Russell Investments Merged Tech and Investment Teams
The firm integrated its technology and investment divisions in 2025 to accelerate innovation and automate research tasks.
Updated on Oct. 1, 2026 in Investing
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In 2025, Russell Investments President and Chief Investment Officer Kate El-Hillow merged the firm's technology and investment research teams. The initiative aimed to speed up the launch of new financial products and increase operational efficiency.
Why it matters
By combining engineers with investment researchers into cross-functional units, the firm intends to automate routine data analysis and test new innovations more quickly. This strategic shift occurred alongside a broader expansion of the firm's investment offerings.
Client retention reached 97% at the end of 2025, up from 88% in 2021. Meanwhile, the firm generated $14 billion in net inflows in 2025, with assets under management growing 20% year-over-year to $377 billion.
The players
Kate El-Hillow
President and chief investment officer at Russell Investments who led the 2025 reorganization.
Russell Investments
A global investment firm that manages institutional and retail assets and develops proprietary manager research.
Microsoft
A technology company that partnered with Russell Investments to host artificial intelligence hackathons.
The details
The integration process involved embedding engineers directly into investment research teams to better process manager data. By centralizing technology leadership under the Chief Investment Officer, the firm sought to improve internal agility. These structural changes were complemented by the rollout of seven new exchange-traded funds and AI-focused hackathons held in partnership with Microsoft.
Timeline
2021: The firm recorded an 88% client retention rate.
2025: Kate El-Hillow merged the technology and investment teams.
End of 2025: Client retention improved to 97%.
June 2026: Total assets under management reached $416 billion.
Money Landscape
This reorganization represents an attempt to modernize the firm's 40-year history of proprietary manager research using digital automation. The shift occurs within an industry-wide trend of firms integrating advanced technology to handle large-scale manager datasets.
The firm's focus on faster innovation and automation may influence the speed and variety of investment products available to investors. Households should monitor how these shifts affect the management and performance of their own portfolios by consulting with a financial professional.
The takeaway
The integration of technology into investment research is designed to increase agility in product development and data processing. Investors should review their current fund lineup to ensure any new offerings align with their long-term risk tolerance and financial goals.
Further reading
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Source note: This article includes information reported by American Banker.
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