The transition to Hesketh, who was also recently promoted to Partner at NMG Consulting, will be seamless. According to Mark Prichard, CEO of NMG Consulting; “Trialogue and Super Funds Review will continue to be published and not only will all of the big and little things clients have come to expect from Tria continue to be delivered, they will continue to get even better over time.”

Mr Hesketh has been with Tria since 2007, and has the distinction of starting as a consultant and rising all the way through the ranks. He is known for his deep expertise in asset management, and has become a leading part of Tria’s strategy proposition. Over the past 18 months, Mr Hesketh has taken on an increasing role in running the Tria business and has been integral to the recent integration of the two businesses. Mr Hesketh commented “I’m excited about the opportunity to lead and continue to grow Tria. We have an exceptionally strong team in place and I’m confident that Tria will continue to be a formidable and leading player in the consulting industry.”

Mr Hesketh will be supported by Mark Watmore who has been with Tria since soon after its foundation. Mr Watmore leads the implementation focus team and is also a Partner. His role has been expanded to include responsibility across NMG Consulting’s business lines in Australia, particularly identifying and executing opportunities for cross-collaboration between the NMG Consulting divisions.

A related change is Principal Consultant, Chris Hurst, moving to the London office of NMG Consulting in early March. Mr Prichard commented; “The addition of new perspective and experience to Chris’s already formidable asset management knowledge, strategy expertise and passion for the industry will be a real asset for our clients in Australia and beyond, in the years to come.”

Mr Baker will continue to be involved as a non-executive director of NMG Consulting and its parent, NMG Holdings, and as such will continue to support the ongoing success of the business and its people. Mr Baker concluded that “the main reason we are able to make these changes is the strength of Tria’s foundations. Tria is not built around any one person, including me. Although this transition is an important milestone, it’s really just another logical step in Tria’s progression and our aspiration to build the best consulting firm in the wealth, asset management and insurance industries. We’ve been able to hire outstanding people over the firm’s history and retain the great majority of them for the long term; their time to lead has arrived.”

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Tria Managing Partner Andrew Baker urged sector players to remain positive about future opportunities, despite the industry experiencing tough market conditions – “perhaps the toughest we have seen in the past 20 years.”

“We are seeing severe cyclical and structural forces at play for the Australian wealth management industry, where for the past three or so years it has been difficult to remain positive unless you are selling cash deposits or index funds,” Baker said.

“Other forces, including industry regulation, new technology and rotation away from collective super to Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs), and from managed funds to direct assets, remain some of the challenges and opportunities we see ahead.

“Relatively straightforward improvements to client segmentation and communication can result in a more client-centric firm, while improvements to development and rationalisation processes can greatly improve efficiency,” he said.  Mr Baker was speaking at the Tria Investment Partners’ “Spring into Strategy” presentation attended in Sydney by a large contingent of the Australian wealth management sector.

Tria co-presenter Oliver Hesketh detailed the allure of the rapidly growing SMSF sector, noting that the segment remains large, and largely untapped for the bulk of the wealth management industry.

“The challenge for fund managers here is to regain relevancy and to deliver offers that meet the needs and desired access points for SMSFs, while also stacking up against the simplicity and flexibility they require,” Mr Hesketh said. Among a number of fresh ideas presented to attendees, Mr Hesketh indicated the primary trends to watch include:

• The continued rise of ETFs
• The increasing capabilities of adviser desktops
• The expected arrival of the ASX AQUA II platform in 2012. 

However, Tria remains fundamentally positive about the outlook for the sector, which Mr Baker said is likely to grow to a $3 trillion pool by the year 2020.

“As a consequence the good news about this mandated growth is that it brings a hunger for new approaches to product. The prospects for innovation have improved markedly during this current phase, and so we believe there is very little downside for wealth management organisations to take a long-term strategic view of their product mix, their position in the investor value chain and to focus on the market segments that will really deliver for them well into the future,” Mr Baker said.

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