Ascensus is the leading independent technology and service platform powering savings plans across America, providing products and expertise that help nearly 16 million people save for a better today and tomorrow.
Position Summary
The Vice President, Investment & Wealth Distribution is the senior commercial leader responsible for establishing and scaling the distribution strategy for Ascensus' investment and wealth solutions across the Retirement business. This role is accountable for driving adoption, revenue growth, asset growth, and market penetration of managed accounts, stable value, co-manufactured target date funds, collective investment trusts (CITs), participant advice offerings, wealth conversion programs, and future investment and wealth capabilities across existing and prospective Retirement clients. This leader will build the distribution strategy, operating model, team, sales enablement framework, and execution discipline required to successfully introduce new investment and wealth solutions across all Retirement plans and channels. The role will work closely with the Vice President, Wealth Solutions, the Investment & Wealth Solutions organization, Relationship Managers, Client Service Managers, Retirement Sales leaders, RVPs, Marketing, Product, Operations, Technology, Finance, Legal, Compliance, advisors, consultants, and strategic partners to convert product strategy into measurable commercial outcomes. This position requires a growth-oriented leader with strong defined contribution investment experience, proven distribution and sales leadership capabilities, advisor and partner credibility, and the ability to quickly set strategy, build organizational capability, and execute in a complex matrixed environment.
***This position is being advertised in multiple markets; however, there is only one opening. The preferred work locations are Dresher, PA and Needham, MA with a hybrid work arrangement. Remote candidates outside of those markets will also be considered.***
Job Functions, Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead the investment and wealth distribution strategy for the Retirement business; establish a dedicated sales and commercialization capability; deliver the go-to-market strategy for managed accounts and proprietary or co-manufactured investment solutions; build advisor, partner, and client engagement motions; and create measurable adoption and participant conversion programs that support Ascensus' broader investment and wealth growth agenda.
Distribution Strategy and Commercial Execution
- Develop and execute the overall distribution strategy for Ascensus investment and wealth solutions across existing and prospective Retirement clients.
- Establish a multi-year growth plan for managed accounts, stable value, co-manufactured target date funds, CITs, participant advice, wealth conversion, and future investment solutions.
- Build a clear go-to-market model that defines target segments, priority solutions, field engagement, advisor activation, participant conversion motions, sales enablement, and success metrics.
- Create urgency and execution discipline around near-term product launches while building a scalable long-term distribution capability.
- Serve as the commercial owner for translating investment and wealth product strategy into measurable adoption, revenue growth, asset growth, and client penetration.
Dedicated Sales Capability and Field Enablement
- Design, build, and lead a dedicated investment and wealth distribution capability within Retirement.
- Develop sales playbooks, advisor-facing narratives, client presentation materials, qualification criteria, pricing support, implementation guidance, and field-ready tools.
- Work closely with Relationship Managers, Client Service Managers, RVPs, Core Retirement sales, and other client-facing teams to identify opportunities, prioritize accounts, and drive adoption.
- Equip Retirement sales, relationship management, and service teams to confidently introduce investment and wealth solutions in ways that are clear, compliant, commercially compelling, and aligned to client needs.
- Establish sales targets, pipeline discipline, forecast processes, conversion tracking, and accountability routines for investment and wealth distribution.
Advisor, Partner, and Client Engagement
- Engage directly with advisors, consultants, institutional partners, strategic clients, and key market influencers across the country to build demand and support adoption.
- Develop advisor and partner engagement strategies that increase awareness, understanding, and use of Ascensus' investment and wealth solutions.
- Serve as a senior external representative of Ascensus' investment and wealth capabilities in client meetings, advisor meetings, partner forums, industry conferences, and strategic pursuits.
- Use market feedback from advisors, partners, clients, and sales teams to refine positioning, identify product gaps, and inform future roadmap priorities.
- Build strong relationships across the advisor and DC marketplace to strengthen Ascensus' credibility as a provider of differentiated investment and wealth solutions.
Cross-Functional Leadership and Product Partnership
- Work in close partnership with the Vice President, Wealth Solutions to ensure product design, packaging, positioning, readiness, and commercialization plans are aligned.
- Partner with IWS, Product, Marketing, Operations, Technology, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Relationship Management, Service Management, and Sales to remove barriers and accelerate execution.
- Help prioritize product and capability enhancements based on commercial opportunity, market demand, client readiness, advisor feedback, and operational feasibility.
- Ensure investment and wealth solutions are introduced to market with clear value propositions, training, implementation support, advisor/client materials, and measurable adoption plans.
- Create an operating rhythm that connects product readiness, sales execution, pipeline development, client adoption, and participant conversion.
Growth Measurement and Business Management
- Establish a comprehensive scorecard to track revenue, assets, adoption, pipeline, penetration, advisor engagement, managed account enrollment, participant conversion, and client-level performance.
