In this newly created role, David will support Pinnacle’s global growth initiatives and provide strategic guidance to Affiliated investment managers, with a focus on further enhancing client outcomes.

David brings more than 30 years of financial services experience in investment research and consulting. For the past 23 years, he was Co-Founder of Zenith Investment Partners, where he served as CEO & Investment Director.

“Over the past two decades, I’ve worked closely with many Pinnacle executives and Affiliated fund managers as the Group has grown into one of Australia’s strongest and most respected financial services organisations,” said Mr Wright.

“The client-focused platform Ian Macoun and the team has built is globally unique, and there is no doubt there are significant opportunities to further extend its reach. I look forward to working closely with the Pinnacle team and Affiliated investment managers.”

Ian Macoun, Pinnacle Founder and Managing Director commented on the appointment: “David’s contribution to the investment management industry to date has been profound. Just as Pinnacle was built from the ground up on the belief that there was a better way to deliver excellence in investment management, David founded a leading research business that set new standards of quality and integrity, to the great benefit of advisers and investors across the country,” said Mr Macoun.

“This level of integrity, ambition, and commitment to excellence is exactly what we value at Pinnacle. As we continue to expand our multi-affiliate model and broaden asset class diversification to meet evolving investor demands, David brings an extensive breadth of experience and knowledge. He will play a key role in our success well into the future.”

The post David Wright joins Pinnacle senior executive team  appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The annual awards recognise the best in funds management across various major asset classes and disciplines, with the aim of raising the standard of funds management for the ultimate benefit of investors.

Winners were announced across 24 categories including Rising Star, Distributor of the Year, Index Fund Manager of the Year and the major award, Fund Manager of the Year.

The 2024 Fund Manager of the Year went to GQG Partners. They also won in the categories of International Equities – Emerging Marketings & Regional and International Equities – Global.

The Rising Star category went to GCQ Funds Management, while Distributor of the Year was awarded to Pinnacle Investment Management.

In a fitting announcement, this year’s Industry Contribution Award went to respected industry veteran and Pinnacle Founder and Managing Director, Ian Macoun.

Index Fund Manager of the Year went to Vanguard Investments Australia for the second year in a row. Also attracting the same award two years in a row was MLC Asset Management in the Multi-Asset Diversified category.

Zenith managing director Jason Huddy said each finalist is a leader in their field and has displayed investment excellence across both qualitative and quantitative criteria over the last year and the longer term.

“As has been our focus in previous years, today’s awards recognise and honour excellence in funds management across all asset classes and disciplines. We believe that this is fundamental to continuing to raise the standards of funds management in our industry for the ultimate benefit of investors,” Mr Huddy said.

“Since our first awards ceremony in 2012, when we had just 17 categories of awards, we’ve grown to deliver awards in 24 categories right across the sector.

The full list of winners:

The post Zenith reveals winners of 2024 Fund Awards appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Yolanda Beattie

Future IM/Pact has announced four new partners of its program to improve diversity in Australian investing: the $105bn UniSuper, $150bn Aware Super, $83bn Pinnacle Investment Management and $2bn TDM Growth Partners.

The announcements means six of the top 10 Australian asset owners are now backing the program (ART, Aware Super, UniSuper, QIC, VFMC and HESTA).

Founded in 2018 by Yolanda Beattie, Future IM/Pact connects Australia’s leading investment houses with women at university and in their early career, and informs them about a career in investing. Events, mentoring and investment competitions inspire and engage young investors, creating a talent pool for partners’ intern, graduate and analyst roles.

Aware Super Chief Investment Officer Damian Graham said as one of the nation’s largest superannuation funds, Aware not only acknowledged the link between diversity and stronger investment outcomes, but was committed to redressing the gender super gap through a holistic diversity strategy.

“To address imbalances such as Australia’s 14.1% gender pay gap and its resulting erosion of women’s retirement security, we recognise the need for a wide range of experience and perspectives to make the best investment decisions for our more than 1.1 million members.

“Currently we have around four times as many men as women apply for investment roles, and we are actively championing initiatives so our industry focuses on attracting women to front-line investment roles.

“It’s also why we are committed to working with our peers through Future IM/Pact.”

Better diversity, better outcomes

UniSuper CIO John Pearce said the fund’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) was a key component of its talent management strategy.

“Different perspectives, experiences and skills are key to high performing teams. With a significant amount of funds managed in house, we have a lot of scope to develop exceptional talent, which in turn ensures we best deliver for our members. ” Mr Pearce said.

Pinnacle Founder and Managing Director Ian Macoun said building a groundswell of female talent at the grassroots level had to be part of the investment industry’s approach to addressing its lack of gender diversity.

“Pinnacle has been supporting and inspiring great female talent for several years through scholarships and internships. There are so many exciting pathways a career in finance can take and the highly diverse nature of our global multi-affiliate business provides great opportunity for young professionals.

