Cheiron Opens Offices in Three Cities, Keeping Pace with Client Base Growth

Actuarial firm targets complex financial risks of pensions, welfare plans

Dated: December 1, 2006

Contact: Connie Mauro, 703 / 893-1456 ext. 1014, cmauro@cheiron.us

McLean, Va., Dec. 1, 2006 — In an effort to meet the needs of its rapidly growing client base, Cheiron Inc. has opened offices in New York, Chicago and the Philadelphia area. Cheiron, the Washington DC-based actuarial services firm serving public sector, multiemployer, corporate and not-for-profit pension and welfare plan clients, also maintains an office in Charlotte, N.C.

“The consistent growth we’ve experienced since our launch in 2002 suggests a strong demand for Cheiron’s particular blend of high-end analytics, creativity and client focus,” says Gene Kalwarski, FSA, EA, MAAA, a founding partner of the firm. “We have been fortunate to attract the kind of first-rate actuarial talent that our clients, with their complex challenges, require,” he adds.

Cheiron’s New York office will be led by Martin Feldman, FSA, a consulting actuary, who most recently had been a Principal with Milliman. During his professional career of over 30 years, Feldman has consulted with a wide variety of multiemployer, corporate, and not-for-profit clients. His work has focused on pension and retiree medical benefits.

“I had been watching Cheiron’s progress and am looking forward to the opportunity to lead the firm’s expansion in the New York region,” Feldman says.

Meanwhile, Cheiron recently completed an agreement to acquire Feinstein Glaser Olney & Co., a respected Chicago-based actuarial firm focusing on mid-sized pension plans, primarily in the Midwest. That transaction will become effective January 1, 2007.

A hallmark of both organizations has been the assignment of highly seasoned consultants on all client engagements. “Gene and I share the same philosophy on how to service clients; our professional compatibility makes this combination a natural for us, and all our clients will benefit,” says David Feinstein, a founder of the acquired firm and now a senior consultant with Cheiron.

The fiscal challenges that many pension sponsors are facing today stemming from investment setbacks and powerful demographic trends “are causing many plans to look for the kind of creative, responsive consulting services that our firms provide,” adds Kalwarski. “Combining forces with David Feinstein and his talented team will help us continue our rapid growth, while providing excellent service to our clients.”

In the Philadelphia area, an office led by Cheiron veteran actuary Christian Benjaminson, EA, MAAA, began serving area clients in July. Benjaminson, who joined Cheiron soon after its founding, has played a major role in the development of Cheiron’s proprietary interactive modeling tools that enable clients, in real time, to explore the financial implications of varying plan designs and potential investment scenarios.

“We believe in engaging our clients in the process of determining the best course of action for their plans, by giving them access to sophisticated analytical tools, and the benefit of Cheiron’s broad experience with clients nationwide,” Benjaminson says.

Cheiron’s Charlotte, N.C. office, led by consultant John Colberg, FSA, EA, MAAA, opened its doors in 2003. That office was recently expanded with the addition of several consultants.

On the West Coast, in Murietta, California near Los Angeles, Cheiron maintains a strategic partnership with Axene Health Partners. That close relationship provides added capacity to Cheiron’s health plan consulting services.

“We stand behind our work, serving our clients with integrity, responsiveness and objectivity,” says Kalwarski. A hallmark of Cheiron’s business philosophy that led to its founding was a refusal to ask clients to accept limitations of the firm’s liability for the quality of its work.

From its founding, Cheiron also has stressed the importance of its independence. “Our only business is providing analysis and advice; we are not affiliated with any other kind of firm,” Kalwarski says. “As a result, we are not affected by conflicts with corporate alliances, outside advisors, external oversight entities, or between management and labor.”

More information about Cheiron, including contact information for its offices, can be found on the firm’s Web site or by calling Cheiron’s McLean, VA Headquarters at 877-Cheiron (877-243-4766).