneider. “We’re strategically well-positioned, with a wide breadth of solutions to achieve dynamic growth. I look forward to working with our board of directors as we continue to build upon our solid foundation.”
“Since joining us in 2019 as chief operating officer, Meg has demonstrated at every turn the terrific balance between strategic thinking and practical hands-on tactical execution,” said Mark M. Skinner, USRBP co-founder and former chief executive officer. “Most recently, she successfully led our technology integration initiatives, the expansion of our client services, and established the infrastructure to accelerate our organic growth ambitions. Meg is the perfect leader for the organization as we start the next chapter in our story.”
Skinner has transitioned to the role of executive chairman of the board, focusing on the acquisition of new partners to further expand retirement, health, and financial wellness solutions as well as national coverage.
Schneider joined USRBP from Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and has been president since April 2021. She earned a master’s in business administration from NYU’s Stern School of Business, and a bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University.
DCIIA announces new RRC executive director
DCIIA has promoted Pam Hess to executive director of the RRC, while Warren Cormier, founding executive director, will remain actively involved as director emeritus.
“We are so pleased to have Pam move into this natural expansion of her role as a key contributor to the RRC’s leadership,” said Lew Minsky, president and CEO of DCIIA. “We are grateful to Warren for his leadership in helping us launch and grow the RRC over the last five years and look forward to him continuing to play an important role in its ongoing evolution.”
Hess assumes day-to-day leadership of the RRC team and projects, which include strategic projects conceptualized and executed in collaboration with RRC members and partner projects conducted jointly with industry peers. Cormier will be available as an RRC resource but will specifically focus on expanding the RRC’s proprietary projects pipeline, where custom research is conducted exclusively for one organization.
Hess joined DCIIA as the RRC’s vice president of research in 2021. Previously, she was with Aon Hewitt as director of retirement research. Earlier in her career, Hess worked on the investment side at Aon Hewitt and with other firms in the financial services industry, including Smith Barney. She received a bachelor’s degree in finance from The University of Illinois, at Chicago. She earned her master’s in business administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in accounting, finance, and managerial and organizational behavior. Hess is also a CFA Charterholder since 2002. She is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Cormier joined DCIIA in 2018 as the RRC’s inaugural executive director. He had previously served as CEO and co-founder of Boston Research Technologies and as president and founder of Boston Research Group. Cormier is a veteran in the financial services industry with more than 25 years of experience in research for investment companies, banks and insurance companies. He is also recognized as a market research leader in the defined contribution (DC) industry. Warren is the cofounder of the Behavioral Finance Forum with Dr. Shlomo Benartzi and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Ubiquity partners with DriveWealth
Ubiquity Retirement + Savings (Ubiquity) is partnering with DriveWealth to allow fractional share trading opportunities to retirement plan participants.
“Through this partnership with DriveWealth, we are able to provide small business owners and their employees with investment options that will democratize investing and allow more freedom and choice in a user-friendly way that has never before been seen in a 401(k) plan, while still providing the ability to have an extremely well diversified portfolio,” said Chad Parks, founder and CEO of Ubiquity.
“This Ubiquity and DriveWealth partnership is redefining how people can consume and engage within their 401(k) account,” said Stan Smith, Managing Director of DriveWealth. “Making available real time instruments with fractional share trading within a fully disclosed account is a unique differentiator for advisors, employers and participants alike.”
The new offering adds to the more than 30,000 mutual funds and ETFs that Ubiquity’s small business clients already have access to.
Voya expands Wealth Solutions Sales team
Voya Financial has hired Bonnie Mulry as vice president, head of Sales Support and Business Development for the company’s Wealth Solutions Sales team.
In her role, Mulry is responsible for leading sales support team functions, building process efficiencies, and assisting with new business deal strategies for Voya’s Wealth Solutions business across multiple distribution channels. Specifically, these include emerging, mid, large and government markets related to requests for information and proposals from intermediaries and plan sponsors alike.
“I chose to join Voya because of the strong leadership team as well as the opportunity to lead a team of professionals that are a crucial component to the business lifecycle,” said Mulry. “I believe in joining an organization that aligns with my key values: to be authentic, transparent, and ethical. As Voya shares these values, I am eager to join a culture that is focused on building key talent, engaging employees in problem solving and leverages key strengths and process improvements to move the organization forward.”
Mulry comes to Voya with nearly three decades of experience in the financial services industry, specifically within sales support. Most recently, she held the position of director, Proposal Management Underwriting and Investment Execution at Empower.
“We’re excited to welcome Bonnie to our team to support our sales strategy,” added Allison Dirksen, senior vice president, head of Wealth Solutions Sales. “She comes to Voya with significant experience, and I look forward to her help in driving our business objectives and ongoing sales success across each of Voya’s sales segments.”
Mulry received her bachelor’s degree in business administration marketing from Merrimack College. Based in Tolland, Connecticut, she will start at Voya on January 17, reporting directly to Dirksen.
Global wealth management platform FNZ acquires YieldX
FNZ, the global wealth management platform, has agreed to acquire YieldX, a U.S.-based provider of fixed income portfolio management technology, optimization services and direct indexing tools for the wealth management industry.
YieldX capabilities, which will be integrated into FNZ’s wealth platform, enables clients to scan fixed-income opportunities globally and identify the outcomes that mirror their desired term and yield, based on their risk profile.
Founded by Adam Green and Steve Gross in 2019, YieldX is based in Miami and has an office in New York. It services a wide range of clients, from top-tier wealth and asset managers, to B2C financial services and technology providers operating across the globe.
Following the acquisition, Adam Green will join FNZ as CEO of Asset Management, and Steve Gross will join FNZ as head of Asset Management Strategy. Together with the senior leadership team, they will support the broader expansion efforts for asset management products, solutions, and technology across North America.
Today, FNZ administers more than $1.5 trillion in client assets representing over 20 million investors worldwide. It partners with over 650 large financial institutions and 8,000 wealth management firms in 21 countries, including abrdn, Barclays, Colonial First State, Envestnet, Generali, Lloyds Bank, Santander, and Vanguard.
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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.
