TIFIN, a fintech platform using artificial intelligence and investment-driven personalization to shape the future of investor experiences, today announced that financial industry veteran Sharon French has joined the firm as Senior Partner. She will join the firm’s executive committee as well as spearhead its partnerships with asset managers.
TIFIN also announced the milestone of partnering with over 50 ETFs and Mutual Funds that are now using its subsidiaries to market and distribute to financial advisors and individual investors using its pioneering approach of “Embedded Investments” within WealthTech products and Wealth-as-a-Service APIs.
Ms. French most recently was President and CEO of AIG’s Life & Retirement Funds and oversaw all aspects of their retail asset management business. She was instrumental in orchestrating AIG’s sale of their retirement and retail mutual funds business to Touchstone Investments last month.
“Sharon has been an advisor with TIFIN and we are delighted that she is now joining full-time and becoming part of our executive team,” said Dr. Vinay Nair, founder and CEO of TIFIN. “Across our fintech products, we work with asset managers to help shape their digital distribution strategy, especially in fragmented and growing markets such as with financial advisors and individual investors. With her deep experience in the investment management industry and desire to serve the end-investors, Sharon is uniquely qualified to help us deepen and broaden current and new asset management partnerships.”
Funds using TIFIN’s platform include those offered by firms such as JP Morgan, State Street, DWS, Northern Trust, ProShares, ALPS, New York Life and Aberdeen Asset Management, with over $2.5 trillion in assets between them across ETFs and mutual funds. TIFIN’s fintech brands, including Magnifi, Clout, Positivly, Totum, PlanIQ, Louise, Financial Answers and Distill, are being used by financial advisors and individual investors and provide a marketplace for investment managers.
“TIFIN has emerged as an indispensable partner in the investment community, and I have believed in the company’s mission since the very beginning,” said Sharon French, Senior Partner at TIFIN. “Reaching 50 funds on the platform is a clear sign that the market is ready for digital distribution and content amplification using technology-based solutions like machine-learning and AI.”
Ms. French has held a variety of senior roles during her 35 years in financial services. Prior to joining AIG, she was Executive Vice President, Head of Beta Solutions for OppenheimerFunds where she led the strategy, development and implementation of the firm’s smart beta ETF products and solutions. She also oversaw the firm’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts and served on the firm’s Senior Leadership Team, governing the overall strategic direction of OppenheimerFunds.
Previously, she served as Senior Strategic Advisor to the CEO and President of Investment Management at BNY Mellon and Head of Private Client & Institutions at BlackRock. She spent nearly a decade at AllianceBernstein and held prior roles at mPower, Smith Barney and Chase Manhattan Bank.
Ms. French was named “Most Notable Women in Finance” by Crain’s New York in 2019. She is a Board Member for DHB Capital and is a Board Member for Women in ETFs; serves on the Board of Wake Forest University School of Business; and is a member of the Investment Company Institute’s ETF Governance Committee. She has also recently served on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the University of Delaware Lerner School of Business, and as Co-Chair of the ETF and Managed Solutions Committee for the Money Management Institute.
Ms. French received a B.S. in business management from the University of Delaware, and earned her Certified Investment Management Analyst designation from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
