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:

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In this role he will be responsible for leading the delivery and expansion of the combined investment and super fund research program to financial advisers and platforms across Australia. He will report to managing director, Jason Huddy, commencing in the role on 11 November.

Mr Kennaway has a wealth of experience across asset management, investment research and investment consulting, both in Australia and globally including Asia and the US.

Most recently, he worked with Morningstar as its global head of manager selection. Previously, he worked with Lonsec for over 10 years in a number of roles including general manager research and head of managed funds research.

Mr Huddy said Mr Kennaway is a high calibre appointment who will work across both the Zenith and Chant West brands in his new role.

“Grant is a highly respected executive with broad experience leading large and diverse teams. He has a passion for research and how this can be delivered to advisers and platforms, for the benefit of investors. He also brings to the team important experience in working through regulatory and market changes, which continue to play a role in shaping the investment and super landscape for advisers and their clients.

“His depth of knowledge of the Australian market is exceptional and he will be a great asset to the business in this pivotal role and a strong complement to the existing team of seasoned analysts within the group,” Mr Huddy said.

Kennaway will lead the combined team of 20 and will be based in the business’ Melbourne office.

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Ben Davis

Zenith Investment Partners (Zenith) has announced the return of one of its original partners and senior investment consultant, Ben Davis, to the business. The respected industry executive will return to Zenith on 1 May 2024, working alongside investment director and founding partner, David Wright, and head of portfolio solutions, Steven Tang, in the Portfolio Solutions team.

Zenith managing director, Jason Huddy, said Mr Davis’ role will add additional depth and considerable market experience to the team, and further support the growing adviser demand for Zenith’s managed account solutions.

“After taking 12 months away from the industry to explore personal interests, Ben’s passion for investing has been rekindled. For nearly 20 years Ben was a respected leader with Zenith and an important contributor to our service delivery to advisers. He is well known to many of our clients and we are pleased to welcome him back,” Mr Huddy said.

Mr Davis will be the primary consultant for a number of the Group’s customised managed account client businesses, adding to the breadth of market experience within the team and helping to drive the continued growth and evolution of Zenith’s managed account offering.

Mr Davis is returning to the business in a client-facing role – and says it is a part of the business he has missed.

“I’m genuinely excited about the growth and evolution of Zenith’s managed account offering over the last 12 months, so it’s a really interesting time to be joining the team.

“I obviously have very high regard for the broader Zenith business and the leadership team I’ll be working alongside. I’m really looking forward to supporting the portfolio solutions team in delivering its range of portfolios to their diverse and growing client base,” Mr Davis said.

Zenith has been providing managed account portfolios since 2016 and currently manages close to $5 billion in FUM across its range of managed accounts, including both customised and public menu portfolio options.

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Matt Warren

Zenith Investment Partners has appointed Matt Warren to the newly created role of group head of product. Mr Warren will be based in Sydney and report to managing director Jason Huddy.

Mr Warren joins Zenith from Colonial First State, where he worked for five years – most recently as the product director of managed accounts. Prior to this, he spent five years with ANZ, finishing as a senior product development manager. He also worked at Macquarie Group for six years in product management, superannuation and adviser servicing roles.

Mr Huddy highlighted the wide range of financial services experience Mr Warren brings to the new role at Zenith, including managed accounts, online broking, and investment and superannuation platforms.

“Our product and service offering to clients has expanded significantly over recent years. Matt is a highly experienced executive with a proven track record in managing diverse product offerings and ensuring that they remain relevant to clients. He has demonstrated success in end-to-end product management and development, including engagement with end users in developing funds management products, super and investment platform services and digital products.

“This experience will serve him well in his role to align Zenith’s local product strategy with the global product roadmap of our parent company, FE fundinfo, making sure that we continually deliver the best of our group solutions to clients,” Mr Huddy says.

Mr Warren holds a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Sydney.

