McLean has more than 20 years’ experience in investment banking, structured product distribution and private market capital raising, gained through holding senior roles at financial institutions including Macquarie Bank, Credit Suisse, and iPartners. At Stropro he will focus on adviser engagement, investment strategy support, and driving adoption of the platform’s growing suite of institutional-grade capabilities.

Stropro’s technology enables smarter portfolio construction by delivering powerful tools that support product discovery, education, and full lifecycle management — helping advisers seamlessly incorporate structured investments into client portfolios. Since 2019, through a panel of leading global banks, it has designed and arranged more than 400 tailored alternative investment solutions for wealth advisers and deployed more than $1.5 billion across the Stropro platform.

Stropro CEO Anto Joseph welcomed the appointment, saying: “Phil’s experience and capabilities strengthen our leadership bench at a critical time as Stropro seeks to scale its offering.  Our mission is to digitise the private bank experience and inspire investors and their advisors to adopt a global, multi-asset approach to wealth management.

“Phil’s background across global banks and private markets makes him incredibly well positioned to support advisers and family offices as they take this investment approach and benefit from our sophisticated solutions delivered through a modern platform.”

McLean’s appointment coincides with Stropro’s launch of a new Option & Loan Facility, a private banking-style investment solution for wholesale investors. It is the first time this investment capability, typically reserved for institutional and UHNW clients, has been delivered in Australia with full lifecycle support, digital execution, and transparent price discovery.

McLean said he was thrilled to be joining Stropro at such a significant time. “What made me want to join the team was the clear vision and momentum behind the drive to deliver broad, institution-grade structured investment solutions, paired with powerful tools and technology that genuinely empowers advisers.”

The post Stropro Appoints Senior Investment Specialist to support platform growth and structured investment expansion appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Anto Joseph

Australian investment platform Stropro says its rapid growth, with $100 million in inflows in three years, signifies a growing trend towards alternatives among high-net-worth investors (HNWI).

Some 75% of Stropro’s growth has occurred in the last 12 months, as advisers and HNWIs seek ways to diversify investment portfolios, due to the continuing volatility in equity and bond markets globally.

Australian investors are lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to alternatives with, on average, only 10-12% of alternatives weighted in portfolios.

“In the US and Europe, ultra-high-net-worth investors allocate more than 50% of their total assets in alternatives,” Stropro Chief Executive Officer Anto Joseph said.

“The use of structured investments and alternatives is commonplace.”

Ben Streater, Stropro’s Chief Investment Officer, says he believes Australians are lagging behind in alternatives due to an issue of access.

“I don’t think it’s the case that Australian investors have been hesitant to diversify. Many HNWIs have just lacked access to alternatives like structured products in the local market. This access is the problem that Stropro solves for, and investors are responding very favourably,” said Streater.

Stropro provides access to investment instruments issued by several major banks — including Citi, Macquarie Bank, BNP Paribas, Marex, Société Générale and Natixis — through its online platform, offering access to HNWIs that has been available to wealthy investors overseas for some time.

“In Australia, most wealth is directed to investments through wealth managers, accountants, or self-management, rather than through private banks. Stropro’s platform is a game changer because it offers easy access to a range of curated institutional products from around the globe — either self-directed, or through an adviser using the platform — without fundamentally changing how Aussies like to invest,” Joseph said.

Streater says structured products are increasingly appealing to advisers and HNWIs in markets like this because of the ability to select investments aligned with specific objectives, such as defined income and growth objectives.

“The fact that structured products can offer reliable, expected returns, capital protection, and downside risk management, makes them attractive from a diversification and portfolio optimisation perspective. In essence, they allow advisers to build resilient and diversified portfolios in line with their clients’ specific investment objectives,” said Streater.

The post Market jitters? Wealthy Australians using alternatives to diversify portfolios  appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Anto Joseph

Sharesight, a leading fintech platform and Stropro are pleased to announce the Stropro alternatives platform has been integrated with Sharesight to provide an elegant ‘whole-of-wealth’ reporting solution for users of both platforms.

This integration will enable Stropro clients to access the portfolio tracking and tax reporting offered by Sharesight.

Investors using Sharesight will also be able to easily access global alternative investment offerings arranged by Stropro.

