Ellerston CIO to chair Perks investment committee

Ellerston Capital chief investment officer Christo Hall is set to commence in the role from May.

Previously he was a senior portfolio manager for the Asian fundamental equities team at BlackRock and co-head of Asian fundamental equity research.

He has also been a senior investment officer at Argo Investments and a senior portfolio manager at Goldman Sachs JBWere Asset Management.

Perks Private Wealth head Simon Hele commented the appointment will reinforce the firm’s commitment to building out its investment research capabilities.

“In recent years, we’ve seen in-house investment research and wealth advice capabilities and continuing to enhance its innovation in investment strategies – providing a real point of difference in the South Australian market,” Mr Hele said.

“At Perks Private Wealth, we see strength and depth in these areas as key points of difference that benefit our clients through the level of sophistication in our advice and the diversity of market information that we have access to. As a result, we’ve devoted significant resources to ensure the best investment outcomes for our clients.”

He added the firm had been in the market for an investment committee chair of Mr Hall’s calibre for close to two years, with the appointment representing a “key strategic step” for Perks.

Mr Hall added he hopes to leverage his experience in Australia and abroad to help expand the investment opportunities available to Perks Private Wealth clients.

“Ultimately, my ambition is to help Perks Private Weatlh continue to expand its depth and breadth of wealth advice by helping open doors to a wider range of investment opportunities, whether that be in private equity, co-investing or even start-up funding,” he said.

In September last year, Perks appointed a new director for its Private Wealth division.

It also acquired local advice firm Wotherspoon Wealth in May last year.