Spotlight on Julian Biggins, Co-founder & Joint Chief Executive Officer, MA Financial Group

“Private real estate continues to offer a strong combination of resilient income, diversification and long-term value creation. In the current uncertain environment, investors who combine patient capital with specialist operational excellence are best positioned to capture the opportunities ahead."

- Julian Biggins is Co-Founder and Joint Chief Executive Officer of MA Financial Group. In addition to his broader leadership responsibilities across the firm, Julian has a particular focus on their real estate asset management platform, which manages over A$9 billion in assets across both core and alternative real estate sectors, as well as debt.

MA Financial Group's core real estate portfolio spans industrial and logistics, office, with a strategic focus on retail assets, while the firm's alternative real estate portfolio includes hospitality, marinas, and Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).

Julian will be presenting at Global Investment Institute’s upcoming Family Office Investment Forum on Tuesday, 1 September 2026 in Melbourne CBD, Victoria. To register your interest in attending, click here or for more information email zlatan@globalii.com.au.

Spotlight on Matt Burgess, Head of Quantitative Equities, Royal London Asset Management

“Institutional investors are increasingly seeking approaches that combine sustainability objectives with the diversification, scalability and cost efficiency traditionally associated with passive investing. This is driving interest in strategies that can improve portfolio characteristics while maintaining broad market exposure and tight risk controls.”

- Matt Burgess is the Head of Quantitative Equities at Royal London Asset Management, where he is responsible for leading the design, implementation and management of Royal London Asset Management's quantitative equity and enhanced index strategies.

Matt oversees a team focused on delivering systematic equity solutions for institutional clients, while managing the Global Equity Enhanced and Equity Tilt strategies and providing quantitative expertise across the wider equity franchise.

Matt will be presenting at Global Investment Institute’s upcoming Equities Investment Forum on Wednesday, 2 September 2026 in Melbourne CBD, Victoria. To register your interest in attending, click here or for more information email zlatan@globalii.com.au.

Värde Partners’ Missy Dolski on asset-based finance and opportunities in the ABF middle market

Video | Missy Dolski, Partner & Global Head, Asset-Based Finance, Värde Partners

In this exclusive interview, Missy discusses how the opportunity set in asset-based finance (ABF) has evolved over the years, the segments of the market offering the greatest opportunities, the attractiveness of the ABF middle market and shares her views on what best-practice in ABF underwriting discipline looks like.

Co-Heads of Australian Equities appointed at AustralianSuper

July 2026

Global Investment Institute congratulates Andrew Smith and Luke Smith on their appointment as Co-Heads of Australian Equities at AustralianSuper.

AustralianSuper is Australia’s largest superannuation fund with ~A$410 billion in assets under management and over 3.6 million members.

Andrew and Luke have been jointly leading the Australian equities team on an interim basis following Shaun Manuell's appointment as Chief Investment Officer.

Our congratulations to both Andrew and Luke, and best wishes for continued success to the team at AustralianSuper.

Spotlight on Kevin Donohoe, Head of Research, Abbey Capital

“In an environment of cyclical and structural change, managed futures can serve not merely as a defensive allocation but as a differentiated source of return. They need not predict the final shape of a new regime; they can respond to the trends and repricing that emerge as it evolves.”

- Kevin Donohoe is Head of Research at Abbey Capital and a member of the Investment Committee, he helps oversee the evolution and implementation of the firm’s day-to-day investment process.

Kevin's responsibilities span manager selection and due diligence, portfolio construction, and ongoing portfolio management, with a focus on ensuring that investment decisions are underpinned by rigorous analysis and aligned with client objectives.

Kevin will be presenting at Global Investment Institute’s upcoming Family Office Investment Forum on Tuesday, 1 September 2026 in Melbourne CBD, Victoria. To register your interest in attending, click here or for more information email zlatan@globalii.com.au.

July 2026 SuperCareers - Job opportunities for executives and senior investment professionals across our industry

July 2026

Current featured job vacancies and opportunities include roles at Australian Retirement Trust, Aware Super, Barings, BlackRock, BNY, Cbus, GESB, Goldman Sachs, HESTA, Insurance Commission of Western Australia, Macquarie Group, Netwealth, Nuveen, PineBridge Investments, Platinum Pacific Partners and QIC.

