Former Advance boss returns to industry
Former Advance Asset Management boss Stephen Lam has re-emerged more than a year after leaving the St George group, accepting a newly created chief investment officer role at Suncorp Investment Management (SIM).
The job will see Lam direct SIM’s funds management and research teams, taking on responsibility for process refinements and future product design.
According to SIM’s Sydney-based business development manager, John Hamer, the creation of a separate chief investment officer role will allow general manager, Maurice Kluge, to relinquish those responsibilities.
“It’s an opportunity for Maurice to step back from the day-to-day investment issues and concentrate on business issues and administration, which is important as the business grows larger,” Hamer said.
It was a change in focus on the part of St George which prompted Lam’s departure from that group in the first place.
He was shunted aside from the top spot at Advance Asset Management, replaced by former Sealcorp marketing director Kate Mulligan, as the bank dropped in-house manufacturing in favour of outsourcing funds management expertise.
Lam briefly ran St George’s new Investment Centre of Excellence (ICE), but was unsuited to the new outsourcing culture.
Lam will work from SIM’s Brisbane head office in his new role, and according to Hamer has spent this week house hunting in the Queensland capital. He could not be reached ahead of today’s newsletter being sent.
Recommended for you
With the final tally for FY25 now confirmed, how many advisers left during the financial year and how does it compare to the previous year?
HUB24 has appointed Matt Willis from Vanguard as an executive general manager of platform growth to strengthen the platform’s relationships with industry stakeholders.
Investment manager Drummond Capital Partners has announced a raft of adviser-focused updates, including a practice growth division, relaunched manager research capabilities, and a passive model portfolio suite.
When it comes to M&A activity, the share of financial buyers such as private equity firms in Australia fell from 67 per cent to 12 per cent in the last financial year.
