About us
Who we are
The Lonsec Group is a pivotal force within Australia’s financial advice and investment industry, encompassing market leading brands Lonsec Research, Lonsec Investment Solutions, SuperRatings and Implemented Portfolios.
Our position in the industry enables us to be a unique conduit, playing a fundamental role in building investment capabilities for financial advisers, licensees, fund managers and superannuation funds to deliver practical, actionable insights that significantly enhance the value of their investment and advice solutions.
Partnering with Lonsec means being backed by the enduring strength of the Lonsec Group. Founded in Australia in 1994, and with over a three-decade legacy of profitability and sustainability, we are committed to supporting our clients with the tools, data and insights to make better investment decisions for decades to come.
Our vision and purpose is to be the pre-eminent investment partner in Australia by helping clients and investors make better decisions.
Our vision and purpose is to be the pre-eminent investment partner in Australia by helping clients and investors make better decisions.
Mike Wright, CEO
Our Values
Independent thinking
We never compromise on quality or objectiveness to deliver trusted, high conviction insights.
Integrity
We stand behind our promises and always do the right thing by our people and clients.
Client focus
Our culture puts the client at the core and focuses on helping them achieve their goals.
Innovation
We anticipate market needs and opportunities and develop contemporary solutions.
Collaboration
We build great relationships and work in partnership with our clients and colleagues.
Our Milestones
Our Awards
Lonsec is honoured to be awarded Best Research House in the 2024 Adviser Ratings Australian Financial Advice Landscape Report. This is the third year in a row Lonsec has been recognised by Australian financial advisers with this award.
We are also the winner of the 2024 Best Investment Research Firm award in the inaugural Australian Wealth Management Awards.
Our clients and end investors are at the heart of what we do at Lonsec and while we have grown and our product offering has evolved over the past 30 years, we remain committed to helping all Australians make better financial decisions.
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Our Executive Team
Michael Wright
Chief Executive Officer, Lonsec
Michael joined Lonsec in July 2021 as CEO. He has over 25 years’ experience in leading businesses and teams within Financial Services, across financial advice, private banking, wealth management, superannuation and retail banking.
Michael joined Lonsec from Xplore Wealth, where as CEO he led the transformation of the Xplore, upgrading the business, which resulted a successful friendly takeover to Hub24. At BT and Westpac, most recently as General Manager, BT Financial Advice, Michael successfully lead large teams across the Banks key client segments, responsible for change, leadership and strategy. Michael also worked at ANZ as Head of Alternative Investments and Head of Distribution for Banking Products.
Throughout Michael’s career, he has used his leadership, communication skills and commitment to a client first ethos, to build values based cultures, inspire high performance teams whilst developing strong relationships with all key stakeholders.
Lorraine Robinson
Executive Director, Lonsec Research
Lorraine joined Lonsec in December 2019 to lead the Lonsec Research team. She has extensive experience in financial markets, across investment research, funds management and investor relations.
She joined Lonsec from Evans & Partners, where she was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of the Corporate and Institutional business. Her 10 year tenure included time as Head of Research and as a Senior Investment Analyst. Previously she developed her own investor relations and consulting practice, gaining experience across a number of different industries including financial services, media and communications and technology. She was a successful Research Analyst at JBWere and gained experience in both funds management and investment banking at Macquarie Bank.
Nathan Lim
Executive Director & Chief Investment Officer, Lonsec Investment Solutions
Nathan Lim is the Chief Investment Officer at Lonsec Holdings. He is responsible for building and managing Lonsec’s suite of investment solutions, devising strategies for growth and acting as the liaison with the market. He was previously with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management from 2016 to 2023, holding senior roles in Sydney and Hong Kong, where he developed their multi-asset investment approach, which was recognised by the Institute of Managed Account Professionals as the winner in the 2021 Multi-Asset and Licensee Managed Account categories. Before Morgan Stanley, Nathan was with Australian Ethical Investment, managing the Australian Ethical International Shares Fund, which won the Best International Equities Award from the Australian Fund Manager Foundation in 2014. He started his career in 1995 and has extensive experience in asset management, research and stockbroking that has taken him across Asia, North America, the Middle East and Australia. Nathan is a frequent speaker and writer on global market issues, has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia, is an Honorary Adjunct Professor with the University of Technology Sydney Business School and is a CFA® charterholder.
