CutterCast: Portals - The Art of the Possible

Onawa Promise Lacewell has a research focus on the impact of disruptive technologies on the financial services sector and on the client-facing technology that wealth managers use to support the digital experience of UHNW and HNW end clients. Specifically, she is interested in how wealth managers use digital portals and mobile apps to support the client experience of UHNW and HNW end clients. Onawa holds a PhD from the University of Missouri.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• Behind the Login of Wealth Management Client Portals
• Benchmarking of Value-Added Services for UHNW clients
• The Rising Popularity of Family Offices
• AI Throughout the Wealth Management Lifecycle
• UHNW Benchmarking

Gina McCafferty has 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. She served at Cutter from 1999 to 2011 as Principal and Managing Director of CutterResearch, and she was instrumental in growing that business. Gina returned to Cutter in 2017, and established and ran the company’s Wealth Management research division. In 2019, she was appointed to Head of Research, responsible for Asset Management and Wealth Management product development and delivery to over 200 member firms around the globe. Gina was previously at Investit Ltd., where she served for six years as head of the company’s research service. Prior to that, she held senior positions at DST International with product responsibility for their global accounting and performance measurement systems, and at SunGard as Vice President of Client Services for their securities trading products.

John Refford joined Cutter Associates in 2018 as a consultant in the client-facing practice. John brings deep expertise in digital marketing technology within the financial services industry. Prior to joining Cutter, John spent 20 years at Natixis Investment Managers, most recently as Senior Vice President, Marketing Technology. There, John led the effort to digitize and modernize the firm’s marketing strategy by launching new digital capabilities and marketing channels. He pioneered the firm’s social media and lead generation programs focused on building brand awareness and driving advisor engagement. Prior to joining marketing at Natixis, John spent 12 years in IT, where he was responsible for the firm’s system, network, and security for global offices. John was a member of the Investment Management Education Alliance and served as a Digital Council board member from 2015 to 2017. A recognized leader in digital strategies, John has presented numerous times at industry events on digital marketing topics. He holds a bachelor of science in computer science from Fitchburg State College, a graduate certificate in technology management from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and an MBA from Babson College.

Cindy Castellano is the CEO of Cutter Associates and has over 30 years of experience in the investment management industry. She formerly led Cutter Associates’ Client-Facing and Wealth practices, advising asset and wealth management firms on their sales and distribution, marketing, product development, consultant relations, client service, and client reporting. Cindy has conducted system searches for CRM, marketing automation, portals, pitchbooks/client presentation, content management, client reporting, client onboarding, and RFP systems. Prior to joining Cutter, Cindy served as Vice President and Head of Operations for a division of Guggenheim Investments, where she led mutual fund accounting and administration; institutional accounting, billing, and client reporting; SMA operations, performance reporting (GIPS); and fixed income performance, attribution, and risk reporting. As Vice President and Head of Equities, Cindy led the firm’s investment team and supervised equity trading activities.

Cindy also spent 10 years as a Senior Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst, managing over USD 500 million in AUM for mutual funds and VITs using social awareness (ESG), large cap growth, and mid-cap growth investment strategies. She developed the investment process, directed research analysts’ day-to-day efforts, and created the firm’s social criteria and proxy voting guidelines. Cindy, a Chartered Financial Analyst, holds a bachelor’s of business administration from Washburn University.