Our Investment Committee
DAMON O’BRIEN
HEAD OF INVESTMENT SERVICES
Damon’s career path has included exposure to a boutique wealth management firm, a national advisory dealer group and a ‘fund of hedge funds’ company.
Working in these differing businesses has provided him with a unique perspective across the wider investment and advisory industry in New Zealand.
Damon is the chair of the Consilium investment committee.
He has a B Comm. majoring in Economics and Operations Research from University of Canterbury and, after joining the wealth management industry, went on to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Personal Financial Planning) through Massey University.
As a CFA® charterholder, Damon is bound by the CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
BEN BRINKERHOFF
HEAD OF ADVICE
Ben has a background in wealth management. Prior to moving to New Zealand, he was Chief
Operating Officer at Index Fund Advisors, an advisory firm with $2.2 billion of funds under advice. His career has also seen him undertake the role of senior economic consultant, and economic manager for the Qatar Economic Free Zones.
Ben’s main role is to facilitate growth and improve efficiency in Consilium partner firms, and help them achieve their strategic initiatives. He is also a member of the Consilium investment committee.
Ben is an Authorised Financial Adviser (AFA) and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) and has a BA in History and Economics from University of California.
MITCHELL BRISTOW
INVESTMENT RESEARCH LEAD
Mitchell returned to New Zealand after a number of years working in Hong Kong as a Quantitative Analyst and Risk Manager for funds across a broad range of investment strategies.
Mitchell’s professional career has focused on financial modelling and data analysis, with significant experience in tracking, monitoring and reporting on the performance of recommended investments.
In his role at Consilium, Mitchell is an integral part of the investment committee, with a range of primary and supporting responsibilities in the areas of investment analysis, performance monitoring, supplementary fund due diligence, asset allocation and research.
Mitchell holds a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Statistics) and a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Management Science) from the University of Canterbury.
PROF BEN MARSHALL
INDEPENDENT ACADEMIC CONSULTANT
Professor Ben Marshall holds the MSA Charitable Trust Chair in Finance at Massey University.
He has undertaken research in areas such as the impact of climate on financial markets, factors that influence stock returns, quantitative approaches to portfolio management, transaction cost and illiquidity measurement, and exchange traded funds. Ben’s research has been published in leading international journals and he is a regular speaker at international finance conferences. He is currently ranked in the top 1% of authors based on downloads of his working papers.
Ben serves on the editorial board of a number of journals and has consulted to public and private companies in a range of different areas.
He is an Independent Academic Consultant, with a particular focus on governance, analytical support and policy review.
LYDIA LUO
INVESTMENT ANALYST / TEAM LEADER
Lydia has been working as an investment analyst for Consilium for over 4 years and is a member of the Consilium Investment Committee.
The primary focus of Lydia’s role includes monitoring the model portfolio’s performance, risk and attribution, coordinating quarterly client reporting and presentation, and assisting with strategic asset allocation and RFP.
Before working at Consilium, Lydia was in the managerial roles in a couple of products and services firms. In this role, Lydia involved product development, planning, decision making and communication with internal and external sources.
Lydia has a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Operations Research and a Master degree in Applied Finance and Economics from the University of Canterbury. Lydia is a candidate in the CFA® program and is bound by the CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
A word from Consilium
Consilium Investment Strategy Analysis
Consilium’s Investment Committee is a team of dedicated investment specialists with the responsibility of applying our clear investment philosophy to everything we do.
The Investment Committee meets regularly to research, monitor and report on investments that may be appropriate for inclusion in client portfolios.
Consilium provides advisers with all of the research, asset allocation and modelling tools necessary to deliver high quality investment advice.
Investment Philosophy
Consilium’s investment philosophy is based on four cornerstones:
o Focusing only on highly liquid, highly diversified and high quality investments
o Tilting portfolios towards academically proven sources of higher expected returns
o Avoiding expensive tactical trading strategies
The future is unknowable. Chasing the short term ‘promise’ of better returns from high cost, active managers only leads to long term disappointment
CEFEX Accreditation
The strength of Consilium’s investment processes are such that we have been independently certified by the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX) as achieving global best practice standards.
Consilium’s investment management practices are annually audited by CEFEX to ensure that our processes and procedures remain robust and are being consistently and rigorously applied.
Investment Portfolios
Consilium builds and maintains a range of model investment portfolios for investors working with partner firm advisers. This allows investors to be matched to an investment solution suitable to their specific risk capacity and investment preferences.
Portfolios are constructed following a strategic asset allocation process, where every allocation decision is subjected to a detailed review. All underlying investment recommendations are subject to a comprehensive quarterly monitoring process to ensure they are delivering consistent exposure to the desired risk factors to help maximise the investors’ risk adjusted returns.
Our portfolios offer risk levels ranging from very defensive (80% fixed interest) to very aggressive (pure equities) and include solutions that can cater to investors with a preference to invest with a Socially Responsible mandate.
A wide range of support is available including monitoring reports, analysis of historical performance of portfolios and underlying securities to expected risk and return characteristics to help in long term goal planning.
