This appointment is an important milestone in the company’s expansion into a more holistic full-service wealth manager, and complements the announcement made earlier this year of the strategic partnership entered with Praemium to broaden advice capabilities to a wider range of asset classes. 

Mr Riggall will lead Bell Financial Group’s investment strategy and philosophy across asset classes and will continue to develop investment solutions for its clients.

He brings more than 22 years of investment experience to Bell Financial Group, having occupied the role of Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager within leading funds management and advice groups with a breadth of expertise across multiple asset classes.

Bell Financial Group Co-Chief Executive Officer Arnie Selvarajah said: “Will’s extensive experience overseeing portfolio construction and management across multiple asset classes will be of significant benefit to our private wealth clients as we move towards more holistic porfolio advice.

“The creation of this role is another important piece in our strategy to provide investment advice and services to a broad range of Australian investors. As a diversified wealth management business, it reflects our desire to become the wealth manager of choice for Australians seeking trusted advice that supports them at every stage of their investment lifecycle.”

Commenting on the new role, Mr Riggall said: “I’m excited to join Bells at such an important moment in its long and rich history. The firm’s unique combination of flexible advice models, proprietary technology and breadth of investment choice means we can offer holistic and flexible wealth solutions to our clients.”

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Damian Cilmi

Financial advisers may need to factor in how a managed account trades on behalf of their clients in order to realise the full benefits of a personalised managed portfolio, according to Ralton Asset Management, one of Australia’s longest running separately managed account (SMA) investment managers.

In a podcast hosted by Praemium released earlier this week, Ralton Portfolio Manager Will Riggall described the many moving parts when an SMA investment manager engages with platforms to conduct trades on behalf of financial adviser clients.

It’s when the ‘rubber hits the road’ in trading that investors can extract maximum benefits of moving to an SMA – but often these factors are either not clearly understood nor at the top of list in the process of selecting an SMA investment manager.

Will said “the key to giving investors the maximum benefit of SMA is to trade swiftly and remove the performance slippage that may occur by delaying trades after an investment decision is made. It’s also imperative that any trade does not constitute a high volume that it impacts the market price the investor receives.”

Communication about trades – ideally when it occurs – was also considered important, but that is on the basis that the fundamental principles above are observed in the first place.

Will suggested that one of the common impediments to swift trading and lower-volume trades is often due to SMA managers running large unit trusts alongside SMA’s. This can then cause a range of conflicts that need to be managed: including the order of trades between unit trust and SMA investors, how closely the SMA and the unit trust match the actual ideal portfolio, whether the investor communication is based on the unit trust or the SMA portfolio, and whether a large trade by the unit trust can potentially impact SMA investor outcomes.

One way to avoid this issue is to consider a SMA investment manager that does not run large unit trusts alongside SMA model portfolios.

Damian Cilmi, Praemium Head of Investment Managers and Governance said ‘Praemium’s recent research report ‘The real truth about managed accounts’ outlines the quantifiable benefits of SMAs for advisers and their clients. For advice firms, the efficiency benefits are now backed with evidence of a clear profitability boost.  Investors in SMAs not only enjoy an enhanced wealth management experience, but the benefits of netting and lower brokerage costs make them a cost-effective solution. Ralton has taken the extra step to articulate those additional benefits from a portfolio trading perspective and it’s important that all factors are considered in the SMA decision.”

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“We’re delighted to have Gordon join our growing investment team. He brings over 25 years of Australian equity experience, having held senior management roles within leading global resource and investment banking firms,” commented Stanley.

Welcoming Ramsay’s appointment, Sam Baillieu, Chief Executive Officer of parent company, Copia Investment Partners, said, “It is exciting to see Ralton attract such an experienced investment professional to further broaden the investment team’s skill set and to continue to build their reputation as a specialist managed accounts provider.”

Prior to Ralton, Gordon held senior management roles with FAR Ltd, UBS Investment Bank and Salomon Smith Barney (Citigroup). During this time, he developed a deep understanding of analysing and valuing stocks in key sectors including energy, resources and utilities.

Gordon holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Ontario, Master of Business Administration (Finance and Marketing) from Monash University and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

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“We’re delighted to have someone of Will’s calibre join Ralton. He brings over 15 years’ experience having held senior portfolio management roles within the investment and superannuation industry,” commented Stanley.

Welcoming Riggall’s appointment, Sam Baillieu, Chief Executive Officer of parent company, Copia Investment Partners, said, “It’s pleasing to see Ralton attract such an experienced investment management professional. Will has the experience to help Ralton continue to build its reputation as a specialist managed accounts provider, while bringing complementary investment management skills to the team.”

Riggall joins from REST (Super Investment Management) where he was a Senior Investment Manager. Prior to REST, he spent time at Wallara Asset Management and AMP Capital where he was Portfolio Manager for the firm’s Sustainable Alpha Funds.

Will Riggall is a CFA charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Monash University and a Bachelor of Arts (Mandarin) from The University of Melbourne.

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