Foundations Conference 2023

Day 1

8:30am — Tea and coffee

9:00am — Start time

• Welcome and Introduction — Vivecca Robinson
  
  
• Evidence Based Investing — Professor Ben Marshall
  An overview of evidence-based investing globally and New Zealand from one of the foremost authorities on the subject.
  
  
• Consilium’s Approach to Portfolio Construction — Damon O’Brien
  How does Consilium use the academic evidence to select funds and construct robust investment portfolios.
  
  
• Equity Fund Implementation — Slava Platkov
  An overview of how Dimensional constructs and trades equities.
  
  
• Media and Information Hygiene: Six Simple Tips for Clients in an Information-Saturated World — Jim Parker
  A guide to information hygiene and the critical role of trusted advice.
  
  
• Consilium Monitoring and Due Diligence Processes — Mitchell Bristow
  How Consilium monitors all recommended funds to CEFEX standards, including the new Evidential funds.
  
  
• Fixed Interest Fund Implementation — Slava Platkov
  An overview of how Dimensional constructs and trades bonds.
  
  
• Explaining Investments to your Clients and Overview of Consilium Solutions
  — Ben Brinkerhoff
  Beyond the theory how can you explain these ideas to your clients.

4:30pm — Drinks and Canapes at The Maritime Room

Day 2

8:30am — Tea and coffee

9:00am — Start time

• Highlights from Day 1 and Introduction — Vivecca Robinson
  
  
• Wrap for the Future — Dayle Engelbrecht
  The road to the future of Wrap platforms and the importance of investing in modern technology.
  
  
• The Growth of Advice Led KiwiSaver — Ben Brinkerhoff
  Take a deeper look at why adviser led KiwiSaver is (and should be) the future.
  
  
• The Emerging Opportunity of KiwiSaver and Advice — Andrew Bascand
  Why KiwiSaver should be built into the fabric of financial advice.
  
  
• Panel Discussion — Why you should incorporate KiwiWRAP into your business
  Phil Stevenson (Bloomsbury Associates) and Alistair Bean (Alistair Bean & Associates)
  
  
• Closing Remarks — Vivecca Robinson and Ben Brinkerhoff

12:15pm — Lunch

Prof Ben Marshall

Independent Academic Consultant
Consilium CIC

Professor Ben Marshall works with the Consilium Investment Committee (CIC) as an Independent Academic Consultant, with a particular focus on governance, analytical support and policy review.

He 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 holds the MSA Charitable Trust Chair in Finance at Massey University.

Professor Marshall 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.

His research has been published in leading international journals and he is a regular speaker at international finance conferences. Professor Marshall is currently ranked in the top 1% of authors based on downloads of his working papers.

Damon O'Brien

Head of Investment Services
Consilium

Damon is the Head of Investment Services at Consilium and chair of the Consilium Investment Committee. He has over 23 years’ experience in the financial services industry, in roles focusing on the delivery of global best practice investment solutions.

Leading a team of six analysts, Damon is responsible for the design, implementation and support of Consilium’s evidence-based investment strategy. Under his investment stewardship, Consilium’s asset allocation and monitoring processes achieved international certification by the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX).

Damon is a Director of Consilium, a CFA® charterholder, a member of the New Zealand CFA Society and a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.

Slava Platkov

Senior Portfolio Manager and Vice President
Dimensional Fund Advisors

Slava Platkov is a Senior Portfolio Manager and Vice President in Dimensional’s Sydney office. He joined the firm in 2012 after previously working for a large Australian superannuation fund and a large global investment consulting firm. His experience involves all facets of multi-management, including manager research and portfolio construction.

Slava is currently an adjunct lecturer at Macquarie Business School, where he teaches investment management and corporate finance subjects. He holds a master’s degree in applied finance from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, where he majored in finance and actuarial studies.