We have a responsibility to promote these pathways, particularly to up and coming female talent, and ensure students and graduates have the support they need for a long and successful career in finance. Our partnership with Future IM/Pact will help achieve this and ultimately promote greater gender diversity in Finance.”

Head of TDM Growth Partners Foundation, Roly Clifton-Bligh, said people and culture was a critical element of the fund’s investment process and joining Future IM/Pact was consistent with that philosophy.

“We only invest in companies that have a proven track record in attracting great people and building a strong culture that supports people to do their best work. We know DEI is a key ingredient of that recipe. Future IM/Pact helps us walk that talk by deepening the talent pool of great women working across our industry,” he said.

Future IM/Pact Founder Yolanda Beattie said momentum was clearly growing across the sector. “We’re seeing more superfunds and investment management firms recognise the importance of working across industry to build the pipeline of female investors,” she said.

“Having 20 industry partners on board gives us more opportunities to share with our growing pool of female talent, more mentors to support their career journey and more funding to inspire a passion among more women about a career in this hugely influential industry.”

The post Australia’s largest investors connect the dots between diversity and investment outcomes appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Plato Investment Management and Pinnacle Investment Management, led by UQ Business School alumni, will provide nine $5000 scholarships and nine internships to support exceptional undergraduate students in 2019.

Plato Managing Director Dr Don Hamson said change was needed to address the under-representation of women in the sector. “Investment management is a global industry, and the diversity of our people, ideas and experiences is just as important for success as the diversity of our funds,” Dr Hamson said.

“There are nowhere near as many women in finance as there ought to be, which means we need to do more and quickly.

“We see our partnership with UQ as an important step towards empowering talented students to join the profession and creating a more sustainable and equitable future for our industry.

“This starts with building the pipeline at the university level and doing what we can to improve the number of women applying for jobs and holding leadership positions.”

Pinnacle Managing Director Ian Macoun said he hoped the combination of financial and practical support would help students to fast-track their careers.

“University is a time when people make major career decisions, and support and encouragement at this time can make a lifetime of difference,” Mr Macoun said. “I received a scholarship to study at UQ many years ago, and it was the combination of both financial and professional support in my early days that enabled me to make the most of my career.

“We hope our scholarships will encourage young women to consider investment management as a career path, and our internships will help them get a foot in the door and gain the experience and connections they need to get started.

“I hope, in time, we can grow the reach and impact of this program, and encourage others in our industry to follow our lead and help change the gender balance for the better.”

UQ Faculty of Business, Economics and Law Executive Dean Professor Andrew Griffiths said the University shared the firms’ commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive future for the financial management sector.

“These generous scholarship and internship opportunities will change the way our students learn from and connect with global leaders in their field,” Professor Griffiths said.

“Don and Ian are true champions of change, and I congratulate and thank them, together with their respective firms, for partnering with UQ and supporting our future women in finance to build meaningful careers and networks.”

Eligible students can apply for one of nine $5000 Women in Finance scholarships until 1 March 2019.

The post Encouraging more women to consider careers in investment management appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The partnership, involving a minority equity purchase by Pinnacle, ushers in the next phase of growth for the $4 billion Melbourne-based boutique investment manager on the dawn of their 10-year anniversary.

Omega co-founders Andrew Gruskin and Mathew McCrum, together with the Omega team, will retain majority ownership and control of the business.

“We are thrilled to enter into this new phase of Omega’s growth that will be bolstered by our strategic partnership with Pinnacle which brings perfect alignment to our core values and culture” McCrum said.

“Pinnacle has one of the most proven distribution teams, providing a strong boost to Omega’s market profile and penetration, that will help us to use the breadth of our investment experience and capabilities to bring to market a greater range of products and services to new and existing clients. In addition to bolstering Omega’s distribution efforts, Pinnacle will provide strategic, commercial and governance input to the Omega management team,” he said.

“We are seeing strong investor demand for Omega’s smart beta strategies and portfolio solutions and this partnership will accelerate our ability to deliver on that demand. This strategic partnership with Pinnacle brings renewed energy to our business and creates longevity for staff and clients, while continuing to deliver our most important objective of producing outstanding outcomes for our clients.”

Pinnacle Managing Director Ian Macoun said, “We are excited to enter into a new strategic partnership with Omega at a time when factor based, smart beta investing is at a major positive inflection point. Omega will enhance our ability to bring multi-asset smart beta solutions to the market. Omega has a strong reputation for delivering high quality client solutions combined with innovative global investment capabilities off which we are eager to build future investment products.”

Omega Global Investors was advised by Nelson Lam and Glenn Dunn of Berkshire Capital as sell side advisors and Hall & Wilcox as Legal Advisor.

The post Omega Global Investors signs strategic partnership deal with Pinnacle Investment Management Group appeared first on AdviserVoice.