2024's Advice in Action puts the use of tech and digitisation in the spotlight for Advisers & Clients
Reaching "best practice" level in a digitalised advice business
Getting centred on platforms' roles in helping your business to grow
How to go paperless for new & emerging clients, and provide relevant service to existing clients
Helping the next generation be safer for their financial future
Making the most of multi-generational relationships with families.
WHEN & WHERE
23rd July 2024 - Melbourne CBD - "Zinc"
25th July 2024 - Sydney CBD - "Amora on Jamison"
Introduction
The AI Tech stack (Melbourne)
Pitfalls and Opportunities of Outsourcing
The role of advisers in monitoring underperformance (Sydney) / Rest in Peace QE, enter the golden age for bonds (Melbourne)
Real life examples of practices having implemented Managed Accounts on a scale
Practice Development Tools to Support your SMA journey
Portfolio Customisation - the Problem, the Solution and the Benefits
Melbourne - How AI is used in Advice / Sydney - Optimising client engagement
Lunch Keynote: Digital First Business
Accommodating Illiquid Assets for your client
What it Takes to be a Superior Rated Managed Account – and Why it Matters
IMAP thanks our Event Sponsors
Introducing Our Conference Presenters
Centrepoint Alliance
Mike Pope
General Manager Licensee Solutions
Centrepoint Alliance
Mike has more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry and worked in management and leadership teams across the industry including ClearView Financial Advice, Executive Director and Responsible Manager for Millennium3 and AXA Australia and more recently Centrepoint Alliance.
These roles involved the strategic planning of licensee services and supporting the growth and development of adviser businesses.
As part of the Centrepoint Alliance group, Mike’s role in LaVista Licensee Solutions is to provide comprehensive licensee services and support to the boutique AFSL market.
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Partner
Strategic Wealth
Adrian Vidotto, CFP
Partner
Strategic Wealth
Combining the right mix of expertise and know-how, Adrian is in tune with our clients' needs to ensure debt solutions represent the perfect fit.
A partner in Strategic Wealth, Adrian uses his 20 years of financial planning experience to help clients achieve their financial goals.
Adrian has completed a Bachelor of Business in Financial Planning and is a Certified Financial Planner.
Founder & Chief Growth Officer
Growth Studio Agency
Founder & Chief Growth Officer
Growth Studio Agency (GSA)
Allan brings new and quickly actionable insights to marketing financial service using his understanding of financial planning and business development
He heads up GSA which is an integrated growth agency, expertly consolidating nine essential digital services to drive revenue growth and funds under management
Prior roles focussed on business growth and include ,TAL Australia,
Strategist, Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions Group, BlackRock Australasia
Strategist, Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions Group
BlackRock Australasia
Beatrice Yeo, CFA, is a Strategist in the Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions (MASS) Group, focusing predominantly on the Australian Model Portfolio Solutions business. She is based in Melbourne. Beatrice partners closely with the investment teams, consultants and research houses to deliver model portfolio solutions for clients in Australia. As a Strategist within the broader MASS Group, she is also responsible for providing insights on the broader MASS platform.
MASS is the investment group at the heart of BlackRock's portfolio construction, asset allocation, and active management ecosystem. MASS draws on the full toolkit of BlackRock's index, factor, and alpha-seeking investment capabilities to deliver precise investment outcomes and cutting-edge alpha insights. MASS constructs active asset allocation strategies and whole portfolio solutions across a wide spectrum of commingled funds, separate accounts, model portfolios, and outsourcing solutions in the wealth and institutional channels.
Prior to joining BlackRock, Beatrice held roles as an economist and investment strategist in Vanguard Australia and Hong Kong, focusing on delivering thought leadership on markets and asset allocation. Her research has been published in top-tier academic journals including the Journal of Financial Data Science.
Beatrice holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics and Finance) from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.
Head of Investment Consulting (Managed Accounts) - MLC Asset Management
Head of Investment Consulting, Managed Accounts
MLC Asset Management
Brent has 20+ years’ industry experience and joined MLC Asset Management in 2021 from Mercer, having previously spent 6 years with Commonwealth Bank, most recently as the Head of Research for the bank’s multiple advice licensees.
He has also held various investment and research roles at Suncorp and Perpetual.
His current role involves leading a team of experienced investment professionals, providing investment consulting services to financial advice firms and licensees.
