Skip to content

The Modernization Journey: Digital Transformation Lessons for Investment Managers

Watch our on-demand webinar to learn more about how investment managers can go digital and the benefits they’ll enjoy once they do, moderated by Steve Doire, strategic client and platform advisor at Clearwater Analytics.

Panelists include

  • Dr. Elizabeth Xu, CEO at A2C Leadership Group
  • Charlie Dwyer, consultant at Cutter Associates
  • Marc Piccuirro, portfolio manager at Wellington Management

All successful companies are tech companies, fixed income manager included.

As more and more firms acknowledge that modernizing their technology stacks leads to enhanced performance and streamlined processes, investment managers are embarking on a digital transformation journey to increase their own operational efficiency to overcome increased competition, fee pressure and volatility. For modern firms, staying the course will no longer be an option.  Those who adapt the principles of agility foster a culture of innovation and growth, proactively address change instead of reacting to market forces.  While some may have developed a strategic vision and multi-year plans, modern firms are taking action to move their firm forward along the modernization journey. 

IMTC’s webinar features experts on digital transformation and how investment managers can stay ahead of the curve by modernizing their technology stack.

Discussion topics include

  • How investment managers can leverage advanced technology to drive modernization initiatives
  • How cloud-based technology can transform the investment management process
  • Finding the right balance between automation and humanization to enable more informed investment decisions by discovering new opportunities in volatile times and drive performance
  • How AI and machine learning can help you find new opportunities and make accurate decisions, particularly in highly volatile markets

Panelists

Below, find our esteemed panelist lineup, all of whom share expertise in various fields, from technology transformation to fixed income markets. Click on headshots to view panelists’ bios.

Steve Doire Headshot 200x200 bw

Steve Doire

Strategic client and platform advisor, Clearwater Analytics
Moderator

elizabeth xu headshot

Dr. Elizabeth Xu

CEO, A2C Leadership Group

charles dwyer headshot

Charlie Dwyer

Consultant, Cutter Associates

marc piccuirro headshot

Marc Piccuirro

Portfolio manager, Wellington Management

Steve Doire, CFA, CPA, CPCU

Steve Doire is the founder of DCS Financial Consulting where he advises asset managers and insurers on a variety of financial and strategic matters.  He is a managing partner of Insurance AUM Journal, the leading industry journal of insurance asset management.  Further, Steve is affiliated with Izale Financial Group where he works with insurers to optimize capital, tax, and accounting efficiency on specialty investments.

At Insurance AUM Journal, he is the architect of the website and creator of the first insurance asset manager survey that is digitally integrated into the site – and is currently implementing Microsoft Power BI to further enhance the interactive user experience.  He also is a frequent editorial contributor sharing his insights as a recognized industry leader.

Prior to that Steve had a 20+ year career as a leader of Deutsche Asset Management’s insurance asset management group.  There he helped grow the business from $20bn to $200bn+ in AUM including expansion into global markets.  He has led teams of over 60 professionals on multiple continents.

Earlier in his career, Steve was a finance and accounting professional for a national P&C insurer where he prepared management and Statutory financials and ran the company’s budgeting process.  He also worked for a global accounting firm as an auditor where clients included financial institutions.  His extensive investment experience includes a wide array of public and private markets asset classes and vehicles.  He has developed, designed, and implemented customized strategic investment programs for insurer general accounts considering all relevant factors including industry and peer trends, accounting and taxation, ALM, multi-asset modeling, regulation, rating agencies, solvency and customized reporting. 

At Deutsche his role included the insurance and accounting group where he oversaw the design and delivery of numerous custom reports as well as investment accounting services to clients.  Steve also designed Deutsche’s insurance client web portal, pioneered book yield benchmarking, and designed and patented an analytical framework called dynamic book yield attribution.

Steve holds a BA with high honors from Bryant University, and has earned CFA, CPA, and CPCU designations, the latter two with state and national honors.  He lives in the greater Boston area.

Dr. Elizabeth Xu

Dr. Elizabeth Xu is a global technology and digital transformation leader, public company board member, and officer, a C-level executive with 20+ years of experience & track record of technology & product strategy/execution & customer satisfaction success. Her expertise includes IT strategy, digital transformation through the application of AI, IoT & cybersecurity; architecture transformation; creating large-scale, mission-critical mobile, SaaS applications, and platforms using hybrid clouds, generating $billion revenue each year. 

Dr. Xu has served as Group CTO at CP Group, a $65 Billion revenue international conglomerate, as well as the CTO of BMC Software, a $2.3 Billion revenue software company.  She also taught at Stanford University.

Dr. Xu was the 2013 Women of Influence of Silicon Valley, 2017 WITI Hall of Fame winner, and received 10+ other awards such as Female Technologist of the year, Female Executive of the Year.

Dr. Xu has a Ph.D. in Science and M.S. in Computer Science, she received the Stanford SEP certificate and Public Board Certificate from Harvard University.

Charlie Dwyer, CFA

Charlie is an experienced financial services executive having managed global operations and technology teams supporting asset management, wealth management and asset servicing business. 

Formerly a director of Deutsche Bank’s Asset and Wealth Management Operations and Technology as head of US technology support. Charlie is a CFA and graduated from University of Massachusetts-Amherst with a Bachelor of Business and from Pace University with an MBA.

Marc Piccuirro, CFA

Marc Piccuirro is a portfolio manager on the Financial Reserves management/Insurance team at Wellington Management, responsible for managing multi-sector bond portfolios for insurance-clients involving customized risk and return objectives, influenced by liability considerations, as well as regulatory limitations, rating agency views and accounting standards. Marc has acted as the team’s risk management specialist and driven the development and implementation of numerous risk management tools and analytics.  Marc serves as a “bridge builder” between our investment professionals and the firm’s vast technology development resources.

Previously, Marc was a fixed income analyst at a large custodial bank responsible for research, trading, and reporting on government, MBS, ABS, and municipal bonds.

Marc earned his MS in investment management from Boston University, and his BS in business administration from the University of Massachusetts. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.