First Mercantile Names New Chief Investment Officer

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- First Mercantile Trust Company, a member of the MassMutual Financial Group, has announced that C. Edwin Riley has joined First Mercantile as chief investment officer (CIO), effective October 1.

In his role as CIO, reporting to First Mercantile president Ian Sheridan, Mr. Riley is responsible for the oversight and management of First Mercantile's overall investment strategy and investment platform on behalf of First Mercantile clients.

Mr. Riley joins First Mercantile from Nationwide Financial, where he most recently served as vice president and chief investment officer. In this role, he was responsible for due diligence and oversight of Nationwide Financial's money managers as well as the management of the company's team of investment research managers, specialists and consultants. Mr. Riley's responsibilities also included product development, sales support, investment selection and monitoring, and business development efforts. He also served as chairman of the investment committee for Nationwide Investment Advisors Corporation, LLC (NIA).

Prior to his six years at Nationwide Financial, Mr. Riley served 27 years as a senior investment executive and portfolio manager with several money management firms. Most notably, he served as senior vice president and director of equity management of NationsBank (now Bank of America).

Mr. Riley earned his bachelor of science degree in finance from West Virginia University and holds the FINRA Series 7 and 24 registrations.

"We look forward to Ed's strong leadership and investment oversight on behalf of First Mercantile clients as a member of the First Mercantile executive leadership team," says Sheridan. "His in-depth experience with collective investment trusts, which are at the core of the First Mercantile offering, will be of tremendous value to our clients."

For more information regarding First Mercantile, please contact your advisor or call First Mercantile at (800) 753-9863.

About First Mercantile

First Mercantile, a member of MassMutual Financial Group, is one of the premier collective investment trust (CIT) record keepers in the United States. It offers investment solutions exclusively for qualified retirement plans. Employing a due diligence process, First Mercantile searches the investment universe to select non-proprietary options suited for its investment platforms. CITs are sub-advised by institutional money managers, or invest in mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs). Also included on the investment platform are DFA Funds, Lifestyle and Target Date options. First Mercantile acts in a fiduciary capacity with respect to the management of the assets of the collective investment trusts. The Advisor Review Committee oversees the entire due diligence process, which includes qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Its investment products are distributed through solid relationships with quality investment professionals and third party administrators. First Mercantile offers full fee disclosure and transparency with a flexible and competitive cost structure. It has a national network of seasoned, knowledgeable professionals to provide excellent client service, customer care and support.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. www.firstmerc.com.

    Contact: Patrice Saddler
    901.463.1226
    psaddler@firstmerc.com

SOURCE First Mercantile

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