The team's focus is on leveraging MLC AM's multi-asset capabilities to develop and deliver bespoke managed account solutions to licensees and advice firms.
Sector Head of Real Assets, Alternatives, & Multi-Asset SMAs - SQM Research
Chetan Trehan, MBA
Sector Head - Real Assets, Alternatives, & Multi-Asset Funds/SMAs
SQM Research
Chetan is an investment professional with 18+ years of experience in the Australian financial services sector. He is immensely passionate about the capital markets and investments, and has worked in a variety of roles within the investment research / financial advice / wealth management sector.
Chetan has worked with Financial Advisers to develop investment portfolios for a broad range of clients, including retail clients, SMSF trustees, high net worth individuals, and retirees. The investment portfolios were tailored as per client requirements / objectives, and included unlisted Managed Funds and listed ETFs/Shares.
Chetan holds Masters in Business Administration (MBA) - Finance degree from University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Australia. Chetan also holds a Bachelors’ degree in Commerce (Honours degree), and has completed 4 modules of RG146/DFP
Managing Partner
Emanuel Whybourne & Loeh
Craig Emanuel
Managing Partner
Emanuel Whybourne & Loeh
Initially practising as a qualified Chartered Accountant and licensed tax advisor for 12 years, Craig’s passion saw him transition from accounting into financial markets. With Craig’s unique broad taxation and financial experience, Craig considers your family’s total financial structures and position. This enables the most suitable investment portfolios to be created, managed, and monitored, to ensure wealth preservation for your future generations.
Craig’s clients benefit from his deep 30 + years of experience across global investment markets and economics, to shape the best advice possible from our holistic approach.
Before founding Emanuel Whybourne & Loehr, Craig held the title of Director at Macquarie Group from 2002 to 2008, then a Director of UBS until 2015. More recently Craig was an Executive Director of Morgan Stanley until 2020. During that time, Craig sat on the UBS National Advisory Council and the Morgan Stanley Financial Advisory Council.
For three years in succession, Craig was ranked in the Global investment publication Barron’s Top 10, Top 25 Investment Advisors in Australia.
Betashares
Damon Riscalla
National Head of Practice Development
Betashares
Damon has over 26 years’ experience working with financial planning practices, including some of Australia’s leading financial planning firms.
In his role, he helps financial advice practices develop, refine and implement processes to enhance value for their clients.
Damon joined Betashares in 2017 and prior to taking on the Practice Management role I established the Victorian office.
Damon holds a Diploma of Financial Planning, a Bachelor of Business, a Grad Dip in Applied Tax and Financial Planning, and a Bachelor of Law.
Manager Research
Alteris Financial Group
Danny Wong
Manager Research
Alteris Financial Group
Danny Wong has over 20 years’ experience analysing and reporting on investment markets.
During his time, Danny has covered managed funds research, direct equities analysis/modelling, and portfolio management.
He has a deep understanding of the Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs)/Managed Accounts market and the creation of model portfolios for financial advice groups.
Currently, Danny works at Alteris Financial Group, as the Research Manager and is involved in helping oversee the investments in managed funds, equities and a range of unlisted assets.
Certified Financial Strategist
Lifestyle Asset Management
David Bainbridge
Head of Governance
Lifestyle Asset Management
David Bainbridge, a Certified Financial Strategist, has been an integral part of Lifestyle Asset Management for over a decade, now serving as the Head of Governance.
With a Master of Business Administration from Sydney University, David brings a wealth of experience to the firm.
Prior to his role as a Financial Adviser, he spent over 40 years as a Chartered Accountant, accumulating extensive consulting and management expertise across various sectors, including finance, transport, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and local and state government.
General Manager, Client Relationship Management – Melb
JANA
Duncan Smith, CPA
General Manager, Client Relationship Management – Melbourne
JANA
Duncan is responsible for ensuring JANA’s high standards of services are consistently delivered to all clients, including achieving optimal client investment outcomes.
Since 2007, Duncan has been the lead consultant for clients across multiple client segments. Duncan has held several roles during his time at JANA including Head of Consulting, a senior member within the Australian Equities Research Team, former Head of Property Research Team and a member of the JANA Research Committee.
Before joining JANA in 2007, Duncan spent 12 years with the NAB Superannuation Fund as Assistant Fund Secretary and Finance Manager. Through Duncan’s role at JANA and previous employment he has also held positions on Investment Committees and Advisory Boards.