Marc Hraiki
Executive Director, Adviser Sales and Service, Lonsec
Marc has been in the financial services industry for over 23 years, leading sales teams for a number of the most prominent organisations in the sector such as IOOF and HUB24. His experience spans administration, product, advice and technology and he has managed significant client relationships for over 15 years. Marc has most recently managed Key client relationships at global Investment manager, Franklin Templeton. Marc brings substantial insight on the structure and drivers within our industry today.
Kirby Rappell
Executive Director, SuperRatings
Kirby was appointed Chief Executive Officer of SuperRatings in October 2017 and is responsible for setting SuperRatings strategy and ensuring we continue to provide the best possible Ratings, Research, Consulting and insights to our clients. He has worked to build a strong relationship with funds, service providers and key industry stakeholders to ensure we have a strong understanding of the market, and communicating back to the market where opportunities for uplift in value for super fund members exist. Kirby has been with SuperRatings since 2008. During his time at SuperRatings, Kirby has work as a Quantitative Analyst before becoming responsible for our Research team in 2011. Kirby has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney (Finance and Accounting) and is a CFA Charterholder.
Amanda Smerdon
Chief Financial Officer, Lonsec
Amanda joined Lonsec in February 2019 and is responsible for both Finance and Operations. As CFO, Amanda is responsible for finance, legal, risk & compliance, human resources and office management. With experience working in a range of industries, Amanda’s focus, as a business partner, is on delivering value across both strategic and operational initiatives. Amanda has successfully overseen a number of finance transformations and strategic financial projects.
Prior to joining Lonsec, Amanda was CFO for Riversdale Group, a private-equity owned Pub Fund, where she oversaw the divestment of numerous assets. She started her career at PwC and has also worked at CIMIC Limited (formerly Leighton Holdings Ltd). Amanda holds a Master of Business Administration from Macquarie University, a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Accounting from the University of Technology Sydney and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.
Naomi Christopher
Head of Marketing and Public Relations, Lonsec
Naomi Christopher is the Group Head of Marketing and Public Relations at Lonsec Holdings. Her career in financial services spans 13 years, where she has worked in similar marketing and communications related roles at other financial services businesses such as Midwinter Financial Services (a Bruvara owned company) and SQM Research, the funds research and ratings house. Naomi was National Manager – Marketing and Communications at Implemented Portfolios and joined Lonsec Holdings in 2022 following the merger between the two companies.
Outside of the office, Naomi has a love for reading & creative writing and enjoys writing poetry. She also has a keen passion for Women in Financial Services and is involved in various initiatives that seek to elevate and increase the presence of women in the industry.
Bruce Hawkins
Chief Operating Officer, Lonsec
Bruce has over 30 years’ experience in financial services with an extensive track record across investment platforms, superannuation and life insurance. Bruce has held a number of senior positions spanning finance, operations and strategic development with companies including NAB Wealth, Aviva Australia and Xplore Wealth Limited.
Prior to joining Lonsec, Bruce was Group Executive – Xplore Wealth at HUB24 Limited leading the Xplore business whilst assisting in its integration into the broader HUB24 business.
Bruce earned a Bachelor of Commerce Degree at Deakin University and is a member of Chartered Accountants – Australia & New Zealand.
Kevin Brennan
Chief Information Officer, Lonsec
Kevin joined Lonsec in September 2021 as Chief Information Officer and leads the technology and delivery function for Lonsec. Kevin is an accomplished technology executive with over 20 years financial services technology experience and a proven track record of leading strategic transformation in complex, challenging environments.
