Appointments

• Anthony Habis appointed Group Head of North America, in addition to current role as Group Chief Commercial Officer
• Peter Hiom appointed Group Head of Asia Pacific, in addition to current role as Group Head of Markets
• Alasdair Munro appointed Chief Communications Officer.

Anthony Habis has been appointed Group Head of North America, in addition to his ongoing role as Group Chief Commercial Officer. Anthony’s appointment reflects FNZ’s strong commitment to North America, an important growth region where the firm is seeing increasing demand for its AI-enabled, end-to-end wealth management platform, demonstrated through partnerships with clients including BMO and Raymond James.

His leadership will support FNZ’s next phase of expansion across the United States and Canada, executing on our new business pipeline, strengthening client partnerships and delivery execution, while also bringing greater commercial consistency and discipline across FNZ globally.

Anthony brings more than 25 years of global leadership experience across wealth and asset management, including senior roles at MA Financial Group (Moelis Australia) and BNY Mellon, where he oversaw its client franchise across all investor segments and more than US$46 trillion in assets under administration. Anthony previously led FNZ’s Asia Pacific region.

Peter Hiom has been appointed Group Head of Asia Pacific, in addition to his ongoing role as Group Head of Markets. He will lead strategic direction, client delivery and growth across Asia Pacific, while continuing to lead FNZ’s strategy to provide technology and dealing services across the global capital markets value chain.

Peter brings extensive experience in global capital markets and market infrastructure. Before joining FNZ, he served as Deputy CEO at ASX, leading primary and secondary markets, clearing and settlement, data and technical services. Earlier in his career, he held business development and technology roles at the London International Financial Futures Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange.

Alasdair Munro has been appointed Chief Communications Officer, responsible for leading FNZ’s global marketing and corporate communications. He brings over 20 years of experience across PR, communications and marketing, and has been with FNZ since 2010, giving him deep knowledge of the business and the wealth management technology sector. His role also includes strengthening FNZ’s brand strategy to support the company’s growth.

Roman Regelman, Group President at FNZ, commented: “These appointments reflect our focus on building world-class leadership and delivering transformational value to our clients, their advisors and end customers. Anthony’s experience and leadership will help us accelerate momentum in North America while strengthening the commercial discipline that underpins our growth across all regions. Peter’s deep markets and technology expertise will support our continued expansion across Asia Pacific and the global markets value chain. And Alasdair’s experience will ensure we continue to tell FNZ’s story with clarity and impact as we deliver our mission to open up wealth.”

Anthony Habis added: “North America is a key market for FNZ, and I’m excited about what we can deliver next. By helping clients modernize and scale on FNZ’s AI-enabled, end-to-end wealth management platform, we can reduce friction, enable more transparent and digital-first experiences, and deliver on our mission to open up wealth for all.”

Peter Hiom said: “Asia Pacific is a critical region for FNZ and a major growth market for our clients. I’m looking forward to building on our progress in the region while continuing to strengthen FNZ’s Markets capability across the global capital markets value chain.”

Alasdair Munro added: “FNZ’s story is one of scale, innovation and long-term partnership. I’m excited to lead our global marketing and corporate communications as we continue to build trust, support our clients, and deliver on our mission to open up wealth.”

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Ryan Beach has joined FNZ as Group Head of North America, based in Nebraska, reporting to Group President, Roman Regelman. Ryan brings nearly 20 years of executive leadership experience across wealth management, investment platforms and fintech. He was previously CEO of F2 Strategy, and before that, President and COO at Orion, where he played a central role in scaling the business into a nationally recognised wealth technology platform.

Ryan’s appointment underscores FNZ’s strong commitment to North America, a critical growth region where the firm is seeing major demand for its AI-enabled, end-to-end wealth management platform, demonstrated through partnerships with clients such as BMO and Raymond James. His leadership will be pivotal in strengthening partnerships, scaling delivery and capturing the significant opportunities ahead across the U.S. and Canada.

Peter Hiom has joined FNZ as Group Head of Markets, based in London and also reporting to Roman Regelman. Peter brings extensive experience in global capital markets, having served as Deputy CEO at ASX and in senior roles at the Sydney Futures Exchange and the London International Financial Futures Exchange.

In his new role, Peter will lead FNZ Markets, which provides clients with multi-asset listed securities execution, order management systems, post-trade software, and securities clearing and settlement services, alongside foreign exchange and other downstream capabilities. Under his leadership, FNZ will further embed its markets business into the global business, scale its services, and expand innovation to meet growing client demand.

Roman Regelman, Group President at FNZ, commented: “These appointments reflect our focus on building world-class leadership and delivering transformational value to our clients, advisors and end customers. Ryan’s experience and relationships in North America will accelerate our growth in a critical region, while Peter’s deep expertise in markets and technology will help us strengthen and scale FNZ Markets globally. Both leaders bring exceptional track records, and I’m delighted to welcome them to the Executive Committee.”

