Our team | Australian Governance & Ethical Index Fund

Portfolio Manager and key personnel

The Portfolio Manager will provide the Investment Manager with expert advice and recommendations in relation to its investment portfolio including the investment strategy, evaluation of investment opportunities and potential disposals, as well as portfolio management.

Will has a diverse background in finance and management, and brings extensive experience in research, analysis and evaluation of both financial and capital markets to Walsh & Company.

As Portfolio Manager, Will is primarily responsible for managing the investment process for the Australian Governance & Ethical Index Fund, a portfolio of the ASX 100’s top performing corporations evaluated on a range of governance, environmental and social standards.

Before joining Walsh & Company, Will was most recently an Associate Director with parent company Evans Dixon, primarily responsible for researching, structuring and executing capital market transactions across the group. Prior to the Evans Dixon merger, Will was Research Manager for Dixon Advisory, where he supported the Investment Committee with in-depth company and investment market research.

Will holds a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Finance and Accounting from the University of Melbourne in addition to a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University.

William Hart

Portfolio Manager

Matthew has extensive experience in the global asset management and financial services sectors, and his analytical skills, understanding of portfolio management and financial markets provide valuable input into the decision-making process. Matthew’s career collectively spans almost two decades, including 10 years at Colonial First State Global Asset Management and five years in the global resources investment team as an analyst/equity dealer.

Matthew holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney. He is also a CFA charter holder.

Matthew Baillie

Senior Performance Analyst

Advisory Board

The Investment Manager has established an Advisory Board to provide it with advice and recommendations in relation to portfolio and investment strategy, evaluation of investment opportunities and potential disposals, fund administration and other commercial matters for the Fund.

Dr Ian Watt AC has worked for nearly 20 years at senior levels of the Australian public service. His most recent appointment was as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and head of the Australian Public Service, from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that, he was Secretary of the Departments of Defence, Finance, and Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Before that, Ian was Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Ian is currently the Chair of the National Innovation and Science Agenda Implementation Committee, the International Centre for Democratic Partnerships, BAE Systems Australia Pty Ltd and the Smart Infrastructure Facility of the University of Wollongong.

Ian is on the boards of Citigroup Australia, CEDA, the Grattan Institute (University of Melbourne) and O’Connell Street Associates Pty Ltd, and is a member of the Australian National Audit Office Audit Committee.

Ian Watt AC

Committee Member

Josephine is currently founding member, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Sandown Bay Resource Capital, a London-based mining private equity fund focused on turnaround investments in the junior mining sector. She is responsible for designing the investment process, governance structure, operation and compliance framework of the fund, as well as overseeing risk management, financial reporting and regulatory compliance.

Prior to her role at Sandown Bay, Josephine was a senior investment banker for UBS AG in both Melbourne and London. During her 10 years at UBS, she worked across various teams and industry sectors, including as part of the Australian Resources Group, the European Energy Group and the Global Industrials Group. Prior to this, she commenced her career at the Boston Consulting Group in Melbourne.

Josephine holds a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting and Finance, and a Bachelor of Science majoring in Computer Science and Statistics from the University of Melbourne.

Josephine Tan

Committee Member

Nerida is currently Managing Director, Head of Advice at Dixon Advisory, and is a highly respected expert on superannuation, including self-managed super funds and retirement planning strategies.

Nerida is an Executive Director on the Board of Dixon Advisory Group, a member of the Investment Committee and Chair of the Compliance Committee.

Prior to her last 12 years at Dixon Advisory, Nerida worked for NAB Financial Planning and ANZ Bank, as well as five years of government experience.

A Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Nerida is a member of the Financial Services Council Advice Board Committee. She has a Bachelor of Commerce (UNE) and an Advanced Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning).

Nerida Cole

Committee Member

Investment Manager

Walsh & Company Asset Management Pty Limited is the Investment Manager for the Fund and is responsible for investment decisions.

The directors of the Investment Manager are:

Alex joined Evans Dixon in 2008 to lead the then newly formed Funds Management division, Walsh & Company. Alex focused the efforts of Walsh & Company on targeting investment opportunities where the investment committee had high conviction, where the investment team had a competitive edge, and where Walsh & Company could provide unique solutions for investors.

