SVIA Spring Seminar 2025: Full Schedule

5:00pm CDT

Welcome Meeting for New Attendees

Monday April 14, 2025 5:00pm - 5:30pm CDT

Open to all new attendees, come join the members of the Membership Development Committee for a welcome discussion where you'll have the opportunity to ask them anything about the stable value industry and membership in SVIA.

04.14@1700 Stable Value 101 pdf

Monday April 14, 2025 5:00pm - 5:30pm CDT
Lafayette Ballroom

General Session

9:00am CDT

Opening Remarks

Tuesday April 15, 2025 9:00am - 9:15am CDT

Lafayette Ballroom

Moderator

Zach Gieske

President, SVIA

Zach Gieske is the President of the Stable Value Investment Association (SVIA), a non-profit trade association focused on educating retirement plan sponsors, policymakers, and the public about the importance of saving for retirement and the valuable role stable value can play in achieving... Read More →

Lacey Lockward

Prudential Financial

Lacey is vice president and head of Stable Value within Prudential Retirement Strategies, a business unit of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).In her role, Lacey leads the cross-functional team responsible for new business, existing business, product development, risk management... Read More →

Tuesday April 15, 2025 9:00am - 9:15am CDT
Lafayette Ballroom

General Session

9:15am CDT

Navigating Trends in Stable Value

Tuesday April 15, 2025 9:15am - 10:00am CDT

Lafayette Ballroom

A deep dive into the evolving stable value market, highlighting industry innovations, current challenges, and strategies from top market participants.

Moderator

Ben Soltsov

Vice President, Stable Value Portfolio Manager, Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Ben is a Vice President and Stable Value Portfolio Manager at GSAM, responsible for construction and management of stable value portfolios. He is tasked with being the Stable Value Strategy Lead for the business, providing oversight for the stable value and wrapped fixed income platform... Read More →

Speakers

Samuel Kaplan

Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Jennison Associates LLC

Sam Kaplan is a fixed income rates and securitized portfolio manager. He is responsible for overseeing the investment process, strategy implementation, and risk management for Jennison’s yield curve decisions. He joined Jennison in 2008 as a fixed income trader before assuming his... Read More →

Oliver Meng

Acting Head of Fixed Income, Mission Square

Oliver Meng is the Acting Head of Fixed Income. He serves as portfolio manager for internally managed stable value portfolios, including the MissionSquare PLUS Fund. He is responsible for providing oversight of several fixed income funds and managers including certain funds in the... Read More →

Kostas Sophias

Managing Director, Head of Stable Value and BOLI/COLI, JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

Kostas Sophias is Head of the Stable Value Products & BOLI COLI Trading businesses within the Corporate & Investment Bank at JPMorgan Chase & Co. He is responsible for JPMorgan’s issuance of wrap offerings for the stable value market, the life insurance industry for BOLI/COLI policies... Read More →

Aziz Syed

Vice President, Stable Value Solutions, Athene

Aziz Syed joined Athene in August 2024 as the Senior Vice President of Stable Value Solutions. He is responsible for leading Athene’s entry into stable value and helping grow the defined contribution product line by leveraging the combined strengths of Athene and Apollo Global Management... Read More →

Tuesday April 15, 2025 9:15am - 10:00am CDT
Lafayette Ballroom

General Session

10:00am CDT

Participant Behavior and Plan Sponsor Insights

Tuesday April 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am CDT

Lafayette Ballroom

Join plan sponsors from diverse sectors as they share approaches to educating participants and addressing behavioral trends in stable value.

Moderator

Jessica Cole

Head of Stable Value Wrap Contract Management, Invesco

Jessica Cole is the head of stable value wrap contract management and is a member of the stable value management team at Invesco. Since 2017, Jessica has been responsible for negotiating and implementing wrap contract terms, managing wrap issuer relationships and leading the wrap... Read More →

Speakers

Bryan White

Manager, Pension Investments, Ratheon Technologies Corporation

Bryan White, CFA is a member of the RTX Corporation Pension Investments team, with oversight of $43B in defined benefit and $50B in defined contribution assets. He is responsible for the Plan’s public and private fixed income strategies as well as RTX’s $11B stable value fund.Mr... Read More →

Jamey Toland

Managing Director of Liability-Hedging Assets, Boeing

Jamey Toland is the Managing Director of Investments within The Boeing Company’s Trust Investments group with responsibilities that include oversight of the public fixed income, private credit, and absolute return portfolios across Boeing’s defined benefit and defined contribution... Read More →

Richard Scheer

Executive Director, Cultural Institutions Retirement System

Richard Scheer is the Executive Director of the Cultural Institutions Retirement System (CIRS), a multiemployer retirement system serving over 24,000 active and former employees across 50 cultural institutions and more than 200 daycare centers in the New York City area. CIRS administers... Read More →

Tuesday April 15, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am CDT
Lafayette Ballroom

General Session

11:00am CDT

Generational Perspectives on Stable Value

Tuesday April 15, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am CDT

Lafayette Ballroom

Uncover research-driven insights into how generational differences, particularly among younger cohorts, impact savings behaviors and preferences for stable value.

