Fund manager GSFM has appointed Ben Williams as the head of its retail business. He will be based in Sydney and will report to GSFM CEO, Damien McIntyre, effective 21 October.
In this role Mr Williams will lead the retail business and be responsible for the development and execution of GSFM’s retail distribution strategy. Mr Williams’ responsibilities will include research houses, retail asset consultants, platforms, private wealth and independent financial advisers (IFAs).
His career in financial services spans over 20 years. Prior to GSFM, he was the distribution director, APAC and head of private wealth at Warakirri Asset Management. He has also held executive roles in wholesale and retail distribution at UBS Asset Management Australia, Lazard Asset Management Pacific and BlackRock. He started his career at Bridgeport Advisers and Asset Managers where he was an associate and corporate superannuation consultant.
In 2016, Mr Williams won the Financial Standard MAX award for Distribution Executive of the Year, and he is a faculty partner with Portfolio Construction Forum.
GSFM CEO, Damien McIntyre, says Mr Williams is highly regarded across the financial services sector as a reliable, informed, and trustworthy executive, with relationships forged through two decades of shared experience.
“Throughout his career Ben has demonstrated a commitment to delivering sustainable, consistent, and exceptional outcomes for investors. He brings a wealth of knowledge and strong relationships, to the role.
“He has extensive experience having successfully fundraised and secured mandates for many different asset classes including emerging market equities, global equities, Australian income products as well as evergreen Agriculture REIT funds.
“Ben’s knowledge and experience will be invaluable as GSFM continues to expand its retail client base, and to position and communicate the opportunities in its funds and strategies to current and prospective clients,” he said.
Mr Williams holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney, as well as a Master of Business Administration and Master of Management (Marketing) from Macquarie Graduate School of Management. He has also completed a graduate diploma of financial planning from the Financial Services Institute of Australasia.
Mr Williams replaces Stephen Fletcher, who has been appointed to the newly created role of client portfolio manager at GSFM’s fund manager partner, Munro Partners. Munro has successfully built a team in Canada which provides dedicated support to its distribution partner, CI Financial Group, and its activities in the Canadian market. Mr Fletcher will spearhead Munro’s efforts to provide the same dedicated support to GSFM here in Australia.
Mr McIntyre said: “Steve has been an incredible asset to GSFM during his 16 years with the business and has been instrumental in the development of our retail business during that time. We thank Steve for his many years of service, and we look forward to working with him in his new role with Munro Partners”.
