Financial companies editor at Reuters becomes senior correspondent

Jed Horowitz, who was hired last year at Reuters to become its financial companies editor, is moving to a senior correspondent position.

In an announcement distributed to the staff Thursday morning, Americas editor Jim Gaines writes:

Jed Horowitz, who knows more than most of us have forgotten about wealth management and America’s banks, has decided to give our readers and users the benefit of his knowledge directly once again as a senior correspondent for Reuters. While we look for someone to replace him in his management role, Dan Wilchins will run the financial companies file, Paritosh Bansal will continue to run M&A, and Jennifer Merritt will run wealth management, all of them for now reporting directly to Martin Howell.

A veteran of American Banker, Dow Jones and Crain’s, where he covered the independent wealth management industry, Jed joined Reuters in November of last year to help build our coverage of retail brokerage. Picked to lead our signature initiative in wealth management, his expertise has got us off to a roaring start. In less than a month, the team has broken a string of stories, including memos from UBS’s new executives asserting their commitment to the U.S. brokerage business, the Labor Dept’s plans to hold brokers to higher standards of care when giving advice on 401(k) plans, and Old Mutual’s plans to spin off some fund businesses. With the help of markets, several other teams in the newsroom and Dick Satran’s team doing double duty as our new wealth management desk, his team has been producing a very well-received daily “How to Play It” column, biweekly compliance columns and very popular stories about brokers jumping ship in the search for higher compensation.

Having our best journalists move in and out of editing roles depending on the needs of the file and the best interests of our readers and customers is a model we intend to pursue in the future as well. Please join me in congratulating Jed on a job well done and on his new role as one of Reuters’ premier financial journalists.