Retirement Planning Takes Center Stage

It's the first week of the New Year and a couple of buy-side firms are already making moves to bolster their retirement-focused technology. First, Intrust Wealth Management signed with SunGard for the vendor's WealthStation fund source solution, and yesterday, Vanguard Financial Planning Services announced that clients nearing retirement would have access to its Certified Financial Planner product.

Now that the first wave of Baby Boomers has either already turned 65 this year, or is nearing that significant milestone, we expect to be hear a lot more from the retirement space over the next 12 months...and years.

Also this week, Citi named Dario Frigerio, former CEO of Pioneer Global Asset Management, to the newly created position of senior advisor for investor services within its Global Transaction Services unit. Is this a key move by Citi to enhance its European buy-side stature, or merely a coincidental appointment of a high-profile buy-sider, I wonder?

And in other people moves, Eze Castle Integration expanded its West Coast management team with the addition of regional service director, Mike Hartig, and technology director, Zach Lehman.