This week, NFP announced its latest acquisition in Divergent Wealth Advisor, TIAA appoints six new senior leaders to its wealth management division, and more.
NFP acquires $675M RIA
NFP has acquired Divergent Wealth Advisors, LLC (Divergent).
Based in South Jordan, Utah, Divergent is an independent registered investment advisor that focuses on holistic wealth management solutions and retirement planning. Divergent cofounders Jordan Collins and Brady Ririe will join NFP and report to Jeff Scott, senior vice president, Retirement.
“We’re very excited to welcome Jordan and Brady to NFP,” said Scott. “We’re expanding our wealth management and retirement plan capabilities, while increasing our presence in the fast-growing Western US. We’re also adding a group of talented wealth advisors who are committed to delivering an amazing client experience built on a foundation of trust and fiduciary care.”
We’re expanding our wealth management and retirement plan capabilities, while increasing our presence in the fast-growing Western US
Jeff Scott, NFP
The acquisition of Divergent, which has more than $675 million in assets under management as of August 2023, closed on August 7. The deal enhances value for NFP clients by enabling the company’s Utah-based group benefits and retirement plan advisory businesses to collaborate with the Divergent team and align capabilities with client needs.
Mike Schneider, president of NFP’s Central and West regions said, “Adding Divergent builds on our well-established presence in Utah and underscores our focus on scaling our wealth management and retirement expertise in the Western U.S. and beyond. This acquisition also reinforces that NFP is an outstanding option for growing firms that value culture and who can benefit from the resources and support NFP offers.”
“We’re thrilled to join NFP and begin contributing to the success of a growing, people-first organization,” said Collins and Ririe in a joint statement. “We know our clients have needs beyond wealth management and retirement, and as part of NFP we have a great opportunity to introduce a breadth of solutions that addresses these needs.”
T. Rowe Price names CTO
T. Rowe Price has announced Ramon Richards as its new chief technology officer. Ramon joined the firm on September 5, and as CTO, he leads technology business solutions, technology services, and enterprise architecture functions.
Richards most recently served as chief information officer at Fannie Mae, where he led digital transformation and was responsible for software engineering, cybersecurity, enterprise data, infrastructure, technology shared services, architecture, and production support. Prior to his role as CIO, he held several leadership positions with Fannie Mae, including senior vice president of integrated technology solutions and senior vice president of securitization and credit technology.
“Ramon Richards is a seasoned technology executive who is recognized for transformation, modernization, and leading a complex technology organization. He is the ideal leader to guide our technology teams and strategy to enhance our ability to deliver reliable, user-friendly solutions that drive business results,” said Kimberly Johnson, chief operating officer at T. Rowe Price.
Richards earned his master’s degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering-telecommunications from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Morehouse College. He also completed an executive development program at Harvard Business School.
TIAA appoints senior leaders to wealth management division
TIAA has named six new senior leaders to its wealth management business.
Four of the new hires will be part of the Wealth Distribution team, and will include:
Joel Chery, based in Chicago as the Central region’s managing director. He previously worked at Merrill Lynch, where he helped lead the Chicago market.
Francisco Galan, based in Los Angeles as the West region’s managing director. He previously worked at HSBC Wealth and Personal Banking as the head of its U.S. West Market.
Greg Grasso as New York Region’s managing director. He has more than 30 years of financial services experience, including his last role as regional director with Edelman Financial Engines (previously Edelman Financial Services).
Cassandra King, who will be the head of Wealth Sales Enablement and Guided Advisory Services. She has 25 years of financial services and leadership experience. Her most recent role was at HSBC Bank, where she served as the U.S. chief of staff for Wealth and Personal Banking.
The other two leaders will be part of the Wealth Chief Operating Office.
Stuart Archibald will be the head of Wealth Strategy. He has led strategy and transformation initiatives within the world’s largest financial services firms, most recently at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he was head of U.S. Wealth Management Strategy.
Shankar Saravanan will be the head of Wealth Products & Solutions, where he will help meet evolving client needs with new, innovative solutions. Shankar has almost 20 years of product, digital and strategy consulting experience, most recently at Fidelity Investments.
“We have long been the #1 not-for-profit retirement market provider, and these leaders will complement our internal talent, strengthening our mission to help clients prepare for retirement and reach their financial goals,” said Rashmi Badwe, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Wealth Management Division.
Voya hires VP to support Government Markets team
Voya Financial has hired Amy Goodale as vice president, strategic relationship manager for the company’s Wealth Solutions Government Markets team.
In this role, Goodale is responsible for executing on client engagement and service strategy for the New York City Deferred Compensation Plan relationship, which supports assets totaling $29.4 billion and 250,000 accounts. She will also focus on retaining relationships, while driving cross-service strategies across an array of Voya solutions, including Wealth and Health solutions, for government market clients.
“I am absolutely thrilled to return to Voya,” said Goodale. “This is an incredible opportunity, and I’m excited to leverage my more than 25 years of industry experience, focusing on relationship management, product and operational expertise, and strategic solutions to make an immediate impact on the Wealth Solutions Government Markets team.”
Most recently, Goodale served as assistant vice president of mid-large product management for Lincoln Financial. In this role, she focused on institutional clients while working with leadership and stakeholders to create balanced product solutions, as well as leading a team of relationship managers to deliver client’s strategic solutions. Prior to that, Goodale worked as a strategic relationship manager at Voya where she managed $6 billion of assets across 22 plan sponsors to deliver on goals with a client centric focus.
“We are excited to have Amy on the team and even more thrilled to have her back here at Voya,” said Deltra Hayes, senior vice president, leader, Government Markets at Voya Financial. “Her 25 years of experience in product, relationship management, sales support and operations, in addition to her leadership qualities, make her a great fit for this role. I look forward to her help driving our client and service strategy, especially within the Government Markets.”
Goodale received her bachelor’s degree in business administration, concentration in finance with a minor in french, from Eastern Connecticut State University. Based in Canterbury, Connecticut, she started at Voya on September 18 and reports directly to Hayes.
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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.