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Jason Huddy

Zenith Investment Partners’ long-standing CEO, David Wright, will step down from the role at the end of the year, transitioning to the new role of investment director. The Group’s chief operating officer, Jason Huddy, will move into the CEO role.

Wright said that after much consideration and reflection, the decision to step down from the CEO role was a very logical and pragmatic one.

“Now is the time to ‘pass the baton’ to Jason. Given his time with the business and strong understanding of Zenith’s operations and client base, I’m confident our clients, stakeholders and staff will be in good hands under his leadership. I believe that the business requires an experienced, strategic leader and Jason is that leader.

“I’m genuinely looking forward to remaining with the business and using my extensive fund research and portfolio management experience to support the portfolio solutions, research and sales teams to deliver on their client service responsibilities. My new role allows more time to focus on areas of the business which I’m really passionate about,” Wright said.

Wright will remain on the local Board and Executive team.

Huddy joined Zenith as COO in 2019 and has over 30 years’ experience in wealth and funds management. Starting with National Mutual (AXA) in Perth, he then spent over 16 years with Macquarie, including 3 years leading its banking and financial services business in the UK, before then moving to NAB Capital Markets, NAB Asset Management and more recently as Executive Director of a Melbourne-based boutique funds manager.

“I’m delighted to be moving into the CEO role and also to continue to work with David and our broader team in delivering our research, portfolio and data services to clients.

“Over recent years, Zenith’s fund research and managed account capabilities have significantly expanded to include the super research services of Chant West, and the data and technology capabilities of our parent company, FE fundinfo. We continue to be an ambitious company for our clients and staff and I look forward to continuing the client-focused growth that David and the team have achieved to date,” Huddy said.

Wright said he is very proud of the business he has helped build, and while stepping down was not an easy decision, he believes that it is the right one for the business and allows him to spend more time working directly with clients and staff.

“Zenith is a business that I have been intimately involved in building over the past two decades and I remain committed to its success. Our collective achievements over that time have exceeded our expectations and I remain confident that under the changed leadership structure, the business is on a strong path to deliver its high-quality product and service offering to clients,” Wright said.

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Mr Boyes initially joined the firm in August 2022 as head of sales for FE’s technology and fund manager service offerings. Prior to this, he spent 15 years at IRESS in a range of roles including head of advice – Australia, general manager – wealth and advice solutions, and in business development. He also has experience working as a Certified Financial Planner.

Zenith has also appointed Ben Bell to the role of business development manager – NSW and WA. He will be based in the Sydney office and will report to Mr Boyes.

Mr Bell has over 10 years’ experience in the advice industry and 20 years in the financial services industry. He joins Zenith from Bellmont Securities where he was sales manager, adviser solutions. Prior to this he spent 11 years at Aberdeen Standard Investments, most recently as associate director – wholesale sales, as well as in business development and regional sales roles. He has also worked at Credit Suisse and Towers Perrin in client service roles.

Zenith COO, Jason Huddy, says the promotion of Mr Boyes and appointment of Mr Bell come at an important time in the development of the business as it continues to expand its product and service offering to clients nationally in 2023.

“Glenn has significant experience in serving wealth management clients and leading product delivery teams across the market and we’re confident that our growing client base will further benefit from this,” Mr Huddy says.

“With over 25 years’ experience in the financial services and fintech sectors, Glenn is a leader in the delivery of technology, research and advice solutions. His experience covers a wide range of industry segments including advice, data, research, wealth management, superannuation, portfolio management and compliance.

“Additionally, his previous experience as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) means he has a solid understanding of the challenges being faced in the market.”

Mr Huddy said Mr Bell also brings extensive industry experience to the role.

“Ben will work across all brands in the business to support our client relationships, and his experience working with financial advice groups nationally to help them create cost-effective and transparent managed account portfolio solutions will stand him in good stead in this role.

“His previous business development experience in NSW and WA means he has a solid network of contacts and a strong industry knowledge. This will be of huge benefit as Zenith continues to expand its product offering into the NSW and WA markets.”