If you would like us to promote a job vacancy at your organisation for executive and senior investment roles, please email Nicole Browne, Global Investment Institute.

Macquarie Group’s Bill Eckmann on the evolution of U.S. and European direct lending markets

Video | Bill Eckmann, Head of US Direct Lending, Macquarie Group

In this exclusive interview, Bill discusses how direct lending markets have evolved over the past decade and the key differences between the U.S. and European markets. He explains the structural factors institutional investors should consider when allocating across regions, how to assess risk through a full credit cycle, and whether the fundamentals that have underpinned the growth of the asset class remain intact. Bill also shares his perspectives on the key questions investors should ask when evaluating direct lending managers with cross-regional capabilities.

Igneo’s Rene Ogunbona on trends in infrastructure investing and developments in renewables

Video | Rene Ogunbona, Director, Igneo Infrastructure Partners

In this exclusive interview, Rene discusses the key global trends driving increased infrastructure spending and the opportunities for investors. He explains why mid-market infrastructure is an attractively differentiated sector to the large-cap space for investors to consider for their portfolios. Rene shares his perspectives on changes in the Australian renewables market and contrasts the opportunity set in wind, battery and solar.

Spotlight on Jacob Van der Wiel, Managing Director, EQT Group

“While the impact of A.I. on software is profound, the anxiety around A.I. has resulted in an indiscriminate sell-off. When a heterogeneous asset class is priced as one, entry valuations disconnect from asset quality, and disciplined selection becomes the primary return driver.”

- Jacob Van der Wiel is Managing Director at EQT Group, where he is responsible for originating and executing mid-market software and technology-enabled services investments in Australia and New Zealand.

At the regional level, Jacob leads coverage of the software sector and works with colleagues across Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and India to form an integrated sector coverage team.

Jacob will be presenting at Global Investment Institute’s upcoming Family Office Investment Forum on Tuesday, 1 September 2026 in Melbourne CBD, Victoria. To register your interest in attending, click here or for more information email zlatan@globalii.com.au.

Spotlight on Rakesh Bordia, Principal and Portfolio Manager, Pzena Investment Management

“Ultimately, diversification in a multi-manager portfolio isn't a function of how many managers you hold, but whether at least one of them has the freedom to look different when the benchmark itself could be the risk.”

- Rakesh Bordia is a Co-Portfolio Manager at Pzena Investment Management, where he is responsible for identifying deeply undervalued businesses across Emerging Markets, applying the same rigorous, bottom-up research discipline that has defined the firm since 1995.

Rakesh will be presenting at Global Investment Institute’s upcoming Equities Investment Forum on Wednesday, 2 September 2026 in Melbourne CBD, Victoria. To register your interest in attending, click here or for more information email zlatan@globalii.com.au.

Spotlight on Michael Hanson, Senior Vice President of Research, Fisher Investments

“High prices by themselves aren’t what signal frothy markets. Not lofty valuations, either. Instead, be on the look-out for widespread irrational behaviour people convince themselves to take. Euphoria is a kind of collective irrationality that blocks individual judgment in favour of a collective mindset.”

- Michael Hanson is Senior Vice President at Fisher Investments, where he is responsible for the development of capital markets and securities research.

Michael is also a member of Fisher Investments' five-person Investment Policy Committee (IPC). As a collective, the IPC have full discretion and accountability for all portfolio themes, security selection and portfolio construction at Fisher Investments.

Michael will be presenting at Global Investment Institute’s upcoming Family Office Investment Forum on Tuesday, 1 September 2026 and the Equities Investment Forum on Wednesday, 2 September in Melbourne CBD, Victoria. To register your interest in attending, click here or for more information email zlatan@globalii.com.au.

Chris Grogan, legalsuper – Chief Investment Officer

July 2026

Global Investment Institute congratulates Chris Grogan on his appointment to the Chief Investment Officer role at legalsuper.

legalsuper is an Australian superannuation fund with ~A$6 billion in assets under management and ~43,000 members.

Chris will commence in his new role on 26 October 2026. He currently serves as Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Cambooya.

We wish Chris all the best in his new role and continued success to the team at legalsuper.

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July 2026

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