Australia & New Zealand Investors Retreat

Senator for South Australia

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is a passionate environmentalist, community campaigner, feminist, and human rights activist. With 17 years in the Parliament, Sarah has become one of the country's leading voices on women in politics, environmental protection, climate change, media laws and diversity, and human rights policy.

Sarah is the Australian Greens Manager of Business in the Senate, and Party spokesperson for the Environment and Water, Media and Communications, and the Arts. Representing the state of South Australia, Sarah is a strong advocate for a fast and efficient transition to renewable energy, decarbonisation and protecting biodiversity. Sarah believes our economy must deliver for both people and planet. Sarah has a proven record of working across different groups and sectors to create a progressive, safe and sustainable global community and planet.

Sarah has a strong interest in media and communications policy, heading the push for a shake up of media laws in Australia and a Royal Commission for media reform and diversity. Most recently she introduced a bill to establish a Royal Commission into the Murdoch media empire and the control and influence they have over Australian democracy. 

Sarah has been a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum since 2016 and was a Bloomberg Catalyst in 2021.

Andrew Lill, the first CIO of Rest Super, joined Rest in 2020 and is responsible for managing the full suite of Rest’s investment products and its outcomes to our members. The Rest investment team is a fully integrated best practice multi-asset investment function. It blends portfolio construction, investment operations and external investment management capability sourced from around the world and a talented team of internal portfolio managers. Andrew has enjoyed a professional career in Financial Services for more than 25 years, holding various senior executive roles located in the UK, Australia, and the United States. He has a track record of success managing mid-size teams of investment professionals and commercialising both investment capabilities and advice solutions.

Daniel has more than 18 years’ experience in investment markets, as both an Analyst and Portfolio Manager. Prior to joining Financial Decisions, Daniel held roles with a range of institutions including Citigroup, Thomson Reuters, and Eight Investment Partners, and most recently as Head of Research for a boutique investment advisory firm. As Chief Investment Officer, Daniel’s responsibilities include directing the Investment Committee, managing the Investment team, overseeing portfolio construction, and conducting investment analysis.

David joined Wilsons in January 2020 as the Head of Investment Strategy having spent over 25 years as one of Australia’s leading investment strategists. David is responsible for overseeing the development of Wilsons private wealth investment strategy including, asset allocation strategy, equity portfolio strategy and the selection of external fund managers across all asset classes to guide Wilsons model portfolios.

David Leon is a Certified Portfolio Manager and private wealth advisor for high net worth families and not-for-profit institutions. He has held multiple positions, including Executive Director with Morgan Stanley, Director with Goldman Sachs JBWere, and Financial Advisor with UBS. Mr. Leon was recognised in the top 10 financial advisors in Australia, as featured by the International magazine Barron’s in conjunction with The Australian. David has held outside roles as a Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Adelaide Crows Mentors Program.

Grant is the Principal of Cleary Wealth Management Ltd ( www.cleary.co.nz ) and has over 30 years’ experience providing bespoke investment advice to “wholesale” and “eligible” investors. These include family offices, high net worth individuals, indigenous trusts, and professionals. He has degree qualifications in Physical and Social Sciences from Auckland University, and a post-graduate diploma in Personal Financial Planning (DipPFinPlan) from Waikato University, where he received the Westpac/FPG Study Award. Grant is also sought after as an independent investment board member and speaker both in New Zealand and internationally. His newsletter - “The Clearance” - is a popular read by investors and industry peers.

Jim DeCarlo is a globally recognised leader in wealth management, known for his ability to build high-performing teams and drive strategic success across complex organisations. With a career spanning multiple continents, including the United States and Australia, Jim has held executive roles at leading firms, demonstrating a leadership style grounded in resilience, collaboration, and adaptability. His experience as both a corporate leader and elite athlete informs his approach to decision-making, coaching, and mentorship—qualities that financial advisers and others can leverage in their own practice. Today, having recently returned from the US as Chief Growth Officer of Wealthspire, a $24billion Registered Investment Advisory firm based in NYC, Jim is the CEO of Stellan Capital, a private, a fast growing wealth management firm located in Adelaide (with offices in Melbourne).

