T. Rowe Price appoints company veterans
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. announced that company veterans Kevin Collins and Francisco Negron will take on new positions leading the firm’s businesses serving the U.S. intermediary and retirement services channels. The appointments are effective on March 1, 2024.
Collins will become head of U.S. Intermediaries (USI), T. Rowe Price’s business supporting financial advisors and consultants in the intermediary channel. He will report to Dee Sawyer, who vacated the role on January 1, 2024, when she became the head of Global Distribution – the group responsible for sales, marketing, and client service globally across all distribution channels – upon the retirement of Robert Higginbotham.
Since 2019, Collins has been the head of Retirement Plan Services (RPS), which provides investments and record keeping services for sponsors and participants of workplace retirement plans. Collins joined T. Rowe Price in 1994 and has held positions of increasing responsibility throughout his career. Before becoming head of RPS, he headed RPS’ Product & Platforms group and led its sales and client services teams. Collins serves as chair of the SPARK Institute’s Governing Board, for the Society of Professional Asset Managers and Record Keepers.
Concurrent with Collins’ move to USI, the division’s Annie Brown and Jim Zurad will also take on new roles as co-heads of USI Wealth Management. Brown will lead the unit’s National Accounts Management team across the broker/dealer, global banks, and platforms groups, while Zurad will lead its field sales organization. Brown and Zurad are also company veterans, having joined T. Rowe Price in 1993 and 1996, respectively. Both will report to Collins.
Negrón will succeed Collins as head of RPS and report to Sawyer. For the past 12 years, he has overseen RPS’ Client Services organization, which includes the relationship management, client account management, plan compliance consulting, and participant engagement functions. Negrón joined T. Rowe Price in 1987 and is a member of MOSAIC, the company’s business resource group focused on attracting and retaining ethnically diverse associates while promoting an inclusive culture, and the firm’s Latinx Heritage community.
He is also the host of the current season of T. Rowe Price’s “Confident Conversations on Retirement” podcast.
Voya launches dual QDIA
Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), launched its new dual qualified default investment alternative (QDIA), now available across Voya’s various managed account programs within Voya-administered retirement plans.
The new dual QDIA solution includes a default investment starting as a target-date fund (TDF), which could be a single fund, a TDF series or a set of asset allocation funds. When participants reach a certain age (generally around age 50), they are automatically transitioned to any of the managed account programs supported by Voya, including the firm’s Advisor Managed Account solutions and additional proprietary offerings.
“At Voya, we find that individuals nearing retirement are in need of a more holistic approach that not only supports their unique retirement goals and more-complex investment needs but also ensures that they are prepared to generate a sustainable retirement income stream,” said Andre Robinson, SVP, Retail Wealth Management and Advisory Solutions at Voya Financial. “Helping our clients gain access to managed accounts can help with these needs.
“At the same time, we are seeing growing interest from retirement plan participants — with total assets in Voya’s managed account solutions up 28% in 2023, compared to the year prior,” he continued. “As a result, we believe establishing a dual QDIA — one designed to address both the needs of younger accumulators and near-retirees — can serve the needs of today’s broad and diverse workforces.”
Payroll Integrations announces compliance testing solution
Payroll Integrations has launched its new TPA Connect Platform, aimed at automating the compliance testing process.
The 401(k)-compliance testing solution automates the process of collecting payroll and census data for third-party administrators (TPAs) and ensures they have accurate data for year-end compliance testing. The product is an extension of the company’s platform that directly connects payroll systems with 401(k) and other benefit providers for over 5,000 companies.
PPSS Inc and Hunnex & Shoemaker are among the TPAs already using the 401(k)-compliance testing solution.
“This is an especially stressful time of year for TPAs as they spend hours trying to get a hold of the documents they need from employers and payroll and benefit providers to complete yearly compliance testing–this should be a fairly simple task but instead it’s put administrative strain on TPAs,” said Doug Sabella, CEO, Payroll Integrations. “Our new compliance solution is a natural progression of the payroll integrations we’ve spent years building and exemplifies the deep industry expertise that we have to solve these vital problems the industry faces.”
Payroll Integrations recently raised its $20M fundraising round, led by growth equity firm Arthur Ventures. The company will use the funding to continue to expand its product line, the company said in an announcement.
Manulife selects global Private Markets lead
Manulife Investment Management (Manulife IM) has named Anne Valentine Andrews as global head of Private Markets, starting March 4.
With more than 25 years of asset management and alternatives experience, Valentine Andrews will lead all investment teams and direct the overall strategy, business development and growth of Manulife IM’s private markets business. She and her team will also work closely with the firm’s global product group and the business leads to drive private market product innovation across the Institutional, Retail and Retirement channels. Based in New York, Valentine Andrews will report to Paul Lorentz, president and CEO of Manulife IM.
“We are excited to welcome Anne to our firm given her expertise and deep alternatives background,” said Lorentz. “We are confident that her leadership will accelerate the growth of our private markets platform and deliver more for our clients. Individual and institutional investors alike are demanding broader access to private markets to strengthen their portfolios, find diverse sources of alpha, and achieve their investment goals. We’re committed to the continued expansion of our global private markets platform to help our clients pursue attractive opportunities for long-term returns.”
Valentine Andrews joins Manulife IM from BlackRock, where she spent the past nine years, most recently serving as managing director, global head of Infrastructure and Real Estate. At BlackRock, Valentine Andrews served on its Global Operating Committee, Human Capital Committee, and the Equity Private Markets Executive Committee. Prior to BlackRock, she was co-head and chief operating officer for the Morgan Stanley Infrastructure platform and worked at Macquarie Bank in both Melbourne and New York.
“I’m delighted to join Manulife Investment Management to lead private markets globally,” said Valentine Andrews. ” I look forward to working alongside the team to continue delivering for clients and to accelerate the growth this platform is uniquely poised to capture.”
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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.
