Refinitiv appoints head of digital solutions for wealth management

  • People Moves
  • 01.04.2020 09:46 am

Refinitiv today announced the appointment of Charles Smith as head of Digital Solutions, Wealth Management. In this role Mr. Smith will lead Refinitiv’s global digital wealth management solutions and will be responsible for its strategic direction and impact. This will include building out and advancing Refinitiv’s digital and mobile distribution, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities to meet the needs of wealth management firms and their advisors.   

Mr. Smith’s appointment comes at a time when wealth management firms and their advisors are forced to adjust to the global COVID-19 and the ensuing economic crisis that has seen the financial services industry depend more on digital solutions to enable an evolving engagement model that meets client needs.

“As the world around us shifts to remote work, Refinitiv remains evermore committed to providing customers with the transformative digital solutions and insight needed to succeed,” said Joseph Mrak, global head of Wealth Management, Refinitiv. “As our customers adjust to increased digital client demands, our systems are there to support such efforts accordingly. For instance, our brokerage transactions and operations service, BETA Systems, has been processing record transactions per day: up 129% on average for the month of March. This record surpasses February as the previously recorded highest month for BETA.”     

Mrak added, “We welcome Charles to Refinitiv during this unprecedented period of need. His industry experience will help us to provide our customers with the future-focused insight and solutions needed to navigate today’s rapidly changing wealth management industry.”

Refinitiv’s wealth management business supports a significant number of established and emerging wealth customers providing global, regional and emerging market wealth platforms across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Smith joins a team of professionals across Refinitiv dedicated to helping customer segments tackle key digital challenges in order to thrive. The wealth management industry is one that has been impacted significantly, with many new fintech firms brining a new perspective to providing advice and solutions to investors. Refinitiv is investing significantly in expanding its wealth offerings and is committed to providing its clients with the latest in digital solutions.

“I am excited to join Refinitiv at an important moment in the transformation of the wealth management industry,” said Charles Smith. “As new technologies evolve to enhance the way wealth clients and financial advisors interact, we plan to be at the forefront of that change, and I am looking forward to assisting our wealth management customers in meeting the rapidly evolving digital needs of today and tomorrow.”  

Prior to joining Refinitiv, Mr. Smith spent eight years as a Managing Director in EY’s Wealth and Asset Management practice where he worked extensively with many of the top 10 US financial services institutions on key wealth management areas such as product strategy, client and advisor experience design and development, retirement, operating model development, process improvement, platform implementation and service delivery strategy. Prior to EY, Charles had senior leadership roles at Fiserv/CheckFree, Misys (now Finastra) and Thomson Financial (now Refinitiv). He led product management & marketing teams focused on delivering wealth management technology solutions designed to enable financial services clients, and he has managed relationship management teams focused on working with C-level executives on utilizing technology solutions to grow and streamline their businesses. Mr. Smith holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and AB in economics from Dartmouth College. 

Refinitiv has a rich history of servicing the wealth management industry from front to back office. Over the last year, the firm has invested heavily in the business and is committed to bringing the most advanced solutions to the market. The ongoing transformation includes building out the firm’s digital solutions by strengthening its wealth portal with widget capabilities and through strategic partnerships such as: NRI,  SigFigMarketPsychAppwayStoneCastle and Sberbank to add Digital Advice Technology, MarketPsych Indices, Automated and Customized Advisory and End-Client Workflows, and Enhanced Cash Management Solutions to clearing and self-clearing broker-dealer clients. 

Refinitiv Wealth Management solutions provide seamless integration across front, middle, and back office workflows. Learn more about Refinitiv Wealth Management.

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