Recently, BMO Global Asset Management hired a national sales director for its Retirement Services division, a gentleman named Micah DiSalvo.

DiSalvo, who was previously director of institutional sales with CUNA Mutual Retirement Services will lead a team of 11 sales folk promoting BMO's retirement services to plan advisors and consultants.

"This is a hire that fits within the overall growth strategy we have for the year. We have a really broad set of capabilities around retirement services and record keeping for 401(k) plans. We think of ourselves as a boutique provider of record keeping and retirement services to the mid- and large retirement plan market," Phil Enochs, BMO's managing director of relationship management, U.S. and international, told MFWire.

Now, DiSalvo doesn't sell funds, but nonetheless his hiring is important to BMO's strategies in the DC I-O space, according to Enochs. In particular, bolstering BMO's operations in retirement services such as record keeping helps boost the firm's cred in the DC I-O space.

Here are his thoughts on the subject.

Really, our view of the world is that DC now outpaces defined benefit in terms of assets. Our view is that we want to be a solutions provider to clients. We want to provide financial services solutions to clients across the globe.

To do that in the U.S. we need to participate in a significant way in the retirement space. Participating in the retirement helps us promote our products into that space. It raises our credibility within the retirement space. It keeps us connected, and raises our level of knowledge on solutions for plans. Raising that credibility helps us with working in the investment-only space.

This is a very large market. To not participate in the retirement space means that you will miss out on a significant segment of the investing market in the United States.

Enochs isn't kidding about the importance of the K channel for fundsters. According to ICI data about retirement assets and mutual funds, as of 3/31/2014, $6.6 trillion of assets in IRA and DC assets are in mutual funds (that's about 60 percent of DC assets and about 45 percent of IRA assets). By comparison, according to ICI data, as of 3/31/2014, U.S. mutual fund assets totaled $15.2316 trillion.

Enochs has been working very deliberately building his sales force, with the goal of doubling sales this year. Part of these efforts has been an aggressive hiring program, including the hiring of DiSalvo. 

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