Grant Samuel Funds Management has appointed Stephen Higgins to the newly created role of key account manager in the NSW retail sales team. Mr Higgins will be based in Sydney and report to head of retail distribution Stephen Fletcher. His key focus will be on the IFA, private bank and family office channels.
Mr Higgins joins GSFM from Fidante Partners where he was business development manager – Investments.
Prior to this he held business development roles with a range of institutions in Australia and overseas including Bank of Montreal Global Asset Management in Toronto, Colonial First State Investments, Zurich Investments, Perpetual Investments and UBS in London.
GSFM CEO, Damien McIntyre, said growth in demand from the retail market for GSFM’s six local and international fund manager partners had led to the creation of this new position.
“Stephen has over sixteen years experience in the financial services industry and is a welcome addition to the GSFM retail distribution team.
“He has strong technical knowledge, a broad understanding of the funds management market, in-depth knowledge of portfolio construction and experience distributing fixed income, equities, alternatives and multi asset funds, all of which make him a good match for the GSFM product line-up.
“With a proven ability to drive sales, achieve organisational objectives, build relationships, and outstanding interpersonal skills, he will be a valuable team member.”
The appointment follows the announcement in September that Man Group had entered into a strategic partnership agreement with GSFM positioning Man Group and GSFM to offer new investment products to retail investors in Australia and New Zealand. As part of the partnership, GSFM is additionally primarily responsible for retail distribution of Man Group’s flagship Man AHL Alpha (AUD) fund.
Mr Higgins holds a Bachelor of Business (Management) from University of Western Sydney and a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University