From funds under management of under $100 million at the time of his start, Alex has grown Walsh & Company to a multi-billion-dollar global fund manager. With operations spanning Australia, the United States, and Europe, Walsh & Company today manages investments across global infrastructure, property, private equity, listed equities, and fixed income.

Prior to joining Dixon Advisory, Alex was an investment banker at UBS AG, where he rose to Head of Energy for Australasia. During his tenure in investment banking, Alex worked on more than $100 billion in mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions, advising some of the world’s leading companies.

Alex has a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and a Masters of Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Alex MacLachlan

Director

Jaclyn joined Walsh & Company in 2016 to lead corporate finance and capital raising transactions. Jaclyn has a corporate law background and brings substantial experience specialising in debt and equity markets, mergers and acquisitions and corporate development in Australia and the UK, working in listed company and professional services environments.

Prior to joining Walsh & Company, Jaclyn was legal counsel for Aurizon, managing legal risk and strategy across the business development, M&A, strategy, governance and treasury functions. Prior to Aurizon, Jaclyn worked as legal counsel in capital markets and professional services with Instinet and PwC Legal in London and Mallesons Stephen Jaques in Australia.

Jaclyn Strelow

Director

Responsible Entity

The Responsible Entity is responsible for the overall management of the Fund, including the determination of its strategic direction with the aim of increasing Unitholder wealth through the performance of the Fund.

Stuart joined the board of the Responsible Entity as the independent Chairman in December 2019. Stuart has more than 30 years’ experience in property development, project finance, funds management, equity and debt raising and real estate corporate advisory in Australia and Asia and is the founder and principal of independent corporate advisory firm, Archerfield Partners. Prior to founding Archerfield, Stuart held senior banking and investment banking roles with ANZ, NM Rothschild & Sons (Australia) and Macquarie Bank and as a senior finance and development executive with the Lend Lease group.

Stuart is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Merit and a Master of Commerce from the University of NSW, and in 2005 was appointed a Fellow of the Australian Property Institute.

Stuart Nisbett

Independent Chairman

Peter joined the board of the Responsible Entity as an independent Director in December 2019. Peter has significant expertise in funds management, financial advisory and complex lending arrangements including leveraged finance, property development and debt workout situations. Peter was most recently Co-Managing Partner of Opportunistic Lending and Special Situations at LIM Advisors. Prior to this role, Peter held the positions of Chief Risk Officer and Managing Director & Head of Corporate and Structured Finance at Lloyds Banking Group (and its predecessor HBOS plc) in Australia. Peter was also previously a Partner in Corporate Finance & Restructuring at Ernst & Young.

He has had various advisory and non-executive director roles for global credit funds and was the NRL’s Board representative on Newcastle Knights Rugby League.
Peter has a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology Sydney, an Executive MBA from AGSM, is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a Fellow of FINSIA and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Peter Shear

Independent Director

Prior to joining Walsh & Company, Warwick worked in chartered accounting firms specialising in turnaround and restructuring. Warwick started his career with KPMG working in their Canberra, Sydney and London offices – and has undertaken a range of complex restructuring and insolvency engagements across Europe, UK and Australia, for a range of Australian, UK, European and US banks.

Warwick has worked with companies and lenders to develop and implement strategic business options, provide advice in relation to continuous disclosure requirements, develop cash forecasting training for national firms, and lectured on cash management. Among his former roles, Warwick worked on the initial stages of the HIH insolvency – as part of the key management group tasked with the wind-down of the global estate.

Warwick has a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Commerce from the Australian National University and is a Chartered Accountant.

Warwick Keneally

Director

Mike has extensive experience across a broad range of corporate, commercial and private client sectors. His core practice areas involve the provision of advice and transactional expertise in relation to new and existing retail financial products and the regulatory framework within which they operate, as well as debt and equity financing, intellectual property, and film and television media law among others., Mike has previously worked in private practice, public sector and in-house roles in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, acting across multiple industries for a variety of clients, including high-net-worth individuals, banks and financial institutions, as well as numerous listed and unlisted corporate entities.

Mike is also a director with Barnett Law, a Sydney-based financial services law firm, and is admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW. He has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Otago.

Mike Adams

Director

In this section

Investment strategy
Investment process
Our team
Walsh & Company