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The role oversees Zenith’s team, with responsibility for operational, change and process efficiency across the business.

Beginning his career with National Mutual in 1989, Huddy moved to Macquarie in 1994 where he held senior business development and general management roles across its Investment Management, Professional Series and Wrap platform businesses, including time spent establishing the group’s financial services operation in NZ and the UK. Leaving Macquarie in 2011, Huddy subsequently held senior roles within NAB’s debt markets and asset management businesses before most recently being Executive Director at boutique fund manager, ARCO Investment Management.

David Wright, Zenith’s Chief Executive Officer welcomed Jason to the Zenith team.

“We’re long-term believers in the value of financial advice and quality investment management. As such, we’re committed to further expanding our service offering to advisers and are very pleased to have secured a person of Jason’s calibre and broad industry experience to support our team and business on this path,” said Wright.

“2019 was an extremely busy and rewarding year for Zenith. In addition to further investing in our research and consulting services, we grew our range of both customised and public menu managed accounts for advisers on a number of leading platforms and expanded into the New Zealand market through the purchase of FundSource. We concluded the year by formalising our strategic partnership with Five V Capital to further support our growth plans.”

Zenith’s business development team has also been further strengthened with the appointment of Ross Cassidy and Berit Deagan to Business Development Manager roles, along with Rachael Powell as the group’s Marketing Communications Manager.

Commenting on these appointments, Zenith’s Head of Sales John Nicoll said “we continue to see opportunities to better support advisers across the country as they adopt managed account solutions for their clients and seek to partner with an established service provider to do so. Ross, Berit and Rachael bring strong investment, communication and relationship management skills to our team to help us deliver this.”

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The publication provides key information for advisers looking to offer SMAs as part of their advice proposition, including first-hand adviser testimonies and guidance from industry experts.

NAB Asset Management Head of Retail Sales, Jason Huddy said: “Our focus has always been on providing advisers with the right investment insights, solutions and support material to help them deliver successful outcomes for their clients and their businesses.

“We’ve been looking for ways to help advisers understand how to make the most of this growing SMA trend and the latest edition of Benchmark is an important step.”

NAB Asset Management’s SMA adviser education initiatives have included a number of national adviser roadshows, webinars, and the Benchmark website which allows advisers to access a range of resources and tools.

Head of New Product Development Mark Spring said: “While SMAs have been around for some time, many advisers don’t realise the difference they can make to their business.

“By providing them with a hands-on publication with what they really need to know, and a range of supporting resources, we’re looking to give advisers an edge in the competitive advice market place.”

NAB has been providing SMAs since 2009 and has over $1billion in funds under management for investors’ from 13 separate strategies across all domestic asset classes.

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The Fund, which aims to deliver a long-term stable return for investors at a low cost by investing in a well-diversified portfolio of listed global infrastructure companies, has been made available to the retail market following its launch in the institutional space in 2012.

Redpoint CEO Tim Batho said, “Traditionally, investing in infrastructure has been the domain of large corporate investors like super funds rather than individual investors. Given the benefits of investing in infrastructure can include a steady income stream, inflation protection and diversification, three characteristics especially appealing to today’s investors, it was compelling for us to make it available to the retail market.

“The Fund typically invests in 100-120 listed infrastructure companies from right across the globe, which gives us a broader universe to seek opportunities and importantly reduce risk.”

Since inception in 2012, the Redpoint Global Infrastructure Fund has delivered net returns of 18.69% per annum*.

NAB Asset Management Head of Retail Sales Jason Huddy said, “We are pleased to be making the Redpoint Global Infrastructure Fund accessible to the retail market. Giving advisers and investors access to high quality funds to grow wealth and build robust portfolios is our priority, and the Redpoint Global Infrastructure Fund is another key addition to our offer.”

The Redpoint Global Infrastructure Fund is available via direct investment and is also offered through the MLC Wrap platform.

*as at 31 March 2015

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