Private markets firm Spire Capital has appointed former Schroders Australia chief executive, Sam Hallinan, as a partner.
Hallinan was appointed as CEO of the Australian arm of the global asset manager in February 2021, joining from Nikko Asset Management where he was the managing director of its Australian business. He had also worked at NAB, MLC Asset Management and Antares Capital Partners.
He then announced he would depart in June 2023 and was replaced by Simon Doyle, the firm’s former chief investment officer and head of multi-asset.
Since leaving Schroders, he has now announced he will join Spire Capital this May as a partner and also sit on its leadership team and investment committee.
Spire is a private markets firm founded 15 years ago which offers strategies in private equity, private debt, private infrastructure and private real estate.
Spire Capital partner, Dale Holmes, said “We are extremely pleased to have attracted someone with the experience and reputation of Sam to Spire. Over a 30-year career, Sam has been at the forefront of the evolution of investment management in Australia. As private wealth investors shift focus from public to private market portfolio solutions, his experience will be invaluable for our clients. This appointment allows us to accelerate our innovative approach to opening up global private markets to local private investors.”
Expanding on this, the firm’s head of investments Stuart Haigh said Spire is looking to help financial advisers navigate and understand private markets.
“With deep expertise in assessing private market opportunities and an intimate understanding of local advice firms, we believe we are well positioned to help advisors navigate expanding allocations to private markets and a wave of new products.”
Hallinan said: “Since leaving Schroders I have reflected a lot about the state of the Australian funds management industry, which clearly has its challenges. It was clear to me that I wanted to work in a business that had a platform to leverage the growth in private markets and most importantly offer investors quality, hard to access portfolio solutions.”
