Chicago Governor Says No to Statewide Pension Crisis Fix

J.B. Pritzker claims a statewide pension consolidation would hurt the state’s credit rating.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker this week denounced the idea of consolidating the state’s troubled pensions under a statewide, unified umbrella, on the assertion that the state’s credit rating could be thrust into junk status.

His comments appear to be in response to a report from Crain’s Chicago Business claiming that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is considering consolidating Chicago’s city pension money with relatively smaller suburban pension funds in a brand new, state-unified retirement system.

Lightfoot’s reported proposal is part of an effort to help the troubled pensions’ unfunded status, which, if continued, will require more than $1 billion of new city tax hikes to be imposed on citizens over the next three years to direct additional funding toward the pensions.

“To be clear, the state is at just above junk status in its credit rating, so there are not liabilities that can be adopted by the state that would not drive us into junk status,” Pritzker said at a news conference to tout his $45 billion infrastructure improvement plan. “So that is not something that we can do.”

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Moody’s recently reaffirmed the state’s credit rating at just a grade or two above junk status, after the state released its new budget, and added that “substantial assumption of debt or pension liabilities incurred by local governments” could lead to a downgrade.

Chicago’s recently released 2018 comprehensive annual financial report measured the combined funded status of the city’s retirement systems at 23%, a drop from last year’s 27%.

Pritzker believes, however, that if the pensions pooled their capital for investments, they might have a better shot at resolving their fiduciary issues.

“Because they are very small, many of the downstate pensions are experiencing a much lower rate of return than the benchmark—by 2%,” the governor said. “If you think about how that compounds over years if they’re getting lower returns, if they would consolidate simply the investment dollars they had, let alone other functions or liabilities, just the investment dollars, the improvement there would have a substantial impact on those pension funds,” Pritzker said.

Chicago might be willing to forgo some revenue it now gets from the state in exchange for relinquishing responsibility of the funds, Crain’s reported, attributing the intelligence to anonymous sources. If they don’t fix this issue, the property taxes—which would be obligated under current law—could dislodge the city’s economy and stifle growth.

Pritzker himself launched a task force earlier this year to perform feasibility studies of a statewide consolidation of pension funds to help them out.

Representatives from several Chicago city pension funds declined to comment on the situation.

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People Moves Roundup

State Street names EMEA head, Ascensus president to become CEO, and more.

State Street Appoints Head of its Business in UK, Europe, Middle East, and Africa

State Street Corp. has appointed Jörg Ambrosius as head of its UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) business.

Ambrosius, an 18-year State Street veteran, will report to Francisco Aristeguieta, the newly appointed head of State Street’s international business. Ambrosius will succeed Liz Nolan, who was named head of State Street’s global delivery team, managing global operations and infrastructure, earlier this year. Ambrosius will also serve on State Street’s management committee, its senior-most strategy and policy-making group. Ambrosius’s appointment is subject to regulatory approval.

Ambrosius will be responsible for all business activities in the region including driving strategy, stewarding client engagement, developing talent, overseeing risk management, pursuing growth opportunities, as well as managing relationships with diverse stakeholders, including local officials and regulators.

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Ambrosius was most recently co-head of State Street’s Global Services business in EMEA and head of its global sovereign wealth servicing business.


Ascensus President David Musto to Assume CEO Responsibilities in 2020, Bob Guillocheau to Remain Chairman

Ascensus announced that David Musto, currently president of the organization, will add chief executive officer responsibilities to his role, effective January 1, 2020. Bob Guillocheau, currently chairman and CEO of Ascensus, will continue to serve as chairman.

“I’m delighted that David will soon be leading our organization forward as CEO,” said Guillocheau. “His deep industry perspective, expertise, and leadership skills are exactly what we need to take Ascensus to the next level and grow our competitive advantage.”

Musto joined Ascensus in 2017. As president, he is responsible for growing the company’s existing businesses. He previously served as president of Great-West Investments, executive vice president of Empower Retirement, and CEO of J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services. 

Guillocheau joined the company in 2003 and has held the role of CEO since 2005. He was named chairman in 2017.


Insight Investment Strengthens Intermediary Distribution Team

Insight Investment announced that Louis D’Anella has joined the firm as senior portfolio strategist. D’Anella will focus on supporting the sales efforts of Insight’s distribution partners in the intermediary market.

D’Anella joins Insight Investment from Alliance Bernstein, where he most recently served as a senior fixed income investment strategist supporting the firm’s global multi-sector and core fixed income strategies. Louis began his career as a member of Merrill Lynch’s home office due diligence team covering fixed income investments.

D’Anella will be based in New York and report to Svein Floden.


Nationwide Names John Carter as Financial Services President-Elect

John Carter has been named as the president and chief operating officer-elect of Nationwide’s financial services business lines, effective immediately. Carter succeeds Kirt Walker, who will become Nationwide’s next CEO in October. Reporting to Walker, Carter will oversee the company’s retirement plans, life insurance (individual, business, and corporate-owned), annuities, and mutual funds business operations. 

Carter joined Nationwide Financial in 2005 as president of the Nationwide Financial Sales and Distribution organization, responsible for leading sales of private-sector retirement plans, life insurance, annuities, and mutual funds. In 2013, he was named president of Nationwide’s retirement plans business. In his current role, he and his team have introduced innovative retirement solutions, driven profitable growth and delivered a member and partner experience that has been recognized nationally by organizations including J.D. Power and Dalbar. 

Prior to Nationwide, he held executive positions in financial services at Prudential Financial, UBS, and the former Kidder Peabody.


QMA Names Linda Gibson as First Chief Business Officer, Continuing Global Expansion

QMA has named Linda Gibson to the newly created role of chief business officer, the latest step in the firm’s continued global expansion. QMA is the quantitative equity and global multi-asset specialist of PGIM.

Gibson will work closely with QMA’s chairman and CEO, Andrew Dyson. She will be based out of QMA’s headquarters in Newark, N.J., and oversee finance, business planning and management, competitive intelligence, project management, human resources, operational risk, and cross-functional initiatives.

 

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