Russell Investments, a Seattle-based investment manager and OCIO, is doubling down on efforts to increase its presence in the retail investment channel with new hires and internal promotions.
On Monday, Russell announced it was elevating its former chief of staff to the CEO, Emily Steinbarth, to co-lead its North America advisor and intermediary services division with current leader Brad Jung.
In the new role, Steinbarth will focus on the firm’s retail product and channel strategy, leading “the firm’s strategic accounts team and RIA and platform relationships while accelerating time-to-market for ETF and model portfolio solutions.”
Jung will continue to lead Russell’s advisor distribution strategy and sales team, keeping him as the primary relationship with advisors and platform providers.
Both will report to Chairman and CEO Zach Buchwald and be on Russell’s executive committee.
The firm also announced that it had hired Shweta Narasimhadevara to the new role of chief solutions officer, responsible for leading product strategy, development and commercialization across wealth, institutional, and alternative channels.
Narasimhadevara had most recently been head of private markets and alternatives with State Street, which has been working to break into the retail channel for those offerings. Narasimhadevara will report to President and Chief Investment Officer Kate El-Hillow.
“She will help ensure that what we build—whether for institutional clients, advisors, or individuals—is deeply aligned with how investors actually want to invest,” El-Hillow said in a statement.
In addition, Russell promoted its global head of product, Ravi Arulanantham, to the new role of global head of wealth strategy and solutions. In this post, he will oversee wealth offerings such as exchange traded funds, separately managed accounts, interval funds and model portfolios, with the goal of meeting advisor needs and evolving the offerings across multiple platforms.
In recent years, Russell has been expanding its separately managed account offerings for advisors as it seeks to grow that business alongside its institutional clients. In June, it launched five multi-manager ETFs geared to advisors and retail investors.
“Advisors today are under pressure to do more to deliver better outcomes, to manage tax impact, and to scale their practice efficiently,” Buchwald said in a statement. “We bring institutional-caliber tools and portfolio expertise to the advisor’s world. Today’s leadership appointments reflect our investment in the business and our commitment to delivering even more for advisors.”
The firm has about $355 billion in assets under management across 30 countries.
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