Corporate Roundup: PGIM Appoints CEO, Pontera, Envestnet Partnership
This week’s corporate roundup, PGIM announces former Morgan Stanley Investment Management Co-Head Jacques Chappius as CEO, Pontera and Envestnet reveal their latest partnership aimed at modernizing 401(k) account billing, Axos Clearing integrates Envestnet’s managed account solutions, and more.
PGIM Names Morgan Stanley Co-Head as CEO
Prudential Financial, Inc. has appointed Jacques Chappuis as president and CEO of PGIM, its $1.4 trillion global investment management business, effective May 1, 2025.
Chappuis will report to Andrew Sullivan, head of International Businesses and Global Investment Management for Prudential Financial, Inc. Chappuis succeeds David Hunt, who will retire as president and CEO and stay on as chairman of PGIM until July 31, 2025, remaining actively involved throughout the transition period.
“Under David’s leadership, PGIM has grown to become one of the premier global asset managers in the world, well known for its public and private markets investment expertise, with assets under management growing to $1.4 trillion from $619 billion since David joined the firm in 2011,” said Sullivan.
With nearly 30 years of investment management experience, Chappuis joins PGIM from Morgan Stanley, where he was most recently co-head of Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) and a member of the Morgan Stanley Management Committee.
From 2006 to 2013, he held senior leadership roles in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Management and Wealth Management businesses, including head of Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, before joining The Carlyle Group as head of Investment Solutions. Chappuis returned to Morgan Stanley in 2016, where he served as global head of distribution and co-head of the solutions and multi-asset group for MSIM before his latest role.
Prior to his experience at Morgan Stanley, Chappuis was head of Alternative Investments for Citigroup’s Global Wealth Management Group. In earlier roles, he was a managing director at Citigroup Alternative Investments, the firm’s proprietary alternative investment unit; a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group; and an investment banker at Bankers Trust Company.
He received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Tulane University and a master’s degree from Columbia Business School. He is a member of the New York Board of Advisors of Teach For America and a board member of Centro para la Nueva Economia, a Puerto Rico-based think tank focused on policy matters related to the island’s economy.
“Jacques is well known for his deep commitment to clients, his leadership in acquisitions, and breadth of expertise across public and private market solutions. We know that he is the right person to lead PGIM’s next chapter of growth,” said Sullivan. “Over the last decade, PGIM has meaningfully expanded its third-party asset management business. Jacques’ expertise will allow us to identify opportunities to accelerate our continued growth through new markets, innovative products, and comprehensive solutions across a wide range of asset classes. I look forward to working with Jacques to lead one of the key growth engines of Prudential.”
“I’m proud to become PGIM’s next president and CEO, leading an incredible team through its next chapter of growth,” said Chappuis. “PGIM’s expertise and capabilities across public and private markets reinforces its commitment to meeting clients’ differentiated long-term investment needs, and I look forward to building upon the firm’s successes.”
Pontera, Envestnet Collab on 401(k) Billing
Pontera is partnering with Envestnet’s BillFin solution, in an effort to make 401(k) account billing more efficient and seamless for financial advisors.
BillFin aims to modernize how advisors and planners bill their clients by enabling advisors to calculate fees, create invoices, and calculate payouts for fee splitting. The platform offers billing setup, standardized billing templates, user experiences and more.
“By adding BillFin capabilities, we’re empowering financial advisors to deliver even greater value and a more comprehensive wealth management service to their clients,” said David Goldman, chief business officer at Pontera. “Pontera’s growing technology partner community enables us to meet advisors where they live by linking our secure 401(k) management platform with the technology tools they’re already using, helping them deliver the best possible client experience.”
More than 74% of Americans would like professional help managing their workplace retirement accounts, according to the Pontera 401(k) Literacy Survey, which polled more than 2,000 U.S. plan participants, half of whom also work with a financial advisor. The study found advised participants are more knowledgeable, more confident about their future in retirement and contribute more to their accounts.
The Pontera platform delivers data security certified under SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 standards. Pontera prohibits advisors from gaining access to clients’ login credentials and retirement plan providers’ websites. Advisors using the platform cannot order disbursements, make transfers, change beneficiaries or contributions.
Axos Clearing Partners with Envestnet Managed Account Solutions
Axos Clearing, a subsidiary of Axos Financial Inc., is partnering with Envestnet, a provider of integrated technology, data intelligence, and wealth solutions.
The partnership will integrate Envestnet’s managed account solutions into Axos Clearing’s Axos Complete portal, empowering hybrid broker-dealers (BDs) and registered investment advisers (RIAs) to enhance client service and streamline operations.
“Partnering with Envestnet to integrate their managed account technology into our professional workstation allows us to provide our clients with the tools and technology they need to thrive in a fee-based advisory model,” said David Crow, EVP, and head of Axos Clearing. “This is a key step as we continue developing Axos Complete, our comprehensive platform for advisory and operational solutions.”
Envestnet’s managed account technology will enable Axos Clearing clients to streamline portfolio management, automate routine tasks like rebalancing and reporting, and offer a wider range of investment options, helping advisors serve clients more effectively and scale their practices.
“This new partnership further expands the reach of our managed account solutions,” said Molly Weiss, group president of Wealth Management Platform for Envestnet. “Envestnet and Axos Clearing share a commitment to enable advisors to seamlessly meet clients where they are and address the gaps that many firms face due to a lack of comprehensive solutions. This collaboration will empower more advisors to better serve their clients and grow their practices, which is central to our mission.”
As the industry continues to move toward fee-based models and investors increasingly favor advisory relationships, Axos Clearing and Envestnet say their partnership ensures that more financial professionals will have access to an industry leading wealth management platform, helping them manage client relationships more effectively and efficiently.
The Standard Welcomes SVP
Standard Insurance Company has named Winston Hall as second vice president and retirement plans actuary.
Hall has worked at The Standard since 2022, most recently as second vice president and actuary in Actuarial Transformation Strategy and Enablement. In his new role, Hall will lead The Standard’s recordkeeping, retirement plans institutional and FHLB actuarial teams as well as the recordkeeping pricing team.
“With Winston’s extensive industry experience in leadership across functions and teams, he is positioned for success as both a technical expert and a strategic thought leader within our retirement plans division,” said Julie Briggs, vice president of emerging markets and strategic innovation and Asset Management Group actuary. “We are also excited about the increased opportunities to optimize our Actuarial Transformation capabilities throughout AMG under Winston’s guidance.”
Hall studied actuarial science and received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin.