Heath Branigan

T. Rowe Price, a global asset management firm and a leader in retirement, has promoted Heath Branigan as Head of Intermediary for Australia, as the firm continues to strengthen engagement with financial advisers and grow key partnerships in the market.

Branigan assumed the role on June 1, 2026. He will lead T. Rowe Price’s intermediary business in Australia, focusing on engagement with financial advice firms, dealer groups, platforms, and key partners. He reports to Elsie Chan, Head of APAC Distribution at T. Rowe Price, and joins the firm’s APAC Distribution Lead Team.

Branigan brings more than 29 years of experience in the financial services industry across the U.K. and Australia, including 15 years with T. Rowe Price. Since joining the firm in 2011 as a relationship manager, he has been instrumental in strengthening the firm’s advisor partnerships and has played a pivotal role in expanding T. Rowe Price’s footprint within Australia.

Elsie Chan, Head of APAC Distribution at T. Rowe Price, said: “Australia is an important market for T. Rowe Price and we are well positioned to service and provide solutions to our clients in this market. We look forward to building on the strong relationships Heath has established across the adviser community.”

Darren Hall, Head of Distribution for Australia and New Zealand at T. Rowe Price, said: “Heath’s promotion recognises the meaningful contribution he has made to our Australian business over a decade. He is highly regarded across the industry, with a strong understanding of the local advice landscape and the evolving needs of advisers. These qualities make him well suited to guide the next phase of growth for our intermediary business.”

Reflecting on his appointment, Branigan highlighted the escalating market pressures facing local wealth professionals, noting that Australian advisers are navigating an unprecedented period of structural change driven by evolving client needs, demographic shifts, increasing portfolio complexity and a growing focus on delivering personalised outcomes at scale.

“We are focused on broadening strategic partnerships across the advice ecosystem, from individual advice businesses and dealer groups to asset consultants and investment platforms. By directly leveraging our global insights and collaborating on tailored investment solutions, we are well placed to help Australian wealth management firms navigate these challenges with confidence,” Branigan said.

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Jessica Sclafani

T. Rowe Price, a global asset management firm and a leader in retirement, today announced the findings from its inaugural Global Retirement Savers Study, revealing that nearly 34% of retirement savers worldwide expect to work at least part-time after retiring. This expectation is most pronounced in the United States, where 37% of respondents anticipate working during retirement. This trend of “unretiring” is one the firm has been tracking closely, most recently in the U.S. and Hong Kong.

The research, which surveyed more than 7,000 retirement savers in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom, also surfaced economic and financial uncertainty among savers: 50% of respondents expect a recession by mid-2026, with inflation rated as a top concern (42%), as well as geopolitical events (30%) and interest rates (27%). Additionally, 17% believe they will run out of money in retirement and only 27% are confident that they could withstand a major financial shock while retired.

“Research is at the heart of everything we do,” said Jessica Sclafani, global retirement strategist at T. Rowe Price. “It helps us understand the evolving needs of retirement savers around the world. Longer life spans, financial uncertainty, and shifting expectations are redefining retirement—transforming it from a fixed destination to an evolving journey that demands new thinking from both savers and the industry. By studying these shifts in attitude, we can better understand what savers need today and empower them with the strategies and solutions that can build financial security, confidence, and optimism for the future.”

Additional key findings from the survey include:

• Economic outlooks vary sharply by region. Economic pessimism is highest in Japan and Canada, where 62% and 56% of respondents, respectively, foresee a recession. In contrast, savers in the U.S., Australia, and the UK are more optimistic, with less than half bracing for a near-term recession.
• Retirement confidence is low worldwide—and deeply gendered. Only 31% of respondents expect to live as well or better in retirement. Pessimism is most pronounced in Japan and Australia, while optimism is highest in the UK. Confidence also differs by gender: women—especially single women—report significantly lower retirement confidence compared to men, most notably in Australia, where 31% of men report high confidence versus only 15% of women.
• Excitement for retirement is linked to financial confidence and progress. About one-third of global retirement savers say they are excited for retirement. As expected, this optimism correlates with stronger financial footing: confident savers are more likely to be higher earners, married, (39% versus 30% of single savers), and are twice as likely to report progress toward their financial goals.
• Workplace resources and human advisors are top sources of financial advice. Three of the four most relied-upon sources of advice for global savers are connected to the workplace, with the highest reliance reported in the U.S. Japanese respondents, in contrast, are more likely to self-direct compared to other regions. Meanwhile, despite the rise of digital tools, human advisors remain essential—tied with the retirement plan recordkeeper as the most relied upon source of advice worldwide.

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Cassandra Crowe

T. Rowe Price, a leading global asset manager with US$1.79 trillion asset under management[1], has announced the promotion of Cassandra Crowe to Head of Institutional Distribution for Australia and New Zealand, as well as Head of Consultant Relations for Asia Pacific. This appointment comes as the firm continues to deepen engagements with institutional investors in the markets with tailored solutions and dedicated expertise.

Crowe, based in Sydney, joined T. Rowe Price in 2019 and has served as Head of Consultant Relations for Asia Pacific since January 2025. In her expanded role, effective January 2026, she will lead a team of institutional client-focused professionals to further enhance client partnerships and develop new relationships in Australia and New Zealand. She will also retain her current responsibilities to continue to lead T. Rowe Price’s collaboration with the consulting community across its range of leading investment strategies in Asia Pacific.

Darren Hall, Australia and New Zealand Country Head at T. Rowe Price, to whom Crowe reports in her capacity as Head of Institutional Distribution for Australia and New Zealand, said, “Cassie brings extensive experience in building and managing relationships with global investment consulting firms and research houses. Her proven ability to navigate complex institutional environments, positions her well to lead our efforts in delivering tailored solutions and high-quality service to sophisticated institutional clients in Australia and New Zealand.”

Crowe is a member of T. Rowe Price’s Asia Pacific Distribution Leadership team. She also holds industry leadership roles as an executive founding director of the Bloomberg Women’s Buy Side Network for Australia and New Zealand, and as co-Chair of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society Australia Member Council.

T. Rowe Price has been serving Australian institutional investors for over 20 years and is deeply committed to delivering investment excellence with a client-focused approach. Under Crowe’s leadership, the firm’s Australia Institutional Distribution team will continue to partner closely with clients to help them achieve their long-term investment objectives with T. Rowe Price’s comprehensive suite of investment strategies and solutions across equities, fixed income, alternatives, multi-asset, and retirement.

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Notes:
[1] As of October 31, 2025. Firmwide AUM includes assets managed by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and its investment advisory affiliates. Preliminary data. Subject to adjustment.

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Crowe, currently Sydney-based Head of Consultant Relations for Australia and New Zealand, will assume her new role from Sydney at the start of next year. In addition to her current responsibilities, she will join the Asia Pacific Distribution Leadership team and provide coverage across consultants for the Asia Pacific. Crowe is supported by Sydney-based Alycia Vassallo, who joined as Senior Consultant Relations Manager last December.

Nick Slater, Head of Global Consultant Relations at T. Rowe Price whom Crowe reports to, commented on the promotion, “Cassie has been instrumental in leading T. Rowe Price’s engagement with investment consultants and research houses in Australia and New Zealand over the past five years. Under her leadership, we have continued to enhance our relationships with consultants and research houses in the region, resulting in new buy ratings and expanded opportunities across our institutional and intermediary channels. Her expanded role is expected to further strengthen the firm’s consultant relations across the Asia Pacific region.”

Crowe is co-chair of T. Rowe Price’s regional diversity and inclusion business group that promote awareness, education, and acceptance of the broad spectrum of conditions that affect our associates. She also holds a range of industry positions as an executive founding director of the Bloomberg Women’s Buy Side Network for Australia and New Zealand and serves as co-Chair for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society Australia Member Council.

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Scott Solomon, Co-Portfolio Manager of the T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond Strategy

A lot can change seemingly overnight in the world of central banks. Looking ahead, we think the second half of 2024 is poised to have a pivotal impact on Australia for the rest of the decade.  

Australia continues to struggle with wealth inequality, which has manifested itself through deteriorating housing affordability. While overall GDP growth shows improvement, per capita growth is negative. For example, under normal conditions a strong housing market translates to strong lending and construction markets. However, the unique nature of this cycle has not seen this transpire. 

This translates to a very difficult job for the RBA as it continues to try and thread the needle of controlling for inflation but also trying to limit excessive pressure on the consumer and households, which are undoubtedly weak. And these impacts are negatively skewed towards younger Australians who on balance own homes at a much lower rate than their parents.

Luckily, inflationary pressure does appear to be waning and we expect inflation will fall within the desired range about a quarter before current RBA estimates. The RBA is unlikely to hike. While we don’t expect Governor Michele Bullock to commit to cuts, it’s unlikely she does much to push back against them. The rest of her global central bank counterparts are dovish – peer pressure is tough to avoid. 

Globally, growth has slowed, and central banks are at the early stages of a cutting cycle. We expect less cuts than what is currently priced as even slight rate adjustments may quickly translate to growth.  We are not in a financial crisis: growth has been driven by government spending instead of increases in credit.  

The concern is that this is only temporary. The problems of wealth inequality in Australia appear structural and are not going away without some sort of changes from government policy. It’s clear the RBA has recognised this and has noted several times they can’t tackle it alone.

With the Federal Election looming next May, voters will face a multitude of decisions. The unfolding events in the remainder of the year will undoubtedly shape the future trajectory of Australia and set the tone for the decade ahead.

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In this role, Banasiak will be a key member of the firm’s Australia Intermediary team to identify suitable investment solutions to meet financial adviser needs. She will report to Jonathon Ross, Head of Intermediaries for Australia and New Zealand.

Banasiak has joined T. Rowe Price Australia from superannuation and investment solutions platform Netwealth, where since 2018 she has worked as a Training and Relationship Manager and then Business Development Manager covering NSW and ACT. Prior to this, she also held various roles with BT Financial Group.

Ross welcomed Camilla to the Australian Distribution team, saying she has an established record in business development and a sophisticated understanding of Australia’s retail investment market.

“T. Rowe Price has experienced steady growth in Australia and New Zealand in recent years, driven by increasing client demand for our expanded capabilities across global equities and fixed income.

“Providing comprehensive training on diverse investment strategies is a key pillar in how we support our financial adviser partners and investors. With Camilla’s extensive experience in training and client engagement, we are confident she will contribute significantly to the firm’s ongoing growth by developing a strong partnership with the financial adviser community,” Ross said.

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Notes:
[1] Firmwide AUM includes assets managed by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and its investment advisory affiliates. Preliminary data. Subject to adjustment. As of April 30, 2024.

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Lonsec highlighted the Baltimore-based Portfolio Manager, Peter Bates, as a capable, high quality and passionate investor, who was well-aligned to the success of the Fund and SMA. Bates’ nearly two-decade tenure with the firm and the well-resourced and experienced Global Equity Research Platform were recognised as key competitive advantages. The platform comprises 183 research professionals in T. Rowe Price offices across America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, making it one of the largest in the peer group, according to Lonsec.

Bates aims to construct a global and style-balanced portfolio comprising approximately 30-45 stocks that represent the firm’s highest conviction ideas. His bottom-up stock picking is focused on three types of companies: 1) Cyclicals and turnarounds; 2) Steady growers; and 3) Disruptors. Lonsec highlighted that a key aspect of his investment process is the use of a ‘return matrix’ for each invested and prospective company on his watchlist. This process assigns economic scenarios to each company which allows a more precise risk and return analysis and helps to neutralise portfolio-defining exposures to macro variables and factors.