Ryan Beach, Group Head of North America, said: “I’m thrilled to join FNZ at such an exciting stage. North America represents a tremendous growth opportunity, and I look forward to working with our teams and clients to build on the strong momentum already underway. Together, we can deliver even greater value and open up wealth for more people across the U.S. and Canada.”

Peter Hiom, Group Head of Markets, added: “FNZ Markets is uniquely positioned to transform the market-side infrastructure that underpins wealth management globally. I’m excited to build on the strong foundations already in place and work closely with colleagues and clients to deliver innovative, efficient, and scalable solutions across the capital markets value chain.”

These appointments reinforce FNZ’s mission to transform the global wealth management industry by combining cutting-edge technology, deep market expertise, and a commitment to long-term client success.

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Peter is leaving to further his interest in fintech and blockchain technology. As part of this, he is joining Motive Partners, a global investment firm focused on financial services technology companies, as an Industry Partner.

ASX Managing Director and CEO, Dominic Stevens, said: “Peter has made a significant contribution to Australia’s financial markets over many years, first at SFE and then ASX, including the past 11 years as Deputy CEO.

“Peter is a strong advocate for embracing new technology to deliver innovation and efficiency across our industry. This is best exemplified by his leadership of the investigation and adoption of distributed ledger technology to underpin the replacement of CHESS.

“We thank and congratulate Peter on his service and wish him the very best,” Mr Stevens added.

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Peter Hiom

National Australia Bank (NAB) and ASX have announced that nabtrade, NAB Asset Management and NAB Asset Servicing (NAS) will join the ASX mFund Settlement Service.

NAB is the first major bank to commit to the mFund service, launching by the end of the year.

mFund is an electronic processing service that allows investors to use an ASX broker to apply and redeem units in unlisted managed funds.

NAB will support mFund through nabtrade, NAB Asset Management and NAB Asset Servicing. These areas will provide specialist investment solutions and registry services and, via nabtrade, deliver a key access point for investors.

NAB GM of Self Directed Wealth, Nathan Walsh, said: “Self-directed investors are looking for simple ways to diversify their portfolio. By joining the ASX mFund settlement service, nabtrade is expanding its smarter digital investing capability, giving customers better value and greater access to insights, and a range of investment solutions. This follows the introduction of International Trading and IPOs earlier this year which have received strong interest from self-directed investors and SMSFs”.

Peter Hiom, ASX Deputy CEO, said: “The addition of NAB across the three touch points of broker distribution, funds management and registry, is a key milestone in the development of the mFund service. It’s a strong vote of confidence in the quality of the mFund initiative and even better news for investors.

“NAB’s commitment supports the ASX’s ‘investment supermarket’, providing investors with a broader range of investment opportunities in a cost-effective and efficient manner,” he said.

NAB EGM Asset Servicing, Matt Brown, said the agreement would deliver outstanding results for clients: “This partnership between NAB and ASX further demonstrates our commitment to providing exceptional service for our clients.”

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Andrea Slattery

ASX has received regulatory clearance to launch its new managed funds settlement solution – mFund Settlement Service. It will be launched in the first half of this calendar year following the completion of customer connectivity.

mFund has been developed for investors, brokers and fund managers to improve the timeliness and reduce the costs associated with investing in managed funds.

The service will replace the traditional paper-based processes and use the same electronic system (CHESS) familiar to investors and brokers for settling – or finalising – ASX share transactions. mFund is an electronic processing service that allows investors to use an ASX broker when they buy and sell units in unlisted managed funds. CHESS will automate and track the process of these transactions and remove much of the paperwork.

Through the use of ASX’s CHESS infrastructure, investors will receive a consolidated report that summarises all of their holdings in shares, other products such as Australian Government bonds and ETFs, and managed funds purchased using the mFund service. A broad range of unlisted managed funds (mFund products) will be admitted to ASX. ASX is working with around 60 Foundation Members to deliver mFund. These include fund managers and their unit registries, ASX brokers, back office providers, and other distributors of financial services such as administration service providers and independent financial adviser groups.

Peter Hiom, ASX Deputy CEO, said: “ASX is delighted to partner the managed funds industry to bring mFund to market, which will broaden the industry’s distribution network. It will allow brokers to offer a greater choice of products to their clients, and provide investors with a more convenient and efficient method for transacting in managed funds. The current process can be time consuming and paper intensive, and it is often difficult to get an overview of your holdings.

The new mFund service changes all this.” Andrea Slattery, CEO of the Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA), said: “SMSF trustees want control over their own retirement savings and greater investment flexibility in how they achieve this. Any service that helps meet this goal will demand their attention, as well as that of the SPAA specialist advisors advising them in this superannuation sector.

“The more services that are offered to help SMSF trustees and their advisors oversee their investment portfolios, the greater the integrity that can be built into our sector that now accounts for more than $500 billion in funds under management.”

mFund products are unlisted and not traded between investors on the market, but will be settled directly with fund managers via CHESS. Unit prices are set by the fund manager, usually at the end-of-the-day.

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