Theone Star

Private giving can help to overcome a funding shortfall for charities and other not-for-profit organisations, particularly as governments retreat from international aid Theone Star, head of private wealth at Schroders says.

“The strong performance of global stock markets over the last few years means that global wealth remains close to record levels, putting many families in an unprecedented position to consider charitable giving,” says Ms Star.

“For many of our clients, businesses form a significant part of their wealth and can be powerful vehicles for change. We can help embed sustainability principles throughout a business, whether by helping them to understand its carbon footprint or highlighting areas of risk in its supply chain. Many families are looking at the broader impact of their wealth, across investments, businesses, and succession arrangements.”

Soon after taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration ordered a near-total freeze on most foreign aid spending, pending a review to ensure programs aligned with the US President’s foreign policy. The US administration initiated the dissolution of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the primary body for delivering foreign aid, increasing pressure on other jurisdictions, including Australia, to help fill the gap.

“While private philanthropy cannot replace government aid, it can make a significant difference. One of the most straightforward ways to help is by supporting charitable organisations which may be able to step in where government aid once operated,” she said.

Many philanthropists have plans in place around their giving, reflecting the causes and organisations they wish to support. While no one individual can solve the world’s challenges alone, it is important for individuals to make choices about what support to give and to whom.

“Aligning investment portfolios with a family or organisation’s philanthropic mission is an important first step, and often involves making trade-offs and difficult choices. Do you want to prioritise emissions reduction within a portfolio? Do you want to focus on short-term goals or long-term change? There are many different options to consider,” she said.

“Today’s funding crisis may create even more incentive to maximise the impact of their overall asset base.”

There are encouraging signs that private giving is on the rise which will help to overcome the shortfall, according to Ms Star.

“In May, Bill Gates pledged to accelerate his giving over the next 20 years, while Michael Bloomberg’s foundation committed to cover America’s financial obligations to UN climate initiatives.

“Closer to home, Andrew and Nicola Forrest pledged to give away the majority of their wealth back in the mid 2000’s through their foundations – the Minderoo Foundation and the Walk Free Foundation – with a focus on supporting indigenous Australians and ending modern slavery,” she said.

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Theone Star

Schroders Australia has appointed Theone Star as head of private wealth. Ms Star will be based in Sydney and report to Schroders Australia CEO, Sam Hallinan.

She joins Schroders from Centennial Property Group, where she was the director of private wealth, a position she held since 2019. Prior to this she spent 14 years at Australian Unity Wealth – most recently as national head of private markets.

At Centennial, Ms Star focused on high-net worth (HNW) and family office clients across product offerings, marketing, investor relations and registry. She was also responsible for distribution and capital raising across HNWs and small institutions.

At Australian Unity Wealth, she was responsible for creating and developing new distribution channels into the market of single-family offices, multi-family offices, ultra-high net worth individuals, private banks, non-institutionally owned AFSLs and institutions and Significant Investor Visa opportunities.

Mr Hallinan says the appointment of Ms Star brings further depth to Schroders’ well-established distribution capabilities and additional focus on the private wealth segment.

“Theone brings over 20 years’ experience working in asset management for high-net worth individuals, family offices and institutional clients, both domestically and internationally, to the team,” Mr Hallinan says.

“In her wide-ranging career she has demonstrated a proven track record in understanding the product needs of private wealth clients and working with them to devise optimal outcomes.

“In this role, Theone will be responsible for building Schroders’ relationships in the private wealth segment and identifying opportunities to connect clients with Schroders’ offerings.

“The appointment comes at a time of significant opportunity for Schroders, given our expanding suite of public and private markets investment strategies and focus on sustainable strategies that are well suited to the needs of high-net worth and family office clients.”

Ms Star commences the new role on 5 September 2022.

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Damen Purcell, AUI’s head of retail distribution, said the changes will allow AUI to further build and expand its adviser and dealer group relationships at a time when confidence is returning to the retail investment market.

“We are seeing a number of changes in the financial advice community as a result of the growing confidence amongst investors and changes in the way they seek to invest, which means that now is the ideal time to enhance the capabilities and resources we offer customers.

“In addition, the strong growth in certain segments of the market, such as family offices, means there has been a change in the kind of information and structures that some adviser groups require from fund managers, which we are well-placed to provide,” he said.

AUI has created three Key Account Manager roles, promoting Theone Star, Huw O’Grady and Allyce Mitchell to the positions. All three will report to Mr Purcell.

Ms Star, previously national account manager, will be responsible for multi-managers, private banks and brokers, family offices and some NSW-based institutions. She joined AUI in 2005 and has held a number of business development roles in the financial services industry including at Bridges Financial Services and Colonial Margin Lending.

Mr O’Grady will look after major national accounts. He was previously AUI’s regional manager for Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Before joining AUI, Mr O’Grady was in business development roles at various firms, including Orchard, Asgard, Ord Minnett and Macquarie Bank in Melbourne, and Morgan Stanley in London.

Ms Mitchell will be responsible for managing AUI’s platform relationships. She has held a number of business development roles at AUI since joining the business in 2009, and was most recently national account support manager.

As a result of these changes, Nick Everitt has been promoted to business development manager VIC/SA/WA. Mr Everitt was previously business development associate, providing sales support to the entire AUI team.

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