David Blanchett Leaves Morningstar for PGIM Unit

Retirement expert and researcher David Blanchett starts today at his new position as managing director and head of retirement research at QMA, the quantitative equity and multi-asset solutions specialist of PGIM, the $1.5 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial. He is to help meet the growing demand for defined contribution (DC) solution capabilities.

Formerly head of retirement research at Morningstar, Blanchett also is an adjunct professor of the American College of Financial Services. He also was one of Investment Advisor’s 2021 top 25 industry leaders who are pushing the industry forward.

Blanchett told ThinkAdvisor he was “excited” for his new post, a move that has been in the works for the past month and a half. He will be working within the defined contribution 401(k) plans and investment management group to help expand and develop new products and solutions. He also plans to continue his “thought leadership” activities.

Blanchett said the move was an opportunity to work with more resources, especially with the collective firepower of QMA, PGIM and Prudential. He said some of his work would overlap what he did at Morningstar, adding it is a “new environment with a larger set of tools.” He added that the combined firms gave the group a “unique position to leverage” itself to dominate the retirement business.

“We have been focused on solving upcoming challenges in the retirement space,” said QMA’s CEO Andrew Dyson in a statement. “Over the next 10 years, income solutions will come to dominate the DC marketplace. David is a recognized retirement thought leader and his experience will be invaluable as we position ourselves for the future.”

A regular contributor to ThinkAdvisor, Blanchett is also a chartered financial analyst and a certified financial planner. Prior to his almost 10 years at Morningstar, he was with Unified Trust Co. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago and a doctorate in personal financial planning programs from Texas Tech University.

QMA designs and manages portfolios for a worldwide institutional client base, including corporate and public pension plans, endowments and foundations, multiemployer pension plans, and subadvisory accounts for other financial services companies. It had $119 billion in assets under management as of March 31.