John is Asena’s Chief Investment Officer and is responsible for overseeing the firm’s investment offering, including devising the asset allocation strategy. John is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and has over 20 years of experience in financial markets across the globe, having worked in various investment and research roles at Mondrian Investment Partners, Abbey National, Deutsche Bank, Morningstar and National Australia Bank.

Martin joined Allianz Australia Life Insurance Limited in 2023 as Head of Investments where he is responsible for the overall investment strategy and management of investment activities. Commencing his career at Macquarie Bank, Martin has worked extensively across various asset classes on the buy-side with over 19 years cumulative experience. Most recently, he was at Ellerston Capital and previously at Schroders, Deutsche Asset Management, Dimensional Fund Advisors & Sloane Robinson in London. 

Michael Vassilopoulos is the director, investments at WTW, based in Melbourne. He is WTW’s Not-for-profit sector lead, currently working with a range of Not-for-Profit clients helping them align their investment portfolios to their philanthropic purpose through the develop their investment policies and multi-asset investment strategies. Michael is also part of the WTW Investment Strategy team and responsible for advising clients on their investment purpose and beliefs, investment strategy and portfolio construction, and developing WTW’s quantitative portfolio construction tools. Michael has 10 years of experience, having previously worked at EY in actuarial consulting and in funds management before joining WTW in 2018. Michael holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) from Monash University and is an Associate of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

Norman Zhang is currently the Chief Investment Officer and Partner at Koda Capital, a leading and fully independent Australian private wealth advisor with over $10+ billion of assets under management. He is responsible for overseeing Koda’s investment program, strategy, asset allocation, and portfolio construction. Prior to Koda, Norman managed a combined $12+ billion across two Australian superannuation funds between 2017-2023, serving as the Chief Investment Officer for Legal Super (2020-2023) and Media Super (2017-2020), delivering top-quartile returns for investors during this period. His expertise includes developing investment strategies, building high-quality investment programs & teams, asset allocation, portfolio construction, manager research & selection.

Paul specialises in providing sophisticated solutions to private clients with a focus on family offices. He has over 14 years of experience having worked for some of the most respected investment houses and institutions, including Goldman Sachs, JBWere and Investec Private Bank. As one of the founding members of Lipman Burgon & Partners, Paul has been instrumental in developing a culture that puts clients’ interests ahead of the firm’s growth. This includes leading a team of experienced professionals and cultivating a client-centric approach. Paul has deep technical expertise across the spectrum of wealth management solutions, is a key member of the Lipman Burgon & Partners’ Investment Committee and holds a number of academic and professional qualifications. This includes a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning and a Master of Applied Finance as well as being recognised as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA). For three consecutive years, Paul has ranked among Australia’s Top 25 Financial Advisers by US financial investment publication Barron’s. 

Richard joined TAL in 2021 as Head of Investments and Asset-Liability Management with a mandate to establish the general account investments function and has implemented best practice asset-liability management strategies. He has responsibility for $8bn of investment assets and managing balance sheet interest rate and inflation risks. Prior to TAL, Richard spent over a decade at Suncorp in various investment roles covering strategy, asset allocation, portfolio management, and overlay management, and provided investment advice to the general insurance, life insurance, and superannuation business units.

Ross was the Chief Investment Officer at Tasplan and MTAA Super from 2020 until both funds merged to become Spirit Super in April 2021. Ross has over 25 years’ experience as an institutional investor and has worked with several of Australia’s largest super funds. He’s a specialist in private market investing and a leading proponent of active asset ownership. Ross was previously the senior investment leader for First State Super. 

Tim started his career at the Reserve Bank as an economist. He joined Macquarie in 1998, where he spent 5 years covering the Australian equity market as a strategist. He then moved with them to Hong Kong in 2004, where he built and ran their Asian macro research group. His most recent role was running Asset Allocation for Westpac’s $30 billion Superannuation Fund. He has a First Class Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Sydney and a Masters in Finance from London Business School. He joined Evans and Partners in March 2017.