The Hartford’s new CEO: Wealth management and retirement will be top priorities

Growth in The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc’s wealth management and retirement businesses will be a renewed area of focus as the insurance giant welcomes its new CEO, Liam E. McGee, who will officially join the company tomorrow from Bank of America Corp.
“My assessment of The Hartford is that it has a strong insurance business, largely through its property/casualty side, but it also has a wealth management and retirement business that’s an important part of its future,” Mr. McGee said in an interview with InvestmentNews.
“I’m committed to that,” he added. “The demographics of the U.S. makes that an attractive opportunity for us.”
The keys to the insurer’s comeback on the life insurance side will lie not only in ensuring that the company’s capital position is strong but also engaging advisers and customers with improved products.
Following investment losses and losses related to its heavy exposure to variable annuities with guaranteed-lifetime-withdrawal benefits, The Hartford took hits due to some advisers’ shying away from recommending the company’s products.
“Our goal is to earn back where we lost that trust and confidence,” Mr. McGee said. “It’s going to be important that we continue to have products that are innovative and that have the risk-reward relationship that ensures that we have sustainability in providing those products.”
Mr. McGee cited his experience as president of Bank of America’s consumer and small-business bank as an indication of how he will work with the company’s distributors, wholesalers and the insurer’s broker-dealer, Woodbury Financial Services Inc.
“I have a sense of their requirements and what’s important to them,” he said. “I think The Hartford has a good position with those distribution channels, and strategically, I’d like this company to be more competitive on the wealth and retirement sides.”
“I have an understanding, respect and appreciation for their role with their clients and their customers. I saw that from both the banking business and in my interactions with my predecessor company,” he added.
“I spent quite a bit of time interacting extensively with the Thundering Herd,” Mr. McGee added, referring to the massive force of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. advisers that BofA acquired this year. “[Advisers] have a partner at The Hartford who understands the role they play for their customers.”
Mr. McGee is the most recent addition to The Hartford. Just last Friday, the carrier brought in Patrick McEvoy as the chief executive of its broker-dealer Woodbury Financial Services. Mr. McEvoy, who started in his new post today, hails from Multi-Financial Securities Corp., an ING Advisor Network broker-dealer. There, he was president and CEO.

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