Evidentia principal jumps to Ascalon; Drummond appoints practice growth head



Ascalon Capital has continued its raid of research houses with three appointments from Zenith, Evidentia and Lonsec, while Drummond Capital Partners has appointed a head of practice growth.
Shailesh Jain has joined as deputy CEO, bringing across a wealth of investment consultancy and research experience as he previously worked at Evidentia, Lonsec, and Zenith Investment Partners.
He will work alongside Aubrey Roga, who was appointed as chief executive in June. Ascalon said Jain will be “instrumental in shaping Ascalon’s ongoing growth and delivering on its vision for the future”.
Prior to joining Ascalon, he worked as principal of asset consulting at Evidentia and as a senior investment consultant at Zenith Investment Partners. From 2009 to 2020, he held a variety of roles at Lonsec, including head of equity fund research and deputy head of active manager research.
Evidentia has been undergoing its own changes in light of a merger with Lonsec Investment Solutions and Implemented Portfolios earlier this year, and has appointed a new executive team.
Roga said: “SJ’s appointment marks a big step forward for Ascalon. He brings deep expertise, proven leadership, and a clear vision for where portfolio consulting needs to go. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”
Ascalon has also appointed Mitch Stephens as an associate, David Boyle as a consulting partner, and Sean Currie as a consultant.
Boyle and Currie both join from research houses where Boyle was a portfolio manager at Lonsec and Currie was an investment consultant at Zenith. Meanwhile, Stephens previously held a project analyst role at Netwealth.
These follow the appointment of Ben Davis and Berit Deagan from Zenith as partner and head of business development respectively, and John Burton from Lonsec as head of business solutions. Collectively, the firm has hired at least 10 individuals over the past few weeks.
Meanwhile, investment manager and managed account provider Drummond has appointed Genevieve Frost as head of practice growth where she will be responsible for supporting Drummond practices with their business growth and strategy while driving national client growth.
She joins from Netwealth where she was a senior distribution manager for three years, and previously worked at Insignia and ANZ Wealth.
Recommended for you
An FAAA recommendation to make PY advisers subject to non-compete clauses would place candidates in a “hostage situation” with their employer and potentially deter new entrants, say commentators.
While the profession struggles to keep up with strong consumer demand, a third of people who have passed the ASIC adviser exam aren’t actively practising, so where is this missing third?
Half a year after Count Financial told its advisers to exit several Metrics Credit Partners funds, research house Lonsec has now downgraded two of these products over governance concerns.
As the advice industry evolves with technology, two business consultants have said successful advice firms will be those which focus on delivering an “experience” for their clients, beyond just a transactional service.