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.

Jeff Whalan AO is Managing Director of the Jeff Whalan Learning Group a specialist human resources company. Jeff is also the Non-Executive Chairman of ASX-listed renewable energy company, New Energy Solar Limited (ASX: NEW) and he was a senior executive officer in the Australian Public Service from 1990 to 2008.

Jeff was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2008 for his work as CEO of Centrelink. Among other things, the award recognised his achievements in ‘the development of corporate accountability processes’.

Jeff is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. As CEO of Centrelink, Jeff was responsible for the largest agency of the Australian Public Service, with $70 billion of government outlays and 27,000 staff. Prior to joining Centrelink, he was CEO of Medicare Australia.

Jeffrey Whalan AO

Committee Member

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 Dixon Advisory in 2008 to lead the then newly formed Funds Management division, which later became Walsh & Company. Alex focused the efforts of the Funds Management division on providing retail investors with access to asset classes and investment opportunities that would normally only be available to institutional investors.

From funds under management of under $100 million at the time of his start, Alex has grown Walsh & Company Group to approximately $5 billion of assets under management today, with investments across residential and commercial property, fixed income, private equity, listed equities and renewable energy.

Prior to joining the firm, 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

Tom was the inaugural CEO of ASX-listed renewable energy operator New Energy Solar after the launch of the business in December 2015. Tom relocated to the US in April 2017 to oversee the operation of the US portfolio and oversee continued investment in North American Projects.

Tom has extensive experience in funds management, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions, having been part of the senior management team at Walsh & Company and Dixon Advisory since 2009. Before Dixon Advisory, Tom worked at UBS AG in Sydney. During his time at UBS, he was a member of the Power, Utilities and Infrastructure team and advised on a wide range of public and private M&A and capital market transactions. Tom advised some of Australia’s leading energy generators and infrastructure players including EnergyAustralia and Transurban. Tom also advised energy and utility companies on the proposed introduction of Australia’s federal carbon trading scheme (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme) and implications for fossil fuel and renewable energy generation.

Tom has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the Australian National University

Tom Kline

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.

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

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

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Investment process
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Walsh & Company