Insurance pools

Michael Clark is a Managing Director and Consulting Actuary in River and Mercantile's Denver office. In his role he consults on all aspects of financial risk management for defined benefit plans as well as retiree medical plans and defined contribution plans. He also has led numerous clients through pension risk transfers as well as other complex, strategic pension projects. Michael leads River and Mercantile’s business in the West as well as Business Development for the US. Prior to joining River and Mercantile in 2013, Michael worked for Mercer as well as October Three. He currently serves as Immediate Past President for the Conference of Consulting Actuaries as well as providing leadership to several committees. He also participates in the leadership of the Western Pension & Benefits Council – Denver Chapter. Michael is a frequent speaker at industry and professional association conferences on the topics of pension risk management and pension plan administration and has had several articles published in major trade magazines. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He has passed Level II of the CFA program. Michael graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University with a BS in Statistics.

Philip Gorgone is a Managing Director & Senior Investment Consultant in River and Mercantile’s Boston office. Phil is responsible for managing the US Investment Team, which includes design, management, implementation, and governance of client portfolios. He also chairs the U.S. Investment Committee and is a voting member of the Fiduciary Management and Insurance Investment Committees. Prior to joining River and Mercantile in 2006, Phil spent 7 years with John Hancock as a member of the Global Investment Strategy Team, which was responsible for the portfolio management, manager selection and oversight for Hancock’s General Account, 401K, and Pension portfolios. Prior to Hancock, Phil worked as a Portfolio Manager/Director of Research with Durkee Capital Advisors and as a Research Analyst with Magna Venture Partners. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, is a Commodity Trading Advisor, and holds a Series 3 license. Phil has a B.B.A. (Honors) in Finance from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and has an M.S. in Finance from Suffolk University (1st in his class).

James Walton is a Managing Director in River and Mercantile’s Boston office. James leads the firm’s derivatives business in the US and is a member of the US Investment Committee. He is also responsible for providing Independent Expert services related to the due diligence of annuity providers for pension risk transfers. James joined River and Mercantile in 2016 from Legal and General, a UK-based insurance group. He performed a number of investment management roles relating to the retirement business, including responsibility for the investment strategy of that firm’s US Pension Risk Transfer business. James started his career at Aon as an ALM consultant to defined benefit pension plans where he also developed Aon’s LDI, strategic asset allocation processes and analytics. James is a qualified actuary and holds a Masters degree in Physics (Summa Cum Laude) from The University of Oxford.