“We’re pleased that Lonsec recognised the strength of our investment research platform, Peter’s portfolio management expertise as well as our long and successful business track record in Australia. Advisers have been using this style-balanced and risk-management equity investment solution as a core component in their portfolios. We believe that active management, driven by bottom-up fundamental research, can uncover opportunities regardless of the market environment,” said Darren Hall, T. Rowe Price’s Country Head and Head of Distribution for Australia and New Zealand.

“We are fully committed to strengthening our presence in the local market by expanding our range of high- quality investment solutions, given that Australia holds a significant position as the second largest market for T. Rowe Price in the Asia Pacific region. Advisers have appreciated our firm’s stability, scale and long- term horizon when selecting T. Rowe Price products,” Hall said.

The T. Rowe Price Concentrated Global Equity SMA is available on CFS Edge & Praemium.

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Tim Chamberlain

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has announced that financial services and operations veteran Tim Chamberlain will be appointed Asia Pacific (APAC) Regional Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective May 1, 2024.

Chamberlain currently serves as General Manager for T. Rowe Price’s Chief Data Office, a role that he had held since joining the firm in April 2023. He has also served as interim chief of staff and general manager for the COO Group. In his new role, Chamberlain will provide oversight and management of T. Rowe Price’s APAC offices and their operations to support continued business growth in the region.

In addition, Chamberlain will be actively supporting the management of the APAC business and functioning as a key advisor and business partner to regional leaders and other senior executives. 

“Tim’s data and operational experience, coupled with his understanding of the various local client landscapes will be a great addition to the region,” said Kimberly Johnson, Chief Operating Officer at T. Rowe Price. “He will be focused on building local teams that will help us drive operational excellence in a complex data environment, while keeping the region connected in our global operating model.” 

Elsie Chan, head of APAC Distribution at T. Rowe Price, welcomed Chamberlain to the role and said his appointment reflected the firm’s continued efforts to drive local empowerment and decision-making, and strong functional support in the region.

“As we continue to build meaningful partnerships with our clients, Tim’s appointment as APAC COO underscores our commitment to empowering our local teams to achieve operational excellence and deliver unparalleled client experiences,” Chan said.

Prior to joining T. Rowe Price, Chamberlain spent more than 16 years with S&P Global Ratings based in London, Singapore, and Melbourne, holding a variety of regional and global leadership roles across data, technology and operations, including the position of Asia- Pacific COO for S&P Global Ratings in Singapore.

After his career at S&P, he established his own consultancy business specialising in operational and digital transformation. Chamberlain earned a B.A. in Political Science at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

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Darren Hall

T. Rowe Price, a leading global asset manager with US$1.51 trillion in assets under management^[1], has launched Global Government Bond High Quality Fund as the firm’s seventh Australian Unit Trust (AUT) for wholesale and institutional investors.

The fund seeks capital appreciation and interest income by investing primarily in bonds issued by high quality governments, government-related entities and government agencies located around the world and in global currencies. 

Darren Hall, T. Rowe Price’s Head of Distribution and Country Head for Australia and New Zealand said the fund launch was another example of how T. Rowe Price was continuing to investment in areas where its investment capabilities intersected with Australian client needs.

“Over many years, much of the return from bond markets has been made by steadily falling yields and tightening credit spreads. However, this benign investment environment was upended in 2022 as the US Fed, Reserve Bank of Australia and other central banks around the world embarked on a rapid rate hiking cycle to curb high inflation. This new market environment of structurally higher bond yields, higher volatility and greater dispersion between countries creates new opportunities for asset owners to think about their global fixed income program,” Mr. Hall said.

