Donat announced on 15 July that she would be leaving Clime on 31 July after four years, having joined with Clime’s acquisition of Madison Financial Group in 2020. Madison was sold to licensee Infocus earlier this year; the firm has stated it wishes to focus more on funds management and private wealth which exceeds $1.3 billion in funds under management and advice.
The firm has since announced it will be led by Michael Baragwanath as acting managing director effective immediately, having been appointed as a director on 1 July.
Chairman John Abernethy said the appointment would help Clime “to ensure a smooth and stable transition”.
He will receive a base salary of $210,000 per annum plus superannuation for six months, and a permanent contract will be negotiated in due course.
Baragwanath has 18 years’ experience across distribution and sales at Aviva and BT Financial Group, consulting and leadership, and originally began his career working as a paraplanner and financial adviser. He has also served as a responsible manager at multiple AFSLs.
Baragwanath is currently a senior partner and former head of investment banking at TIP Group, which announced a tie-up with Clime in December 2023.
A statement on the ASX on 29 December said: “TIP is a listed investment house with direct investments in private equity, funds management and corporate advice. Like Clime, TIP has a long heritage focused on education and value investing.
“Both Clime and TIP utilise proprietary fundamental analysis to identify attractive investments across multiple asset classes and together cover the full spectrum of traditional investments.
“The directors believe the two companies are culturally aligned, both with a heritage of self-directed investors.”