Prior to joining Lonsec, Kevin was the Head of Technology for Advice, Investments and Private Wealth for BT Financial Group. Before that role, Kevin led the Equities technology team for Westpac’s institutional bank.
Kevin is passionate about building collaborative technology teams with strong commercial acumen and business alignment.
Our Board Members
Mark Spiers
Chairman & Non-Executive Director
Mark has over 30 years extensive Executive and General Management experience at strategic and operational levels in building and developing Wealth Management capability.
Through deep customer knowledge and advocacy, Mark has transformed and grown wealth businesses at AMP, ING and BT Financial Group.
Following his successful career at BT where for 10 years he was General Manager Advice, Mark now acts in Non-Executive Director and Advisory roles.
Mark has been a significant contributor to the Wealth industry having served previously as a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair of the Financial Planning Association, Non- Executive Director of FINSIA, and an Advice Board Member of the Financial Services Council.
Mark holds numerous qualifications including industry qualifications such as Certified Financial Planner, Certified Insurance Professional, and Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Rob Coombe
Non-Executive Director
Rob was appointed Executive Chairman of Generation Development Group on 18 July 2017 and assumed a Non-Executive Chairman position on 1 July 2020.
Rob is presently Non-Executive Chairman of Colonial First State, a leading Australian superannuation and wealth management business owned by KKR and CBA. He also chairs Tibra Capital, a privately owned global multi-strategy hedge fund business, and Expert360, Australia’s leading online talent market place. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Five V Capital, a leading Australian private equity manager focused on investing in established growth companies across a range of industries.
On top of Rob’s commercial interests, he is a Deputy Chair of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) and Chair of the UTS Foundation.
Between 2013 and 2019, Rob was CEO (2013-2017) then Chairman of Craveable Brands, the largest Australian owned Quick Service Restaurant business. Rob’s tenure with this business was during its ownership by Archer Capital and culminated in a successful exit to PAG in August 2019.
Before joining Craveable Brands, Rob was responsible for all of Westpac’s Australian Retail, Business and Agri banking operations. Prior to this role, Rob spent six years as the CEO of BT Financial Group, responsible for all of Westpac’s funds management, financial planning, insurance, private banking, broking, platform and superannuation businesses.
Rob has 40 years’ corporate experience in Australia and Asia, primarily in financial services. He has had extensive experience on the Boards of listed and private companies both domestically and internationally.
In 2011 Rob was awarded the prestigious UTS Alumni of the Year for Excellence and in 2021 he was appointed as a Fellow of the university. Both awards were in recognition of his achievements in the business community and social sector.
Mark Carnegie
Non-Executive Director
Mark has more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, investor and corporate advisor in New York, London and Sydney. From 1990 to 2000 Mark was the Australian and Asian representative of Hellman & Friedman following his training on Wall Street with James D. Wolfensohn and, in London, at Hudson Conway with Lloyd Williams.
In 2000 Mark co-founded leading Australian boutique corporate advisory and private equity firm Carnegie, Wylie & Co Pty Limited with John Wylie. Carnegie Wylie was acquired by leading Wall Street bank, Lazard Inc in 2007, and following the sale, Mark was appointed the CEO of Lazard Australia Private Equity.
Throughout his career, Mark has been involved in a range of diverse Australian and Asian investments and has participated in groups that have acquired major stakes in the Courage Pub Estate, John Fairfax Holdings, Hoyts Cinemas, Formula One Holdings, SCTV, Macquarie Radio Network, Lonely Planet Publications and London Sumatra Plantations. As a corporate advisor, Mark has advised Qantas and Coles Myer on general strategic matters, Westfield on its A$22 billion merger and Qantas on its JetStar Asia start-up in Singapore.
Mark holds a BA from Oxford University and a BSc (Hons) from Melbourne University. He is a former Treasurer of the Oxford Union.