Australasian Wealth Investments (AWI) has appointed former head of UBS Global Asset Management, Ben Heap, as chief executive and managing director as the company develops its investor direct strategy.
After three years as managing director, Heap stepped down from his role at UBS earlier this month, with Bryce Doherty set to replace him.
Prior to joining UBS in 2007, Heap held a senior executive role at Australian Wealth Management, with responsibility for research and asset management. He was previously employed as head of digital business for TAB Limited, and as an M&A executive at Macquarie Bank.
AWI — which is managed by Merricks Capital and invests in small to mid-cap Australian listed companies — stated that the appointment of Heap positioned the company for future investment in financial services and the ongoing development of its investor direct strategy.
In August, Fairfax Media sold its InvestSMART business to AWI for $7 million.
"He (Heap) will bring strong business and industry skills to the company which will be beneficial in assisting the growth of our van Eyk investment, and his experience in running digital businesses combined with entrepreneurial skills will be highly beneficial in leveraging the InvestSMART platform," AWI chairman Andrew Brown said.
According to AWI, Heap's compensation arrangement will include participation in a long-term incentive plan involving share ownership, and links a significant portion of his potential remuneration to AWI's share price performance.
He will commence his new roles later this year at the completion of his contractual obligations with UBS.
