Anna Schofield has joined the research house from Challenger, where she spent three years as head of national accounts and research.
Prior to this, she held similar research-based roles at Fidante Partners and AMP Capital.
The firm said Schofield completes the firm’s leadership team, which is designed to deepen adviser relationships and expand Lonsec’s presence.
Lorraine Robinson, CEO of Lonsec Research and Ratings, said: “Anna’s appointment is a pivotal moment for Lonsec. Her deep understanding of the advice landscape and passion for client success make her the ideal person to lead our sales strategy. With our leadership team now in place, we’re ready to deliver the next phase of growth and value for our clients.”
Also sitting on the firm’s nine-strong leadership team is Peter Green as director of research, Kevin Brennan as chief operating officer, and new appointment, Felicity Nicholson as head of marketing.
Lonsec was formally acquired by Generation Development Group (GDG) in August 2024, while GDG subsequently acquired Evidentia in February 2025. It then went on to merge the investment division of Lonsec (LIS) to form a $25 billion managed account provider, Evidentia Group, while the research arm remained as its own entity.
In a Q4 update in July, it stated the research firm had seen a 6 per cent rise in products researched during the year from 1,732 to 1,836.
The firm said this growth was primarily due to “out of cycle” or on-demand ratings, the latter of which accounted for 64 per cent of new ratings, marking a significant uptick from the 46 per cent seen in the financial year 2024. This is largely a result of the surge in private markets investment products, which are either new ones or existing overseas funds seeking to enter the Australian market.
“Alternatives as an asset class, which includes private markets, constituted 5 per cent of the products rated but accounted for 19 per cent of the new products for the year,” Robinson said.
