Investment
consulting

Tom Cassara is a Managing Director in River and Mercantile’s New York office and Head of the US business. In his role he consults with institutional clients across the investment and actuarial spectrum. This includes defined benefit, defined contribution, not for profit and retiree medical. Tom works with clients to bring his 30 years of experience across a wide range of institutional organizations to provide custom solutions. Prior to joining River and Mercantile, Tom was a Senior Partner with Mercer leading their US East Wealth business in addition to providing strategic investment and actuarial advice to clients. He has consulted to organizations with less than $100M in assets to greater than $5B in assets. Included in his experience is working with corporate, not for profit, church, healthcare and endowments and foundations. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, a CFA charterholder and has a Series 3 license. Tom has a Bachelor of Science degree from Wake Forest University.

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).