Refinitiv
, the UK headquartered leading provider of financial market data and infrastructure services announced the appointment of Charles Smith as head of Digital Solutions, Wealth Management in its latest official press release. In his new role at the firm, Mr. Smith will be responsible for leading Refinitiv’s global digital wealth management solutions and strategic direction and impact. As part of his responsibilities he will be in-charge of building out and advancing Refinitiv’s digital and mobile distribution and leading advanced analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities in order to ensure proper fulfillment of requirements from its clients. This appointment comes at a crucial time for the firm given the fact that wealth management service providers are being forced to adjust their operations as per developments surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis.
As lockdown period for extended duration has been implemented on all major global financial markets firms across financial services sector have become highly dependent on digital solutions to facilitate and enable an engagement model that meets client needs. Refinitiv’s wealth management business continues to actively support a significant number of clients providing global, regional and emerging market wealth platforms across the Americas, Europe, and Asia market region. Mr. Smith will work alongside a team of professionals across Refinitiv who have been committed in helping customers tackle key digital challenges to ensure their survival during these difficult times. And for this reason Refinitiv has invested significantly in expanding its wealth offerings as a sign of its commitment to provide its clients with the latest in digital solutions.
It should be noted that Refinitiv’s Wealth Management solutions is well known for providing seamless integration across front, middle, and back office workflows. Over the course of last year, Refinitiv invested heavily in this business division to bring out the most advanced solutions to market. As part of this ongoing transformation in building up and strengthening its digital solutions for wealth portal, the firm has added widget capabilities via which it provides new features gained as part of its strategic partnerships with various firms such as NRI, SigFig, MarketPsych, Appway, StoneCastle and Sberbank. Some of these newly added features include 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.
Speaking about Charles addition to the team and firm’s commitment to this business unit, Joseph Mark – global head of Wealth Management at Refinitiv said, “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. 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. 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”.
Speaking about his new role at the firm, Charles Smith said, “I am excited to join Refinitiv at an important moment in the transformation of the wealth management industry. 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”.
