DPL Financial Partners, the leading platform for commission-free annuities, announced the appointment of two experienced insurance industry executives as the firm approaches $7 billion in assets under administration. Mark Forman joins as Head of Experience and Kendal Wetzel as Head of Sales Strategy and Operations. The newly created roles signal DPL's intent to deepen its service infrastructure and accelerate growth in the registered investment advisor (RIA) market.
Founder and CEO David Lau said the hires reflect significant investments to modernize and simplify the annuity experience. "Mark and Kendal both know the RIA market well and bring expertise tailoring annuity and insurance solutions to its unique needs," Lau said. "We're listening closely to our members and partners, and these additions reflect our commitment to delivering an experience that supports advisor and client success at every stage of our growth."
Forman will lead initiatives to enhance service for DPL's member advisors, strategic partners, and consumers. He brings deep insight into advisor and consumer needs, having led experience initiatives at Jefferson National, where he worked closely with Lau, and later at Nationwide Financial. Following his tenure at Nationwide, Forman spent nearly six years as Chief Marketing Officer at RetireOne, served as a fractional CMO to award-winning fintechs and RIAs with Intention.ly, and most recently was CMO at Optifino.
"Commission-free annuities and other high-value insurance solutions can transform advisors' practices and help solve the most critical retirement problems Americans face today: spending confidently and securely after their working years," Forman said. "That's what drew me to DPL. I look forward to close collaboration with DPL's members and partners to optimize their experience on the most advanced and fastest growing commission-free insurance platform in the industry."
Wetzel brings significant distribution experience, having previously served as VP of Sales Operations and Enablement at Jackson National Life Distributors and Director of RIA Distribution at Allianz Life. In her new role, she will lead sales operations and enablement, aligning DPL's teams, processes, and technology to fuel the firm's continued growth.
"Having spent my career working with carriers, I've watched DPL move the industry forward with unique solutions for RIAs, a segment for which I have a strong passion," Wetzel said. "I'm eager to help build the systems and infrastructure that will support that momentum as advisor and consumer demand increases."
The appointments come as DPL supports more than 8,500 RIA firms directly and through integrations with leading wealth management platforms including Orion and Black Diamond. The firm's Avenew platform offers a transparent, competitively priced marketplace for commission-free annuities and insurance solutions. For more information, visit dplfp.com.
The leadership additions are significant because they address a key bottleneck in the adoption of commission-free annuities: operational complexity and advisor education. By installing dedicated leaders for experience and sales strategy, DPL aims to make it easier for RIAs to integrate annuities into client portfolios, potentially accelerating a shift away from traditional commission-based products. As demand for low-cost retirement income solutions grows, DPL's ability to scale its service and distribution infrastructure could determine how quickly commission-free annuities become mainstream in the RIA channel.
