Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has hired Jean LaTorre as its chief investment officer, bringing on board an executive with decades of experience at health-care insurer Aetna.
LaTorre will manage Guardian’s investment policy and strategy, replacing Tom Sorell as CIO, according to a statement this week from Guardian. Sorell will retire by the end of 2020 after serving 17 years as investment chief.
Guardian said LaTorre previously worked at Aetna for almost 30 years, most recently as its CIO and corporate economist, with oversight for $40 billion of assets. She also chaired the company’s hedge fund, Aetna Capital Management.
“Jean is a finance leader with a strong track record in insurance, where she has developed investment strategies that support long-term business growth,” said Guardian’s chief executive officer, Deanna Mulligan, in the statement. A spokesperson for Guardian did not return an email seeking further comment on its new CIO.
Founded in 1860, New York-based Guardian provides insurance and wealth management products. The company had $8.4 billion in capital and $1.4 billion in operating income at the end of 2018, according to the statement.
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Aetna was acquired by CVS Health in 2018, according to an announcement on its website.
In 2019, CVS Health’s 401(k) plan was nominated for Institutional Investor’s turnaround-of-the-year award as a part of the Allocators’ Choice Awards. II reported at the time that Aetna’s investors helped to revamp the CVS 401(k) plan, making a “huge difference” by improving the menu of investment options and changing record keepers to Vanguard Group.
A CVS spokesperson did not return an email seeking comment on LaTorre’s replacement as CIO at Aetna.
