Equity Trust Company Names Mike Smyth CFO

CLEVELAND, OH--(Marketwired - May 17, 2016) - Equity Trust Company, a financial services company offering retirement accounts and alternative asset custody for individuals and financial institutions, today announced the appointment of Mike Smyth to the position of Chief Financial Officer.

Smyth joins Equity Trust with more than 20 years of experience in senior financial leadership positions. Most recently, he was CFO of BMO Harris Financial Advisors, where he led the integration of BMO Harris and M&I Bank to form the broker-dealer. Prior to being named CFO, Smyth was the Director of Finance for the U.S. commercial banking unit of BMO Financial Group, overseeing the realignment of the investment and corporate bank divisions. He also served as CFO of Harrisdirect, the online brokerage unit of BMO Financial, for seven years.

"Mike's combination of financial acumen, people skills and strategic vision make him the perfect fit for Equity Trust as we seek to grow our business, and we're excited to have him on board," said Jeff Desich, Executive Vice Chairman of Equity Trust Company.

For the past seven years Mike Dea has served as both CFO and President of Equity Trust. In order to enable Mr. Dea to enhance and grow general business operations, he has relinquished his CFO role.

"I am excited to have a leader like Mike Smyth on our team and grateful for the opportunity to leverage Mike Dea's knowledge and experience," said Matt Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Equity Trust.

About Equity Trust Company
Equity Trust Company is a financial services company that provides a platform for individual investors, financial professionals and institutions to invest in alternative asset classes, including real estate, tax liens, private equity and precious metals. The Equity Trust family of companies offers custodial services for alternative investments, investment in alternative assets with individual retirement accounts, back-office solutions for RIAs, brokerage services, directed trustee services and more. Equity Trust Company evolved from a predecessor brokerage firm which started in 1974, to a financial services company today serving more than 300,000 accounts, representing over $30 billion in assets under custody and administration. For more information, visit https://www.aboutequitytrust.com/.