- Provide regular performance updates to Retirement and IWS leadership, including progress against targets, key opportunities, execution risks, and required decisions.
- Identify barriers to growth and quickly implement changes to improve sales effectiveness, partner engagement, advisor activation, product readiness, and client adoption.
- Partner with Finance and business leaders to develop business cases, revenue projections, investment priorities, and long-range growth plans.
- Maintain a strong operating cadence focused on disciplined prioritization, execution accountability, and measurable commercial impact.
Compliance, Risk, and Client Standards
- Partner with Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Operations to ensure investment and wealth programs meet applicable legal, regulatory, fiduciary, and operational requirements.
- Support development of compliant sales practices, advisor engagement models, participant communication frameworks, and conversion processes.
- Maintain responsibility for protecting, securing, and properly handling all confidential client and participant data.
- Ensure all activities are conducted consistent with Ascensus policies, client commitments, and the organization's standards for quality, integrity, and participant outcomes.
- Responsible for protecting, securing, and proper handling of all confidential data held by Ascensus to ensure against unauthorized access, improper transmission, and/or unapproved disclosure of information that could result in harm to Ascensus or our clients.
- At Ascensus we are guided by our Core Values of People Matter, Quality First and Integrity Always®. They inspire us every day to prioritize an environment of respect for those we serve and one another and should be visible in your actions on a day-to-day.
Supervision
- Build and lead a team of professionals
- undefined
Experience, Skills, and Knowledge Requirements
Required:
- Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
- 10+ years of experience in defined contribution retirement, investment management, asset management, wealth management, institutional sales, or related financial services fields.
- 7+ years of experience in investment distribution, DC sales, advisor distribution, institutional retirement sales, wealth distribution, or other growth-oriented commercial leadership roles.
- Strong commercial orientation with demonstrated ability to create measurable revenue growth, asset growth, penetration, adoption, and participant conversion outcomes.
- Ability to operate in a complex matrix environment, influence without direct authority, and align multiple teams around shared growth priorities.
- Proven track record setting growth strategy, building sales or distribution capabilities, launching new investment products, and driving market adoption at scale.
- Strong executive presence, communication skills, judgment, financial acumen, and ability to translate complex investment and wealth topics into practical client and advisor-facing narratives.
- Demonstrated ability to move quickly from strategy to execution, build scalable operating models, and create accountability for results.
Preferred:
- Deep understanding of the defined contribution marketplace, retirement plan economics, advisor and consultant ecosystems, plan sponsor decision-making, investment menus, QDIA strategies, and participant engagement models.
- Demonstrated experience with some mix of managed accounts, advice solutions, stable value, target date funds, CITs, proprietary or co-manufactured investment solutions, and broader wealth programs.
- Strong advisor, consultant, partner, and client-facing credibility, with ability to engage senior external stakeholders and represent Ascensus in the market.
- Experience working effectively with relationship management, service management, sales, product, investment, marketing, operations, technology, finance, legal, and compliance teams.
- FINRA licenses and/or investment-related credentials preferred.
The ideal candidate is a commercially driven DC investment distribution leader who can build while executing. This person understands how advisors, partners, plan sponsors, and participants make decisions; knows how to bring investment and wealth solutions to market; and can create the sales discipline, field enablement, advisor engagement, and participant conversion motions required to scale adoption. The right leader will be strategic enough to define the model, hands-on enough to implement it quickly, and collaborative enough to work across Retirement, IWS, and enterprise functions to deliver measurable growth.
The national average salary range for this role is $250-300k in base pay, exclusive of any bonuses and benefits. This base salary range represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position. Actual salary offered will vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors including but not limited to location, experience, performance, and internal pay alignment. We do not anticipate that candidates hired will begin at the top of the range however, from time to time, it may occur on a case-by-case basis. Other rewards and benefits may include: 401(k) match, Medical, Dental, Vision, Paid-Time-Off, etc. For more information, please visit careers.ascensus.com/#Benefits.
For all virtual remote positions, in order to ensure associates can effectively perform their job duties with no distractions, we require an uninterrupted virtual workspace and there is also an expectation of family care being in place during business hours. Additionally, there is an internet work speed requirement of 25 Mbps or better for individual use. If more than one person is utilizing the same internet connection in the same household or building, then a stronger connection is required. If you are unsure of your internet speed, please check with your service provider. Note: For call center roles specifically, it is a requirement to either hardwire your equipment directly to the internet router or ensure your workstation is in close proximity to the router. Please ensure that you are able to meet these expectations before applying.
Be aware of employment fraud. All email communications from Ascensus or its hiring managers originate from @ascensus.com or @futureplan.com email addresses. We will never ask you for payment or require you to purchase any equipment. If you are suspicious or unsure about validity of a job posting, we strongly encourage you to apply directly through our website.