Moderator

Christina Burton

Galliard Capital Management, Inc.

Christina is a member of Galliard’s Stable Value Contract Strategy team. She is responsible for stable value contract review and negotiations, project management and firm communication associated with stable value contract changes, and ongoing relationship management with the stable... Read More →

Speakers

Marie C. Pillai

Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer, General Mills

Marie Pillai was Vice President, Treasurer & Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at General Mills when she retired in 2019. Over her 11 year CIO tenure, she oversaw the management of a $10 billion portfolio including pension, 401(K), health care and General Mills Foundation assets. As... Read More →

04.15@ 1100 Generational Perspectives pdf

Tuesday April 15, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am CDT
Lafayette Ballroom

General Session

9:00am CDT

Opening Remarks

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:00am - 9:15am CDT

Lafayette Ballroom

Moderator

Magda Mankel

Community Manager, SVIA

Ben Soltsov

Vice President, Stable Value Portfolio Manager, Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:00am - 9:15am CDT
Lafayette Ballroom

General Session

9:15am CDT

Economic Shifts and Policy Impacts

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:15am - 10:00am CDT

Lafayette Ballroom

Examine how global economic trends, interest rates, and fiscal policy shifts may influence stable value investment strategies.

Moderator

Simon Poole

Head of Stable Value, Empower

Simon Poole is Vice President of Stable Value Products for Empower Investments. In his role, he is responsible for the management and development of Empower’s stable value business lines.Simon joined Empower in 2024. Prior to joining the organization, he built, developed, and led... Read More →

Speakers

Marta Norton

Empower

SVIA 04.16 Economic and Market Outlook pdf

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:15am - 10:00am CDT
Lafayette Ballroom

General Session

10:00am CDT

The Future of Lifetime Income in Defined Contribution Plans: Research and Adoption Trends

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am CDT

Lafayette Ballroom

Explore research-driven insights into participant demand for lifetime income solutions and the role of stable value products in retirement security.

Moderator

Michael Leonberger

Senior Stable Value Portfolio Manager, Invesco

Michael Leonberger joined Invesco in 2011 and manages client relationships and the application of investment strategy across portfolios consistent with client investment objectives and guidelines. He is also a member of the Stable Value Strategy Team, a management group charged with... Read More →

Speakers

Will Hansen

Chief Government Affairs Officer, American Retirement Association

Will Hansen joined the American Retirement Association (ARA) in January 2019 in the new role of Chief Government Affairs Officer. In this position, Will oversees all advocacy activities at the federal, state, and local levels on behalf of the five trade organizations within ARA. In... Read More →

SVIA 04.16 Lifetime Income pdf

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am CDT
Lafayette Ballroom

General Session

10:45am CDT

Industry Insights: Perspectives From Different Constituencies

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:45am - 11:30am CDT

Lafayette Ballroom

Gain valuable takeaways from recent trade association studies on trends and challenges shaping the retirement industry.

Moderator

Maya Pillai

Assistant Vice President, Head of Stable Value Wrap, Pacific Life

Maya is responsible for managing the Stable Value Wrap team, which focuses on market development and growth. Maya works with Stable Value Investment Managers to provide a Stable Value option for retirement plan participants and education savings account holders. Since 2009, Maya has... Read More →

Speakers

Jeri Savage

Retirement Lead Strategist, MFS

Jeri Savage is a retirement lead strategist with MFS Investment Management® (MFS®). In her role, she is responsible for leading the firm’s defined contribution thought leadership, which encompasses trends, best practices and regulatory and legislative developments.Jeri joined... Read More →

Lew Minsky

President and Chief Executive Officer, DCIIA

Lew Minsky is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing retirement security of America's workers. Lew is a recognized thought leader on retirement plan issues... Read More →

04.16@1045 DCIIA Industry Insights pdf

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:45am - 11:30am CDT
Lafayette Ballroom

General Session