Duncan has a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance & Investments, Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning and a Bachelor of Business. Duncan is also a Fellow of the FINSIA and a member of CPA.
Associate Portfolio Manager, Multi-Asset Portfolios
Lonsec
Eleanor Menniti CIMA
Eleanor oversees the Tailored Portfolios at Scale (TPAS) offering within the Tailored Solutions team, and supports consulting clients to develop bespoke solutions for their practice.
Eleanor joined Lonsec in 2023 and holds 19 years’ experience across consulting, manager selection, portfolio construction, as well as product development, governance and strategy.
Prior to joining Lonsec, Eleanor was a Director of Product Strategy at BlackRock and has also held roles at Macquarie Bank.
Eleanor holds a Bachelor of Business degree from UTS Sydney and is a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA).
Senior Product Manager, Managed Portfolios
North
Julian Lefcovitch
Senior Product Manager, Managed Portfolios
North
Julian is a wealth management product specialist with 13+ years of experience in product and platform strategy, development, management and rationalisation.
He leads the MyNorth Managed Portfolio product team, and has helped double Funds Under Management year on year to reach $11 bn today.
Julian has a passion for delivering innovative solutions using digital and emerging technologies to help advisers embed scalable product solutions that improve practice efficiency and reduce cost to serve.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), with a Finance and Management Major and a
Kaplan Diploma of Financial PlanningDiploma of Financial Planning
CFAHead of Investment Research, Perpetual Private
Kyle Lidbury, CFA
Head of Investment Research
Kyle leads the Investment Research team, and is responsible for the overall investment solutions of the firm, managing teams of highly experienced investment professionals across capital markets research, asset allocation, manager research, stock analysis and portfolio construction advice, as well as portfolio analytics and investment insights for client portfolios.
Prior to this role, he was General Manager - Research & Operations for Perpetual Investments, where he managed key ratings house relationships and maximised rating outcomes across all funds and asset classes.
Kyle earned his Bachelor of Accounting with Distinction from the University of Technology, Sydney, and also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, Chartered Alternatives Investment Analyst designation and is a Certified Practising Accountant
Senior Executive Leader, Financial Advice & Investment Management - ASIC
Senior Executive Leader, Financial Advice & Investment Management
ASIC
Leah leads ASIC’s Financial Advice and Investment Management team within the Regulation and Supervision group. The team oversees the regulatory work associated with financial advisers, advice licensees, managed investment schemes, wholesale funds, platforms and managed discretionary accounts. Prior to this role, Leah was ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader, Financial Advisers.
Leah has more than 13 years of regulatory experience and has worked on significant policy and enforcement initiatives.
Leah is focused on improving access to good quality affordable advice and working to address conduct in the advice and investment management sectors that leads to poor consumer outcomes.
Prior to joining ASIC, Leah was a practising financial adviser for over 10 years, representing several Australian financial services licensees and providing personal advice to retail clients.
Leah holds a degree in Business from the Queensland University of Technology as well as a Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance
Chief Client Officer
Centric Wealth
Martin Morris
Chief Client Officer
Centric Wealth
Martin has 34 years of Financial Services experience, joining the industry as a trainee Business Development Manager in London.
Passionate about the industry, Martin has since that time held senior roles in Distribution, AFSL Management, has non-executive Director experience and in recent years was a Director of Praemium, Australia, leading the company’s Sales and Marketing Divisions as a member of their Executive team. He has also spent time working within advice businesses, including his own, and held the CEO role of an SMSF administration and technology business. This experience has allowed Martin to build his knowledge and expertise in client engagement and strategic planning and working with financial advisers to build engaged and profitable clients.
Immigrating to Australia in 2000, Martin has, and always, challenges his knowledge and experience and searches for new ways to learn and add value. As such, he has undertaken his MBA, is a graduate of the Australian Company Directors Course and is a certified Behavioural Sales Coach through the US based Management Research Group.
Joining Centric, Martin is focused on using this experience to assist the team in delivering a truly disruptive solution in the Australian Financial Services market and to change the way advisers and investors view the possible value delivered by platforms.
Head of Dealer Group Engagement - SQM Research
Head of Dealer Group Engagement
SQM Research
Matt joined SQM Research in 2020 with 25+ years of experience in working with and supporting the financial planning community across Australia.
Prior to joining SQM Research, Matt represented several major investment managers in the Australian market.
