Female-Founded RIA firm launches
Vanessa N. Martinez, Lauren Genuardi, and Darlene Duncan have announced the launch of Expressive Wealth , a registered investment advisor (RIA) serving individuals, families, businesses, and inheritors along their respective wealth journeys.
The executive team includes Vanessa N. Martinez, MBA, who will serve as chief executive officer and managing partner; Lauren Genuardi, MBA, CFP, who will serve as chief compliance officer and managing partner; and Darlene Duncan, who will serve as a wealth advisor and partner.
Headquartered in Chicago, the Expressive team, which includes a director of Portfolio Strategy, chief clinical officer, paraplanner, and two client service associates, has a combined 120 years of industry experience and spans three languages, including English, Spanish, and Polish. The firm is launching with $200M in AUM.
“Throughout our careers, we have observed that understanding and talking about all the phases involved in the creation of wealth allows for a smoother transfer to the next generation,” shared Martinez. “We were inspired to launch Expressive Wealth as an inclusive RIA practice designed to walk alongside the wealth journey of our clients to help them meet their goals.”
In 2022, Martinez and Dr. Patricia M. Villarreal (who serves as chief clinical officer for Expressive) launched Em-Powered Network, a network dedicated to female leaders and business owners that offers consulting and mentorship. Em-Powered will transition into a nonprofit organization in the coming months.
“Financial planning has evolved so much over the past few decades, but there is still ample space to improve, and we were inspired to provide an offering that encourages inclusion and open communication through the entire wealth-building process,” added Genuardi. “Vanessa has assembled a tremendous and diverse team with similar core values who will offer clients a unique and disciplined approach to equity and fixed-income investing designed to meet both their needs and long-term goals.”
“Our trusted role as financial advisors has evolved through the years as family wealth and generational relationships have become more complex. Expressive Wealth’s model of comprehensive wealth management is exactly how our business should be practiced, and it’s exactly where I want my legacy to continue,” added Duncan.
Nationwide selects leader to Protected Retirement team
Nationwide announced it was hiring Ed Malone to lead the team responsible for driving Protected Retirement sales and adoption at Nationwide. The company recently established the Protected Retirement team, led by Cathy Marasco, to increase resources to its suite of in-plan guarantee solutions.
In this new role, Malone will be responsible for driving strategic sales growth and adoption of Nationwide’s in-plan retirement income and principal protection guarantee solutions. Reporting to Marasco, Malone will focus on adoption efforts with recordkeepers, plan sponsors and participants.
“Ed’s deep experience in working with employer-sponsored retirement plans positions him well to help our team advance our efforts to deliver competitive solutions for our participants and plan sponsors,” said Marasco, associate vice president of Protected Retirement. “Given the rapidly growing interest in protected retirement solutions, now is a great time to accelerate our efforts to help more retirement savers achieve a secure retirement.”
Malone brings over 25 years of experience at Nationwide Financial. Most recently, he served as a defined contribution product specialist for Retirement Solutions Sales.
Lee Equity acquires majority stake in PCS Retirement
PCS Retirement, a retirement plan recordkeeper focused on the ERISA and Non-ERISA markets, announced it received a majority investment from funds managed by Lee Equity Partners, LLC (Lee Equity), a growth oriented middle market private equity firm.
As part of the transaction, LLR Partners will exit its investment in PCS. Scott David will join as CEO. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founder, CEO, and industry veteran Mark Klein will be stepping away from day-to-day operations of PCS Retirement and will remain a valuable member of the Board of Directors.
Founded in 2001, PCS Retirement delivers retirement plans to business owners, school districts, municipalities, not-for-profits, and individuals.
“We established PCS Retirement with the goal of building a next generation recordkeeper with no hidden agenda. Our vision for complete transparency has allowed us to be a leader in the retirement plan industry with significant momentum and opportunities ahead,” said Mark Klein, Founder of PCS Retirement. “We are very appreciative of LLR’s partnership and are excited to welcome Lee Equity as our financial sponsor and Scott David as CEO. Lee Equity deeply understands the value of our employee-centric business and appreciates our tremendous growth potential, and I’m confident that the addition of Scott will lead us well as we evolve into our next chapter.”
David holds more than 35 years of retirement services industry experience, including serving as the head of Individual & Retirement Plan Services and an executive committee member at T. Rowe Price and president of U.S. Retirement Services at Fidelity.
“Mark, the entire management team and I share a common view of the needs of the small business community and non-ERISA 403b space and understand the opportunity available to innovate on how these markets are served,” said David. “I am looking forward to building on the strong foundation that Mark and his incredible team have laid.”
PCS Retirement employees will maintain ownership interest, according to a release from both firms.
Raymond James served as the exclusive financial advisor to PCS Retirement on this transaction. Waller Helms Advisors served as financial advisor to Lee Equity. Ropes & Gray acted as legal counsel to Lee Equity.
M&K Legacy Wealth joins Sanctuary Wealth
Sanctuary Wealth (Sanctuary) has added M&K Legacy Wealth (M&K) to launch their own firm with Sanctuary’s Partnered Independence platform. With $1 billion in total client assets, Indianapolis-based M&K was formerly known as Tanner Wealth Management Group and employed by Stifel.
Founders and Managing Partners J. Miller, APMA and Chad Keller, CFA, AIF are joined by L. Gene Tanner in launching their new independent firm. Christy Swindel, CRPC, and Suzanne Marshall, Sr. are additional wealth advisors, and the team is rounded out by three associates and operations support staff. M&K elected to co-locate with Sanctuary in its Indianapolis corporate offices. M&K represents Sanctuary’s third billion-dollar, multi-generational Partner Firm in the Indianapolis area.
“We have been engaged in a multi-year process of evaluating the evolution of the industry to determine the best model in which to serve our clients and grow our business,” said Miller. “After a warm introduction from another of their Indianapolis-based, nationally recognized Partner Firms, we felt confident that Sanctuary’s approach and platform could deliver something well beyond what can be found in traditional banks and brokerage firms. The freedom, flexibility and innovative support provided by Sanctuary through its open architecture model made them the right partner at the right time for us and our clients.”
For more than 50 years, the firm has offered comprehensive wealth management strategies. The firm says it believes in delivering a “transparent client experience aimed at building long-lasting relationships, while seeking to provide necessary income, increased assets and wealth preservation for future generations.”
Focusing on business owners, pre-retirees and retired clients, M&K’s services cover wealth management, from investment and retirement planning to risk mitigation strategies and estate planning. M&K specializes in helping clients develop comprehensive, cohesive financial strategies that fit their different needs and enable them to pursue both short- and long-term goals.
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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.