Stropro is an investment platform that provides access to curated alternative investment strategies, often also referred to as ‘structured investment products’, from the world’s largest investment banks.

Sharesight currently enables over 300,000 investors to track more than 240,000 global stocks, ETFs and managed funds, plus assets such as cash accounts, property and cryptocurrency.

Sharesight is widely regarded as a best-in-class investment tracking and reporting platform that supports over 170 Australian and global brokers.

Commenting on the partnership, Anto Joseph, CEO of Stropro, said: “Our investor community has been rapidly growing their exposure to global alternatives across multiple asset classes through the Stropro platform.

“Many of our clients were requesting an integration with Sharesight, which is a leader in portfolio tracking and reporting, and we are delighted to offer this to enhance the investor experience.”

Stropro was founded by a team of ex-wealth management and technology professionals. The Stropro platform provides investors access to income strategies which offer greater certainty of returns through volatile markets, and growth opportunities targeting emerging global themes.

Doug Morris, CEO of Sharesight commented: “We are thrilled by the successful integration with Stropro that further enhances our users’ experience by the ability to track alternative investments arranged by Stropro.

“Existing clients with alternative exposure, like structured investments, are currently adding these positions manually. This will now happen automatically for anyone trading through Stropro thanks to this partnership.

“This new partnership also enriches the experience for advisers accessing alternatives for their clients,” Mr Morris said.

Will Lawson, Senior Financial Adviser of Wentworth Securities, noted: “The Stropro-Sharesight integration is a fantastic initiative for clients, advisers and accountants alike. I’ve been thrilled with the Stropro platform and the product offering, but to have these transactions elegantly reported in Sharesight provides me with the whole-of-wealth visibility I need to service and advise my clients.”

Ben Streater, Chief Product Officer at Stropro, added: “Investors are increasingly seeking out alternatives to achieve their desired portfolio outcomes.

“Sophisticated investors often use a range of platforms and providers to access best in class offerings.  Sharesight is a powerful tool to consolidate investment holdings. Stropro clients can access best of breed global alternatives via Stropro and benefit from consolidated wealth reporting via Sharesight.

“The integration will automate this process to enrich the experience for wholesale investors and advisers,” Mr Streater said.

The post Sharesight integrates Stropro to boost alternative,structured investments appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Mr Zammit brings extensive experience, from two decades of financial services, to the growing fintech as Stropro seeks to scale its distribution footprint following a successful launch in 2019. 

Prior to joining Mortgage Choice as General Manager, Distribution and Wealth, Mr Zammit spent more than eight years at Citi, where he excelled in growing the bank’s mortgage and investments divisions.

As the Head of Banking and Wealth Management Distribution at Citi, Mr Zammit was responsible for the development and distribution of Citi’s Wealth Offering in the Australian market.

Stropro CEO Anto Joseph said he is delighted to have an executive of Mr Zammit’s experience join the board. 

“David is a proven leader in financial services and an expert on private banking and wealth management distribution. As a highly respected professional in the banking industry he is sure to excel in his current role at Mortgage Choice,” Mr Joseph said.

 “I look forward to the strategic guidance from David which will enable Stropro to scale in Australia.”

Commenting on the board appointment, Mr Zammit said he is pleased to be joining an innovative Australian-based fintech team.

“Stropro is a one-of-a-kind business in the Australian market. What Anto and his team have built is a distribution platform like no other, a true marketplace for institutional investment solutions that remain underappreciated by most financial advisers and investors,” he said.

“I look forward to assisting Stropro educate Australian investors about the many benefits of institutional investment capabilities and working with Stropro to realise the full potential of this important investment platform.” 

Stropro Chief Product Officer Ben Streater said Mr Zammit’s appointment comes as the company ramps up its distribution capabilities in the Australian wealth sector.

“As a former colleague of David’s, I was fortunate to witness him build an impressive wealth management division at Citi. David is recognised as one of Australia’s leading executives within investment product design and distribution” Mr Streater said.

“His guidance on the Stropro board will be instrumental as we continue to scale our technology, operations and distribution footprint across Australia.”

The post Mortgage Choice executive joins Stropro board appeared first on AdviserVoice.