Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) January 12, 2015
PFM Asset Management LLC (PFMAM) announced today that it has been hired by a committee representing NFL owners and players to oversee the investments of their defined contribution retirement plans. PFMAM will manage over $1 billion on a discretionary basis for the NFL Player Annuity Program and advise on over $1.6 billion for the NFL Player Second Career Savings Plan (a 401(K) plan) and the NFL Player Capital Accumulation Plan on a non-discretionary basis. The award was announced after a competitive process that included several rounds of interviews and submission of proposals from nationally known investment advisory and consulting firms.
PFMAM’s proposal suggested a number of enhancements and improvements to the current structure of the NFL Player 401(k) Plan, based on PFMAM’s experience in working with and identifying trends in defined contribution plan options. The proposal also contemplated the short career of players and their ability to draw down on their Annuity Program as early as age 35.
PFMAM currently manages over $13.7 billion in both discretionary and non-discretionary multi-asset class assets, and has significantly grown its investment program over the past eight years. This engagement will help increase PFMAM’s discretionary portfolio to over $4 billion in assets under management beginning in 2015.
Among those making the presentation to the NFL owners and Players and heading the relationship team for PFMAM are Managing Directors John Spagnola, Jim Link and Michael Harris, Directors Biagio Manieri and Mark Yasenchak, and Senior Managing Consultant Margaret Belmondo. Mr. Spagnola took special interest in this potential engagement having played professional football for eleven seasons, including nine with the Philadelphia Eagles and one year each with the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. John Spagnola is co-head of PFMAM’s multi-asset portfolio group, working with numerous pension and retirement funds across the country.
“We are very pleased to assist NFL Players in addressing their retirement needs,” Mr. Spagnola said. “PFMAM has developed an excellent reputation for meeting clients' expectations with our discretionary and non-discretionary programs, and I believe that gaining this important nationally recognized client is a gratifying reaffirmation of our reputation. I'm extremely proud of the hard work and dedication our team put into winning this engagement, and I am confident we should deliver significant improvements to the NFL retirement plans going forward,” he concluded.
Michael Lipper of Lipper Advisory Services, Inc. was the previous advisor to the funds and has resigned from that responsibility as of the end of the year. John Spagnola noted Mr. Lipper’s longstanding reputation in the investment industry, his 20 years of investment service for the NFL Player Plans in changing markets, and expressed PFMAM’s confidence in following him.
PFMAM, part of the PFM Group of companies, is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and manages money market, fixed income and multi asset class portfolios. For over 34 years, PFMAM’s professionals have specialized in providing fixed income portfolio management for separate accounts, emphasizing a conservative, low-risk and disciplined approach to research and portfolio construction. PFMAM provides independent and objective advice to institutional clients on investment consulting and asset management services, as well as strategic consulting and advice on plan benefits for Public and ERISA Pensions, OPEB Trusts, Endowments and Foundations, and Insurance Trusts.
The PFM Group of companies also provides municipal advisory best practices management and budget consulting services through its member company Public Financial Management, Inc. (PFM). For almost four decades, PFM has built a solid presence in the municipal marketplace and has provided independent financial advisory services to local, state, and regional government and non-profit clients throughout the United States in their dealings with the capital markets. Public Financial Management, Inc. is a municipal advisor registered with the SEC and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The PFM Group currently employs more than 500 professionals serving a broad base of clients from offices located in every region of the United States.