Meet Melbourne’s investment leaders from CIO’s 40 under forty 2016

Three of Melbourne’s top investment professionals are represented in Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Magazine’s 2016 global 40 Under Forty list and all three currently work at industry superannuation funds.

Making the list were Brett Chatfield from CBUS, James Harman from HESTA and Matt Kempton from ESS Super. They are standout performers and worthy of their nominations.

I meet talented investment professionals every day and I am fortunate to have assisted these three at various stages of their careers. While they are very different, they also share some similarities. Here are my thoughts as to why they are so good.

Matt Kempton – Head of Investments – ESS Super

Matt is not your typical investment guy, while clearly smart (honours graduate) I found Matt to be one the most unique investment professionals I have interviewed.

Why? Mainly because of his extracurricular activities, primarily football. Matt was heavily involved with the Melbourne University football team (captain and a premiership coach). I found his ability to manage a fulltime position at Frontier Advisors and coach a leading amateur football team (easily a 20hr a week commitment) very impressive. Most investment professionals I meet have a very one-dimensional approach to career development and tend to lack leadership skills.

Don’t ever underestimate your ability to talk footy in a town like Melbourne, and don’t underestimate the value team sports can teach you as they are very applicable to business and life in general.

I am certain that Matt’s leadership skills from football have assisted in his career development.

Interesting to note that Matt is one of the few investment professionals who doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile. Clearly one does not need LinkedIn to get a job!

Brett Chatfield – Investment Manager, Public Markets – CBUS

Brett has some of the broadest investment experience of anyone I know in the industry. I often use him as an example of what one can achieve in this industry. He seems to be a guy that has always challenged himself to get out of his comfort zone. He has built and amazing career starting as an accountant with KMPG, to Investment Analyst with Lonsec, to Senior Investment Analyst with UniSuper. Most observers did not seem to understand his move from UniSuper to Frontier. But I have previously stated how valuable institutional asset consulting experience can be. Brett also spent some time in institutional business development with Challenger. His broad investment knowledge and relationships with CIOs and Heads of Asset Classes which he forged during his time at Frontier would have seen him have great success in this position if he chose to continue with it.

I would not be surprised if Brett becomes a CIO or CEO in the near future given his broad skill set and experience.

James Harman – General Manager, Listed Assets – HESTA

Meeting a guy like James is why I love my job. I get an opportunity to meet people at various stages of their careers and watch them develop and grow while hopefully providing some assistance. I first met James (sometime in 2008) when he was going through a challenging stage in his career. The GFC had hit and his role at Warakirri was made redundant. While one door closes, don’t expect another door to immediately open.

Your career won’t always be upwardly linear, no matter how good you think you are. Restructures and redundancy happen often, and this will always test one’s resilience. Sometime opportunities come to you and other times you have to seek them out. It is times like these when all the effort you put into developing your network can pay off.

James has excellent qualifications; he is both an honours graduate and CFA charter holder. Sometimes education is not enough and you have to actively participate in the industry. James has been an active participant in the Melbourne CFA community since 2007 and I seem to recall James’ ability to utilise his network assisted with his transition to HESTA. Melbourne is a well-networked town and it helps to know people……relationships matter!

If my memory serves me correctly James was one of the first few analysts to join HESTA, I am not surprised to see his role grow and evolve as HESTA’s investment portfolio has grown.

What is interesting to observe is that all three have a strong connection to Frontier Advisors. Matt and Brett previously worked there and Frontier Advisors are HESTA’s Asset Consultant.

To become a leading investment professional education and qualifications are very important. It helps to build a strong and diverse base of experience. Be open to opportunities, and new challenges. Belong to and participate  with industry groups and forums and always have time to talk about football.

Kind regards

Matt McGilton – Director

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