The fund seeks to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns across global bond markets, supported by an extensive macroeconomic research process. It is a benchmark aware, and a highly flexible government bond strategy that is designed to seek consistent outperformance by exploiting inefficiencies within the global fixed income market and managing portfolios within a disciplined risk management framework. Alpha is expected to be generated through highly active interest rate and country management and not by adding credit risk.

The portfolio manager is London-based Arif Husain, CFA, who has 28 years of investment experience and is T. Rowe Price’s Chief Investment Officer and Head of Global Fixed Income.

Over the past 10 years to December 31, 2023, 88% of T. Rowe Price’s fixed income composites have outperformed their respective benchmarks gross of fees^[2] and 77% have outperformed their respective benchmarks net of fees^[3].

“T. Rowe Price has built a substantial global presence in fixed income investing over the last 50 years, and we are committed to expanding our fixed income product range in Australia,” said Mr. Hall. “Australia is the second largest market for T. Rowe Price in Asia Pacific and is also one of seven markets that are part of T. Rowe Price’s Global Growth Initiative because of its growth potential and our ability to meet financial intermediary and institutional client needs. As part of this initiative, we are actively investing in on-the-ground products, resources and marketing efforts to solidify our presence in the Australian market.”

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Notes:
[1] As of February 29, 2024. Firmwide AUM includes assets managed by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and its investment advisory affiliates. Preliminary data. Subject to adjustment. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
[2] 50 of 78 (64%), 53 of 69 (77%), and 38 of 43 (88%) of our fixed income composites outperformed their respective benchmarks on a gross of fees basis for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 31 December 2023. Results would have been lower as the result of the deduction of applicable fees.
[3] 30 of 78 (38%), 36 of 69 (52%), and 33 of 43 (77%) of our fixed income composites outperformed their respective benchmarks on a net of fees basis for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 31 December 2023. Figures shown are net of fees and reflect the deduction of the highest applicable management fee that would be charged based on each composite’s fee schedule, without the benefit of breakpoints. Includes marketed fixed income composites with a fee schedule, excluding duplicate masters, compared to official composite primary benchmark.

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Richard Coghlan

T. Rowe Price, a leading global asset manager with over US$1.3 trillion in assets under management, has announced it is relocating a senior multi-asset portfolio manager from Tokyo to Sydney to increase engagements with Australian clients.

Richard Coghlan, whose responsibilities include being a key member of T. Rowe Price’s Multi-Asset Steering Committee, overseeing the firm’s Multi-Asset Global Investment Strategies team and being a portfolio manager for the Real Assets Strategy and Multi-Asset Global Income Strategy, will be based in Sydney from 1 January 2024. With his wealth of experience in global investment solutions and retirement investment, Coghlan will deepen the firm’s relationships with local clients in these areas.

Darren Hall, T. Rowe Price’s Country Head and Head of Distribution, Australia welcomed the addition of Coghlan to his team of investment experts. “This move will enable the Global Multi-Asset Division to increase coverage in Australia, which has been identified as a focus market in T. Rowe Price’s global growth strategy. Richard will help us expand our solutions offering, including working toward the development of Australian retirement capabilities, especially around target date solutions.

“He will also provide broad market views to institutional investors to deepen our partnerships and grow our business. We are excited about the opportunities this move will bring to the firm and the Australian market,” Mr Hall said.

T. Rowe Price’s multi-asset division managed over US$440 billion in multi-asset portfolios for retail and institutional clients as of September 30, 2023.

Its target date retirement strategies seek to provide investors with an age-appropriate, diversified portfolio that can carry an investor to and through retirement. Target date solutions have become important retirement investment vehicles for many individual investors and for a growing majority of those participating in defined contribution plans.

T. Rowe Price is the third largest provider of target-date portfolios in the U.S.^[1], with US$372 billion target date retirement assets under management as of September 30, 2023.

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[1] Source: Morningstar (2023). “2023 Target-Date Funds and CITs Landscape.”  See Additional Disclosures for sourcing information.

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