Finance and Banking Professional

RINA CELESTINO

** ******* **, *** ** • PERTH AMBOY, NJ 08861

PHONE: 732-***-**** • E-MAIL: ****.*********@*****.***

SUMMARY

Motivated Finance professional with a demonstrated history in the Retirement Industry in both Retail and Investment Banking. Experienced in Cash Management, Trade Operations, and Reconciliation. Energetic, client focused, and results driven.

WORK EXPERIENCE

10/11 – 6/17 Ascensus/ExpertPlan Cranbury, NJ

Finance Coordinator

Process all automated and ad hoc recordkeeping fee pulls for all major billing partners.

Review daily Console Report to confirm prior day’s trade activity and verify against current day distribution account.

Reconcile and resolve fee variances by determining affected participants and liquidating shortfall

Coordinate with Biller to pull fees and ensure offset is applied to current month’s invoices by billing close.

Request wires and post debit and credit memos to initiate fee reinvestments.

Reconcile and send payment instructions for outstanding liquidations at the Trust.

Monitor escalations, delegate ownership, and reach out to internal departments for resolution.

Research inquiries and resolve requests from Web Comments by benchmark deadline.

Maintain direct relationship with various partners to facilitate efficient fee processing on a quarterly basis.

Update Lawson with plan contact and address changes.

Compile monthly spreadsheets of all Finance fee pulls for year-end reporting.

Process third party fee pulls for commissioned based plans.

Update system with new TPA information to initiate additional distribution fees to be remitted to TPA at month end.

Add new vendors to accounts payable database on a monthly basis or as needed by Brainerd office.

Senior Financial Operations Specialist

Performed cash management and record keeping duties for 401k plans on multiple trading platforms

Uploaded daily position and trading file from Matrix, Sun America, Charles Schwab, UBS, and TD Ameritrade

Reviewed daily reports to ensure accuracy of prior day’s trading activities and current day’s disbursements.

Reconciled fund positions for all plans in recordkeeping system.

Worked with trading partners and internal departments to resolve daily trade rejects in a timely manner.

Entered outgoing wires or initiate ACH debits for plans with self-directed brokerage activity.

Balanced cash, buy, and disbursement accounts for all plans.

Processed adjustments to recordkeeping system, both at plan and participant level.

Responsible for all 1099R reporting for current year loan defaults and prior year 1099R corrections.

Posted cash dividends and income earnings to participant accounts as received through trading interface.

Uploaded share re-registrations and loans for incoming conversion assets

Monitored the quarterly fee process and verify plans are billed correctly.

Researched and resolved inquiries and requests from internal departments.

Assisted in acquisition of ExpertPlan and streamlined functions across Ascensus fee platform

10/08 – 10/11 UBS Weehawken, NJ

Trade and Processing Specialist

Manual processing of non-NSCC eligible offshore Mutual Funds including purchases, redemptions, exchanges, and corrections.

Research and resolve branch requests and inquiries channeled through Service Works and emails.

Review daily sales report to ensure accuracy and completion of all manual trade orders.

Process outgoing wires, verify incoming wires, and reconcile wire transfer general ledger on a daily basis.

Extract manually traded funds from a daily macro download for distribution to department and fund company

Retirement Operations Associate

Reviewed and approved branch distribution requests pertaining to IRA for death, disability, and divorce distributions.

Verified named beneficiaries on designation forms

Examined legal documents to ensure IRA distributions to the appropriate parties, including Estate and Trust paperwork

Validated rollover contribution and trustee transfer for incoming assets

Adjust coding of distributions to stay in compliance with IRS guidelines.

Ensured corrected 1099R forms were mailed to the client in a timely manner.

Weekly balancing of IRA distribution history versus beneficiary profiles to eliminate reporting differences at year end.

Participated in the New Joiner program, where nominated candidates explored career paths within UBS through job shadowing, department rotation, networking events, and enhancing skills.

04/07- 10/08 MetLife Bank Bridgewater, NJ

IRA Bank Operations Specialist

Managed workflow for all IRA processing such as reviewing weekly exception reports, analyzing incoming paperwork for possible errors and obtaining corrected information

Liaison between bank and Fidelity Retirement Services, daily contact with IRA account holders to ensure quality customer service.

Verified beneficiary paperwork and legal documentation for spousal rollovers

Addressed and resolved escalated client complaints sent directly to Bank President

Maintained professional relationships with Financial Advisors to enhance client experience and seamless processing.

Established IRA accounts from agent and mail channels and initiated trustee transfer, rollovers, or contribution for incoming funds.

Reconciled banks’ general ledger for cashier’s checks and adjusted for possible encoding errors.

Compiled AML reports and managed decedent accounts.

EDUCATION

2000 – 2004 Rutgers College New Brunswick, NJ

Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Sociology

SKILLS

Advanced Excel, Lotus Notes, Electronic Payment Network, NSCC, Lawson, Oracle, Concur, PC Aims, FiServ, FedWire, MetCare, Service Works, Broadridge, People Soft, Mac OS, Spectrum, Rumba, AS400, UNIX, Bugzilla, FootPrints, ACH return codes and rules, IRS Publication 590, IRA reporting and guidelines, Reg D, SOX guidelines, and Currency Transaction Reports.

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