Lonsec has welcomed key senior appointments, with Mike Wright joining as CEO and Kevin Brennan as chief information officer (CIO). These appointments follow the recent renewal of the Lonsec board.
Mr Wright has over 25 years’ experience in leading businesses and teams within financial services and joined from Xplore Wealth, where he was CEO and successfully led the friendly takeover to Hub24, a leading independent investment platform.
The new chief executive said he has set himself an ambitious challenge for his first 100 days with the business, meeting with all 100-plus employees, key partners and clients.
“At a time when the financial services industry is going through so much change, it is incredibly exciting and reassuring to join a company like Lonsec that is so committed to supporting advisers and funds through industry changes,” Mr Wright said.
Mr Wright joins at a dynamic time for Lonsec, with the Lonsec Managed Accounts hitting $2 billion funds under management in July 2021 (up from $1 billion FUM in October 2020), as well as being fittingly placed to support advisers and their clients focus on sustainable and ethical investment strategies, according to the firm.
Lonsec said it has been at the forefront of supporting increased investor appetite for sustainable and ethical investments that also provide a solid return. In response, they developed the Lonsec Sustainable Managed Accounts to provide greater choice for clients seeking investment strategies that align with their personal values and demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.
Lonsec Sustainable Managed Accounts combines both ESG, which focus on the underlying manager’s process, with ESG factors and Sustainability measures, which focuses on the fund’s positive impact on the world.
The Lonsec Sustainable Managed Accounts have just been added to the Macquarie Wrap Platform and are also available on Hub24 and Netwealth.
Lonsec is also fulfilling its thought leadership mandate by launching a sustainability program to continue to educate investors.
“With the Lonsec Sustainability program, we want to help financial advisers and their clients take a sustainable approach to investing by sharing insights and research powered by Lonsec and a range of industry leaders,” Lonsec’s head of sustainability, Tony Adams, said.
“Via webinars and articles, the Lonsec Sustainability program has recently covered subjects such as ‘greenwashing’ and how advisers can start sustainable investing conversations with their clients. This is a partner program to the long-running Lonsec Retire program, now in its ninth year.”
Mr Brennan is also excited to be joining Lonsec as chief information officer. The firm said Mr Brennan brings more than 20 years’ experience running large technology teams in the wealth industry. His key focus will be to elevate the role of technology within Lonsec and drive a comprehensive technology and data strategy to transform its service architecture and further accelerate business growth.
“We are so fortunate to be in a strong position to continue to honourably help advisers, managers and investors with insights and solutions to help them navigate the immense challenges that many of them face and share in common,” Mr Wright concluded.
