SageView acquires Palmer Retirement Consulting
SageView Advisory Group (SageView) has acquired Palmer Retirement Consulting, a Fort Wayne, Indiana-based advisory firm with both institutional retirement plan clients and wealth management clients.
Dan Palmer, president of Palmer Retirement Plan Consulting, has joined SageView as managing director. Palmer team member Kristina Dearing is also joining as a retirement plan associate.
“Retirement plans often represent the second largest investment in an American family’s portfolio, after their home,” said Jon Upham, president and head of institutional retirement at SageView. “Providing plan participants and their sponsors with high-quality services and support has never been more important. We’re honored to have Dan and Kristina join our team as we continue to expand our institutional retirement and wealth management practice.”
Palmer began his financial services career in the national investment division at Lincoln and was later a vice president at Hylant Financial Services and an investment advisor at Rehmann. He founded Palmer Retirement Consulting in 2016 to help retirement plan sponsors satisfy their fiduciary responsibilities and individual investors successfully plan for retirement.
“I’m thrilled to be joining SageView at such a dynamic time for the firm and our industry. Its name and reputation are synonymous with excellence, and I look forward to benefiting from SageView’s scale, back-office efficiencies and business development infrastructure to support my clients’ goals,” said Palmer.
SageView advises on more than 2,000 defined contribution (DC), defined benefit (DB) and deferred compensation plans in addition to providing wealth management advisory services. The firm has acquired four institutional retirement firms since July 2021 and since it established a partnership with Aquiline Capital Partners, a financial services and technology-focused private equity firm.
Wise Rhino served as advisor to Palmer Retirement. The transaction closed on Dec. 15, 2023.
Principal appoints CEO of Asset Management division
Principal Financial Group has announced that Kamal Bhatia, global head of investments and president of Principal Funds and chairman of Principal Funds Board, will be the incoming president and chief executive officer of Principal Asset Management, effective February 10.
Bhatia succeeds Pat Halter, who will retire after 40 years with the company on April 2. During this transition period, Halter will assume the interim role of division president.
Bhatia will be responsible for strategy, investment performance, and client growth for the global investment unit and the company’s $651 billion of assets under management (AUM), including the general account. He will lead the continued expansion of the firm’s global and local offerings with a focus on specialty public and private investment capabilities, multi-asset products, and retirement solutions to meet the needs of its institutional, wealth, and retirement clients.
“Asset management is a core growth driver for Principal and the investment engine behind the company’s global retirement and benefits and protection businesses,” said Dan Houston, chairman, president, and CEO of Principal. “We bring to bear our talent, expertise, and experience to deliver investment solutions and performance coupled with deep client understanding. I’m confident in Kamal’s ability to continue to drive this business forward to meet the growing demand for investment solutions around the world, while navigating volatile market environments and evolving client needs.”
Bhatia joined Principal in 2019 as president and CEO of Principal Funds before becoming chief operating officer for the asset management business in 2020 and global head of investments in 2023. Prior to joining the company, Bhatia held several senior management positions in the industry, including CEO and chairman of the board for OC Private Capital, a joint venture between OppenheimerFunds and the Carlyle Group, focused on private credit. He’s also held senior roles at OppenheimerFunds, TIAA-CREF Asset Management, Mellon Asset Management, and Citigroup.
Halter is retiring from Principal after 40 years with the company. He joined Principal in commercial real estate and previously served as CEO of Principal Real Estate Investors and chief operating officer of the firm.
RVP joins The Standard
Stephen Schaefer has been hired as regional vice president for Retirement Plans at The Standard.
He will work with advisors and third-party administrators (TPAs) in California and Nevada, according to the release from the organization.
Schaefer has more than 15 years of experience in the retirement plan and financial industry. He held previous roles as a regional vice president, senior plan consultant, financial advisor and key account manager.