In his roles with these companies, he supported and engaged with the broader financial advice community ranging from administration platforms and dealer groups to individual advice businesses.
Senior Consultant - JANA Investment Advisors
Senior Consultant
JANA Investment Advisors
Michael heads up an investment consultancy focused on providing advised and implemented solutions to financial advisors.
Prior roles include: Head of Private Investment Consulting at NAB Asset Management, CEO - MC Asset Management, Head of Asset Allocation & Investment Strategy AUS - UBS Global Asset Management, AMP Capital.
He holds an Economics degree from Adelaide University
Head of Systematic Fixed Income
Insight Investment USA
Paul Benson, CFA, CAIA
Head of Systematic Fixed Income
Mellon Investments
Paul has 30 years’ experience in the investment industry. He joined BNY Mellon Investment Management affiliate, Mellon Investments, in 2005 and has been Head of the Systematic Fixed Income Team since 2015. In September 2021, Mellon Investments’ fixed income strategies, including the Systematic Fixed Income Team, formally joined Insight.
Based in San Francisco, Paul and his team of portfolio managers, researchers and traders pioneered the development of highly implementable systematic fixed income strategies by combining innovative model-driven alpha research with cutting-edge trading technology.
Before becoming Head of the Systematic Fixed Income Team, Paul was a senior portfolio manager responsible for the yield curve arbitrage strategy within global asset allocation portfolios.
Additionally, he engineered and built the process to automate fixed income portfolio rebalancing and improve operational risk control.
Prior to joining Mellon Investments, Paul was a senior fixed income portfolio associate at Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), where he analyzed, implemented and managed active US and global fixed income portfolios. Previously, he was a trader at Westdeutsche Landesbank Tokyo, where he built the interest rate swaps trading desk, and a trader at Bankers Trust Tokyo, where he ran the Japanese government bond book. Both positions included market making and proprietary trading.
Paul received a BA from University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He is a CFA charterholder and is a member of the CFA Institute
Co-Founder & CTO
Data Senz
Ramana Mysore
Co-founder and CTO
Data Senz
Ramana has extensive experience and knowledge in software development, Design and Architecture. He has worked at big multinationals, medium enterprises and start-ups including Philips healthcare, DB Schenker and Blackbaud.
Ramana leads the Product development and Professional services teams at DataSenz and enjoys working with other Developers and Analysts.
In the Financial planning sector, Ramana has led and implemented several productivity improvement solutions for several clients including Philo Capital, Kabel, AdviseWise, Wealth Partners, etc. using the technology stack from Microsoft Power platform and D365 and IBM AI and Automation - Watsonx
Ramana has done his Bachelor of Engineering from Bangalore University.
He also holds a current Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect certificate.
Business Development Manager
Insight Investment
Rugby Kliousis
Business Development Manager
Insight Investment
Rugby joined Insight in May 2024 as a Business Development Manager, responsible for continuing to build insight’s institutional business in Australia & New Zealand, whilst expanding relationships within the private wealth sector.
Prior to Insight, Ruby spent three years at Shed Enterprises as a Business Development Manager focussing on the distribution of offshore wholesale and retail funds within the institutional and private wealth sectors within Australia and New Zealand.
Rugby started his career in finance at CMC Markets as a Client Service Executive, providing regular market insights and training to high valued clients.
Rugby holds a Bachelor of Business & Commerce in International Business & Commerce from the University of Newcastle and a Masters of Real Estate Investments from the University of Technology Sydney.
Head of Research Services
AMP Investments
Sarah McCarthy, CFP
Head of Research Services
AMP Investments
Sarah leads a team of research experts responsible for developing and executing a highly valued and competitive research service offer for the AMP Advice network.
Sarah has been with the AMP Group for the last 15 years having also worked in the advice team, as a Strategic Account Manager & Business Manager across all three aligned licensees and Jigsaw Support Services.
In addition to her current role, Sarah is a Responsible Manager for AMP Financial Planning, Hillross Financial Services & Charter Financial Planning AFSLs.
Prior to joining AMP, Sarah was a senior financial planner for a large self-licensed multi-disciplinary professional practice in Adelaide.
With over 24 years in financial services, Sarah has developed extensive knowledge and skills in licensee management, investments, and advising clients, business owners and financial planners.
