Sydney Cutter Connect 2023

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. 

Jon Chandler has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Cutter Associates in 2014, Jon was a senior business analyst for State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), where he was involved in a number of projects for the front and middle office, including UAT design and execution for an order management system (Fidessa IMS), the implementation of a web-based due diligence platform (FundInsight), and an enterprise solution to support blended benchmarks. Prior to his project roles, Jon was a principal in fixed income trade operations at SSGA. He has extensive experience with post-trade operations and applications, such as OASYS/CTM, PORTIA, MBSExpert, and FailStation. Jon earned a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Florida and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• Alternative Investment Systems
• Cutter Benchmarking: Alternative Investments
• Cutter Benchmarking: Derivatives and Collateral Management
• Cutter Benchmarking: Investment Risk
• Cutter Benchmarking: Performance Measurement and Attribution
• Derivatives and Collateral Management Solutions
• Execution Management Systems
• Managed Data Services
• Order Management Systems
• Outsourcing Solutions
• Performance Measurement and Attribution Systems
• Portfolio Analytics Solutions
• Private Debt
• Risk Management Systems
• The Evolving Front Office Support Model

Chanelle Crabtree has extensive experience consulting for the asset management industry in Australia for the past 20 years. Chanelle has considerable knowledge and expertise in investment management, outsourcing, and the development of operational models that support the investment management lifecycle. Chanelle leads Cutter Associates’ Investment Operations and Outsourcing practice, and oversees Cutter’s Australia office. She has decades of experience working for investment management firms, custodians, and consulting firms, in roles that included middle-/back-office operational, business analyst, project management, consulting, and senior management. She has a deep understanding of investment management, covering the operational, governance, and system requirements to support all types of clients, products, and asset classes.

A former Director at Deloitte, Chanelle led key engagements, particularly for complex clients with diverse asset classes, covering target operating model design, sourcing, and implementation. Prior to Deloitte, Chanelle was a Lead Consultant at Morse Consulting Pty Limited, where she led various engagements that covered target operating model design, sourcing of custodians/systems, and implementations with investment managers and superannuation clients.

Stacia Graham has more than 25 years of experience in investment management, bringing a deep understanding of end-to-end asset management processing and project management to her role as Managing Director, Asset Management Research Lead at Cutter Associates.

Stacia also serves as a subject matter expert for targeted engagements in Enterprise Risk and Compliance.

Prior to joining Cutter in 2018, Stacia worked at Wellington Management Company LLP in Boston in various senior roles within compliance, investment administration, and operational risk, including leading and managing the global Investment Guideline Compliance team for eight years. She earned a bachelor of science in business administration from Bryant University and an MBA from Bentley University.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

• Client Portal Solutions
• Client Reporting Systems
• Cutter Benchmarking: Client Reporting
• Cutter Benchmarking: Modern Compliance in Investment Management
• Electronic Communications Surveillance Systems
• Hybrid Work Arrangements and Their Impact on Firm Culture
• Performance Measurement and Attribution Systems
• Portfolio Analytics Solutions
• Research Management Systems
• Using RPA to Automate Business Processes

Recent Consulting Engagements include:

• Assessment of business processes and systems to support regulatory reporting (shareholder disclosure reporting) for a large asset manager

• Assessment of requirements and vendor solutions for Electronic Communication Surveillance for a small asset manager, to rectify SEC findings

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.

Matt Mueller brings more than eight years of experience in the financial services industry to his Research Analyst role at Cutter Associates. Prior to joining Cutter in 2022, Matt was an investment performance associate at Cambridge Associates before moving onto an investment operations role at 1919 Investment Counsel, an RIA headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. At 1919 Matt was involved in every aspect of the back office, from trade support to Security Master to compliance. Most recently, Matt served as a research analyst at the financial publication Angels & Entrepreneurs, which specializes in early-stage companies raising money via Equity Crowdfunding Platforms. Matt was responsible for sourcing the deals, and evaluating the product, market, and investment viability of each company. Matt earned his bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in business from Gettysburg College.

Rein van Rooyen is a results-driven finance and investment industry leader with international experience spearheading teams and achieving outcomes within highly competitive environments. Rein is well versed in leading change agendas, including building capabilities, integrating functions, culture journeys, structure realignment, and operational transformations. Rein comfortably navigates ambiguity, drives forward change, and develops innovative commercial solutions with a sustained commitment for stakeholder centricity and broader organizational impacts. A global thought leader and champion of innovation and transformation, he has extensive experience across superannuation, investment management, banking, risk, and insurance. He has a deep understanding of investment management system use and design.

Prior to Cutter, Rein spent five years at QSuper, where he led the middle and back office for the AUD 100 billion fund, including overseeing investment data, investment performance & analytics, investment risk & compliance, trade support, cash & treasury, collateral management & optimization, valuations & alternatives, investment implementation and deal team, as well as fund operations. He also worked for PwC in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, where he led a variety of client engagements.

Arnie Wachs, Head of Consulting at Cutter Associates, brings extensive business and technical knowledge to the role, with over 30 years of investment management industry experience. Arnie advises clients on their strategic technology direction, data governance practices, trading platforms and practices, portfolio management tools, and operational organization, as well as data management architecture, tools, and practices. He has extensive experience working for investment management firms, financial software vendors, and consulting firms, in roles that included business analyst, developer, system architect, development management, project management, product management, sales, and executive positions. He has a deep understanding of investment management system use and design. He also leads the firm’s Technology and Architecture practice.

Prior to joining Cutter, Arnie worked for ITG, where he led the product management efforts for the development of the next-generation OEMS platform. Prior roles include Head of Equity Systems at BlackRock Solutions, Senior Product Manager at Charles River Development, and Vice President at Fidelity Investments, where he designed and developed the firm’s global trading platforms. Arnie also led efforts at State Street Global Advisors to create an enterprise-wide, cross-asset class security and benchmark master. He holds a Bachelor of Science in physics from Clarkson University.

Functional Head of Investment control at Aware Super with over 16 years of industry experience, remit includes valuations, unit pricing and investment compliance.

Tuisha Purewal is Head of Derivatives Client Engagement in Asia Pacific. She manages the regional Derivatives Client Team, which leads Derivatives strategic product and service initiatives for multiple clients within the region.

Tuisha joined Northern Trust in the UK and has over 15 years of Derivatives knowledge, encompassing client relations and technological solutions within the business.

Prior to relocating to Australia, Tuisha managed and contributed to numerous Client, Regulatory and Strategic developments within the Derivatives Practice. Tuisha has served as a Derivative specialist, coordinating the portfolio of client change, and interfacing between client stakeholders & the internal business functions.

Dumitru is an industry veteran with over 20 years’ experience in the buy-side industry. In his long career, he has helped some of the largest and most sophisticated asset managers, asset owners and sovereign investors such as central banks optimize their operating models across the front, middle and back office including collateral management and OTCs.

Since joining SimCorp in 2010, Dumitru managed complex implementation projects in France before moving to Southeast Asia where he was instrumental in expanding our community of clients across the region.

In his current position, Dumitru helps SimCorp clients in Australia improve their ROI and achieve their intended outcomes to maximize the business impact of technology and innovation.