Schaefer holds FINRA Series 6, Series 7 and Series 66 licenses. He also earned Certified Investment Management Analyst, Accredited Investment Fiduciary and Qualified 401(k) Administrator designations.
“We’re excited to welcome Stephen to the team,” said Brody Geist, divisional vice president of Retirement Plans at The Standard. “His in-depth knowledge of the business and deep commitment to exceptional service for his advisor partners and customers align strongly with our values. Stephen is a great fit and I’m excited for both him and The Standard.”
Voya announces new roles
Voya Financial, Inc. announced today that Christine Hurtsellers, chief executive officer (CEO) of Voya Investment Management (IM), will be retiring later this year.
Matt Toms, global chief investment officer (CIO) of Voya IM, will succeed Hurtsellers as CEO, effective immediately, and Hurtsellers will now serve as a strategic advisor to the company until her retirement. Toms has also joined Voya Financial’s Executive Committee and will now report to Heather Lavallee, CEO of Voya Financial. Hurtsellers will also continue to report to Lavallee.
Voya also announced that Eric Stein, who most recently served as CIO, fixed income, at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), has joined Voya IM as head of investments and CIO, fixed income. Stein reports to Toms.
As Voya IM’s global CIO, Toms led the firm across fixed income, equities, multi-asset solutions and alternative strategies. Prior to joining Voya IM in 2009, Toms worked with Calamos Investments, where he established and grew its fixed income business. He also previously held roles with Northern Trust and Lincoln National.
Stein, in his new role as head of investments as well as CIO, fixed income, will directly lead the public fixed income investment team as well as oversee the broader equities, income and growth, and multi-asset strategies and solutions investment teams. Chris Lyons, head of private fixed income and alternatives investments, will continue to report to Toms.
As CIO, fixed income at MSIM, Stein was responsible for overseeing 275 professionals and the management of investment strategies for MSIM’s approximately $200 billion fixed income platform, including agency mortgage-backed securities, emerging markets, floating-rate loans, high-yield, investment grade credit, multi-sector, municipals and securitized strategies.
Prior to MSIM, Stein held several portfolio management roles at Eaton Vance since 2009, including most recently serving as CIO for Eaton Vance’s entire fixed income group, which included investment teams across high-yield, bank loan, municipal investments, emerging market debt/global macro, securitized, investment grade corporate and multi-asset investment disciplines.
AWN names head of retirement
Greg Wilson will join the client solutions group and become head of Retirement for Asset & Wealth Management (AWM).
In this role, Wilson will be responsible for setting and driving strategy across retirement distribution, defined contribution (DC) and Goldman Sachs Ayco’s Workplace Advisory Solutions. He will work closely with Larry Restieri, head of Goldman Sachs Ayco.
Wilson spent 20 years in Asset Management prior to his current role as head of Workplace Advisory Solutions for Goldman Sachs Ayco. Greg previously led the Third Party Wealth Platform Solutions Group, responsible for marketing the firm’s sub-advisory, hedge fund of funds, insurance solutions and defined contribution investment-only products for the U.S. and Canada.
Greg joined Goldman Sachs in 1995 and was named managing director in 2010 and partner in 2022.
Financial advisors launch RIA co-op
Financial advisors and co-founders Katrina Soelter, CFP and Leighann Miko, CFP are launching Avise Financial (Avise), in what it says is “the industry’s first and only RIA co-operative platform that puts ownership back where it belongs – in the hands of advisors.”
Avise utilizes a co-op structure, where users become member-owners and are allowed one vote on key decisions for the platform. Avise is available nationwide to certified financial planners, with an emphasis on younger advisors seeking independency.
“The financial advising profession is ripe for disruption,” shared Soelter. “Recognizing the delicate nature of the succession process and having personally experienced the burnout that comes with running our own RIA business, we were keenly aware of the immense potential that lay before us. As advisors and successors, we saw a remarkable opportunity to make a difference for other advisors and for the future of our industry.”
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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.
