The appointment strengthens Briefcase’s position as a technology-first wealth platform as it accelerates the development of AI-enabled portfolio construction, automated tax optimisation and scalable direct indexing solutions for advisers, family offices and institutional investors.

Wang is a CFA charterholder with a Master of Data Science and more than 14 years’ experience across institutional portfolio management, quantitative research, data science, fintech and applied artificial intelligence.

He joins Briefcase with deep experience across both investment management and technology.

Josh Persky, founder and CEO of Briefcase, said Wang’s appointment marks an important step in Briefcase’s continued evolution as a technology-led portfolio infrastructure business.

“Briefcase is not building a traditional asset manager. We are building the technology layer that allows advisers to deliver institutional-grade, tax-aware and highly personalised portfolios at scale,” Persky said.

“Michael brings a rare combination of extensive portfolio management experience and deep AI and data science capability. He has managed institutional capital, built quantitative investment tools, led AI teams and helped financial services organisations turn emerging technology into practical products.

“That is exactly the skill set we need as Briefcase pushes further into direct indexing, automated tax optimisation and AI-enabled portfolio management. His appointment gives us greater firepower to keep building technology that can construct, monitor and optimise portfolios at the individual security level.”

At MLC Asset Management, Wang was part of the multi-asset team that managed more than $25 billion and was directly responsible for managing a $500 million institutional growth portfolio. He has also held senior data science and AI roles at RoZetta Technology and CreditorWatch, as well as consulting to asset managers, superannuation funds, financial advisers and institutional investors on generative AI, large language models and data-driven investment processes.

As Lead Portfolio Manager, Wang will help drive the next stage of Briefcase’s investment and product capability, including:

• AI-enabled research, portfolio analytics and investment decision support;
• Systematic tax-aware implementation and automated rebalancing;
• Scalable direct indexing and portfolio personalisation at the individual security level;
• Model portfolio management, governance and risk oversight; and
• Data-rich adviser reporting and platform infrastructure.

Unlike traditional asset managers built around pooled investment products, Briefcase’s proprietary technology allows portfolios to be constructed and managed at the individual security and client level. Advisers can tailor portfolios around each client’s tax position, preferences and constraints, while retaining transparency, direct asset ownership and systematic portfolio oversight.

Wang said Briefcase’s technology-first model and direct indexing capability made the role a compelling opportunity.

“Briefcase sits at the intersection of investment management, fintech and AI, which is where some of the most important change in wealth management is happening,” Wang said.

“Direct indexing changes the foundation of portfolio construction. It makes it possible to build portfolios around the individual investor, rather than the average investor in a pooled product. When that is combined with tax-aware implementation, systematic decision-making and AI-enabled tools, the opportunity to improve outcomes for advisers and clients is significant.

“I’m excited to help build the next stage of Briefcase’s technology platform and investment capability, and to keep pushing what modern portfolio management can look like in Australia.”

The post Briefcase appoints Michael Wang to accelerate direct indexing and AI technology appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Its Balanced (12.3%) and Growth (14.7%) models ranked first among comparable multi-asset SMA portfolios available on Praemium and labelled Balanced and Growth respectively, while the High Growth (15.9%) model ranked second, marking the portfolios’ one-year implementation milestone on the platform.

“Australian advisers deserve access to genuinely differentiated investment thinking,” said Josh Persky, founder and CEO of Briefcase.

“For too long, the model portfolio market has rewarded conformity – strategies built to look like each other rather than to serve clients. These results suggest the industry is ready for a different conversation about how portfolios should be constructed, and what an alternative, unconflicted approach can deliver.”

The Growth model returned 14.7% for the year, outperforming comparable multi-asset SMA portfolios available on Praemium also labelled Growth. Balanced and Growth both ranked first within their respective peer group categories over the full 12-month period.

Over the six months to 31 March, performance remained resilient amid heightened market volatility, including a late-period sell-off linked to geopolitical tensions. During this period, Briefcase was among a smaller number of managers to deliver positive returns, while many comparable portfolios recorded negative outcomes.

“We built this framework to avoid the extremes – not to predict markets, but to understand the odds and construct portfolios that can withstand stress,” said Martyn Wild, Chief Investment Officer at Briefcase.

“The results reflect how a consistent application of our probability philosophy across different market conditions can lead to more resilient and risk-aware outcomes for clients.”

Structural drivers of performance

Briefcase attributes the results to two core elements of its investment approach.

First, a probability-based portfolio construction framework, designed as an alternative to traditional mean-variance optimisation, which aims to better capture risk and opportunity across different market conditions.

Second, an unconstrained investment universe. As an issuer-agnostic manager, Briefcase can access a broad range of ETFs, including exposures such as gold, silver and Nasdaq-listed securities, without the limitations of vertical integration.

The results are consistent with performance across Briefcase’s broader suite of risk-based multi-asset models.

Access to Briefcase Multi-Asset ETF Model portfolios is available to retail clients via SMA issued by Praemium Australia Ltd and wholesale clients via Briefcase MDA on BT Panorama, Netwealth, Bell Direct, nabtrade and other platforms.

The post Briefcase tops Praemium peer group across three multi-asset models at one-year milestone appeared first on AdviserVoice.

This partnership gives investors direct ownership of their assets while offering greater personalisation, tax efficiency, and cost-effective access to diversified portfolios – while providing all the benefits of direct ownership.

“Briefcase is changing the way advisers build portfolios – giving them institutional-grade tools, true personalisation, and full investor ownership,” said Josh Persky, founder and CEO of Briefcase. “This partnership allows us to scale that value further, breaking down the custodial barriers that have held back innovation in wealth management. We’re making sophisticated, customised portfolios available to a much wider audience – giving advisers powerful tools to deliver more value to their clients.

“Our focus is on building what the investor community not only needs today, but will demand in the future, and this partnership enables us to provide our unique services to a wider range of customers with increasingly diverse needs.”

Craig Saunders, Group Head of Sales at Desktop Broker, added: “Briefcase’s technology is an excellent addition to Desktop Broker’s HIN-based platform. Together, we’re giving advisers more choice in how they build and manage portfolios – offering advisers and clients the transparency, efficiency, and control they expect from a modern wealth solution.”

Key benefits for financial advisors and wholesale investors:

• True ownership: A non-custodial, HIN-based structure means clients retain full legal ownership of their portfolios.
• Low-cost, high-efficiency: Combine Briefcase’s technology with Desktop Broker’s competitive brokerage to customise, implement, and monitor portfolios – cost-effectively and at scale.
• Customisation at scale: Tailor portfolios to individual client needs – values, ESG preferences and tax optimisation – right down to specific securities.
• Fast, seamless onboarding: API-driven integrations make setup and client onboarding smooth and efficient.
• Total transparency: Visibility into holdings, trades, cash flows, and tax lots via Briefcase’s intuitive SaaS platform.
• Elevated reporting: Individualised, high-quality portfolio reports delivered automatically on the first of each month.

This offering is now available to eligible financial advisers and wholesale investors across Australia.

The post Briefcase and Desktop Broker launch non-custodial direct indexing for advisers and wholesale investors appeared first on AdviserVoice.