Sarah holds qualifications in Financial Planning, Mortgage Broking and is a Certified Financial Planner CFP® Professional of the Financial Adviser Association of Australia.
CEO & Financial Adviser
Financial Foundations Australia
Ty Cockle B.Ed, CFP, SSA, Adv Dip FP
CEO & Financial Adviser
Financial Foundations Australia
Ty is the CEO, director and shareholder of Financial Foundations Australia (FFA). As CEO, Ty is responsible for the strategic direction of the business. Ty has cultivated a highly qualified and accountable team at FFA and is committed to ensuring the team at FFA are well resourced for the provision of high-quality financial advice.
Ty’s dedication to developing a business that provides precise, consistent, yet tailored advice, ensures all clients receive exceptional service.
Ty has a Bachelor of Education, Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), the profession’s highest practitioner qualification. He has also completed the Leadership Executive Program at The Wharton School in the USA and the Organisational Leadership, Innovation and Client Centricity Program at INSEAD Business School in Singapore.
Additional qualifications and memberships held by Ty include; the Self-Managed Superannuation Specialist Adviser (SSA) designation which is recognised to be the leading superannuation advisor qualification in the industry; a member of the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA); and is a Retirement Planning and Aged Care specialist.
Lead Strategist, Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions Group, BlackRock Australasia
Uwe Helmes, CFA
Lead Strategist, Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions Group
BlackRock Australasia
Uwe Helmes, CFA, is the Lead Strategist for the Model Portfolio Solutions business in Australia and a Strategist in the Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions (MASS) Group.
The MASS team is the investment group at the heart of BlackRock's portfolio construction, asset allocation, and active management ecosystem. MASS draws on the full toolkit of BlackRock's index, factor, and alpha-seeking investment capabilities to deliver precise investment outcomes and cutting-edge alpha insights.
MASS constructs active asset allocation strategies and whole portfolio solutions across a wide spectrum of commingled funds, separate accounts, model portfolios, and outsourcing solutions in the wealth and institutional channels. In his role, Mr. Helmes leads the product strategy function for Model Portfolio Solutions for financial advisers and intermediary platforms in Australia.
Mr. Helmes joined BlackRock in August 2016. Prior to joining BlackRock he worked as a senior market research analyst at Investment Trends. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Econometrics and Finance) and an Honours in Finance (First Class) from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is a CFA Charterholder and member of the CFA Institute.
Venue Details - Melbourne 23rd July 2024
IMAP's Advice in Action 2024 Conference in Melbourne is being held at "Zinc" located in Federation Square, Cnr Princes Walk & Russell Streets, Melbourne
Phone 03 8637 0333
Contact information and full details for the conference venue can be found on their website... Link to Zinc's Website
Venue Details - Sydney 25th July 2024
IMAP's Advice in Action Conference 2024 is being held at The Amora Hotel in the Sydney CBD near Circular Quay and transport options.
11 Jamison Street, off George Street Sydney CBD
Phone 02 9696 2500
Details for the venue can be found on their website
Meet the IMAP Team
Toby Potter
IMAP Chair
Toby has championed IMAP's mission for a number of years and is a key contributor for IMAP (along with others) in the representation to ASIC on recent changes to the MDA regulations and ongoing regulatory matters.
His experience in the wider investments market is extensive and his advice and experience is frequently sought after for his breadth and detail, plus his knowledge of the people in the industry.
His working experience includes key roles for NAB, IOOF, Morningstar, Managed Accounts, SFG Australia
Jenny Phimleut
IMAP Program Director
Jenny manages IMAP's program of conference events, webinars and publication, and liaises with sponsors, speakers
Jenny supports and organises IMAP special interest groups i.e. The Regulatory Group, and the Data Standards Group, and works closely with Toby, David and the IMAP team.
She is responsible for maintaining IMAP's digital presence, as well processes and policies as well as developing promotional material.
Jenny's Financial Services background covers Next Financial working in Product and Portfolio Management and Shadforth Financial Group.
Lucie Bradley
Events & Comunications
IMAP
Lucie is a versatile professional with a strong background in events management.
She joined the IMAP team in early 2022 as an events and communications associate working closely with Jenny Phimleut and the rest of IMAP's team on our conferences, webinars and the FPA Congress managed account zone.
Lucie's role now includes social media such as IMAP's Linkedin profile, posts, and communications, the IMAP Independent Thinking podcast series, plus developing & supporting IMAP's services.