Rod Smyth

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Investments

Rod is one of RiverFront’s four Founding Partners. Rod has been an important contributor to our investment decisions since our strategies were incepted and serves as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. He has also become a mentor to our investment team members, bringing his experience and wisdom to their decision-making processes. Rod has nearly 40 years of investment experience both as a portfolio manager and investment strategist. Rod began working with many members of the RiverFront team in 1995, when he moved to Richmond to work for Wachovia Securities after working in the investment industry overseas. At Wachovia Securities, and its predecessor firms, Rod served as the firm’s Chief Investment Strategist for eight years and as a portfolio manager for its Global Asset Allocation portfolios.

Rod has been a regular contributor over the years on financial news channels (CNBC, Fox Business and Bloomberg) and is frequently quoted in the financial press.

Rod earned an MA in Economics from Dundee University in Scotland.

Whether as an investment strategist or on stage, Rod is a performer. He comes by it naturally, as his mother was a trained singer and his father an amateur conductor. His talents range from singing in a choir to performing in front of television cameras as a strategist. Rod’s youngest son, an accomplished actor, recently said that he also wanted to study business so he could be a "financial actor" like his dad.

“I love the mission at RiverFront to support one local charity with a major gift each year, where associates can get involved in person. I am proud that, as a small firm, we are a major donor in the city of Richmond. When we started the firm, we promised ourselves that if we were successful, we would be generous; I believe we are fulfilling that promise”