Jim Parker

Vice President, Communications
Dimensional Fund Advisors

As head of the communications and marketing team in Australia, Jim Parker helps create strategies to communicate Dimensional's philosophy and process in ways that engage clients, prospects, regulators, and the media. He does so through presentations, books, papers, and articles, including his "Outside the Flags" column and, more recently, his weekly "Coffee Break" links to interesting articles.

Jim joined Dimensional in 2006 after 25 years working as a journalist in newspapers, television, radio, and online media. His specialty was financial journalism, particularly in relation to economics and financial markets. Jim holds a bachelor of arts in social and economic history from Deakin University and a journalism certificate from Auckland Technical Institute/

Ben Brinkerhoff

Head of Advice
Consilium

Ben is Head of Advice and has been with Consilium since the foundation of the business. Ben works with partner firms to grow and develop their ideal advice practice through engaging advice processes, efficient business systems, increased investor education and goals-based advice, while finding their marketing and business development niche.

Ben is a frequent author writing many articles and whitepapers for Consilium. He regularly speaks at industry events, conferences and at client engagements.

Ben has over 20 years’ experience in financial services including General Manager of Bradley Nuttall, Chief Operations Officer of Index Funds Advisers, LLC in the United States and in various Economic Consulting roles in the US and abroad.

Ben has a BA in History and Economics from the University of California.

Mitchell Bristow

Investment Research Lead
Consilium

Mitchell is the Investment Research Lead for Consilium and has been working in the financial services industry for over 15 years. Mitchell is an integral part of the Consilium investment committee, with responsibilities in the areas of investment analysis, performance monitoring, supplementary fund due diligence, asset allocation and research.

Mitchell specialises in creating informative and educational graphics from complex datasets to help the advisers we work with understand, and explain, the fundamental concepts we use in our portfolio construction. Mitchell is passionate about Socially Responsible Investing and has been involved in several projects to bring innovative solutions to New Zealand investors with an interest in this field.

Mitchell is as a CFA® charterholder and is bound by the CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. Mitchell holds a Bachelor of Science (Statistics) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Management Science) from the University of Canterbury.

Andrew Bascand

Managing Director & Portfolio Manager
Harbour Asset Management

Andrew is a founder and Managing Director at Harbour. He and holds responsibility for our Australasian Equity growth portfolios, alongside the overarching management of Harbour as a business.

Prior to joining Harbour Asset Management, Andrew spent 10 years with AllianceBernstein New Zealand as Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager responsible for portfolio construction of all Australasian mandates. In that role Andrew and his team were consistently recognised by the industry for excellence in funds management. Andrew has more than 37 years’ investment management experience including roles with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Bank of England, AMP and with Merrill Lynch Global Asset Management (UK) as Managing Director of Global Equity Products. With Merrill Lynch, Andrew managed global equity accounts for pension funds in Japan, Sweden, Spain, Chile, England, the US, Germany and South Africa.

Dayle Engelbrecht

Head of Wrap Solutions
Consilium

Dayle plays a key role in managing and enhancing Consilium Wrap and the development of KiwiWRAP KiwiSaver Scheme. Joining Consilium in 2013, Dayle has a depth of knowledge across all Consilium solutions and services, with a dedication to delivering innovative solutions.

Dayle has oversite of the day to day operation of the Wrap service, working alongside other departments in relation to their roles to provide a systematic and process driven experience.

Dayle has a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies with an endorsement in personal financial planning from Massey University, and a Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology with first class honours, from the University of Canterbury.

Dietary requests

Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements for catering purposes. Send an email to Donne Leonard at donne.leonard@consilium.co.nz.

CPD hours

Your attendance at the conference will earn you 8.5 structured CPD hours. Names will be submitted to Financial Advice NZ to have the certificate sent directly to your email address.

Accommodation

Rydges Auckland
59 Federal Street, Cnr Kingston Street, Central Auckland

We have secured discounted rates at the Rydges Auckland for those travelling to this event.
Book your stay here and receive a special conference room rate.

Venue

The Maritime Room
Princes Wharf, Auckland CBD
Auckland 1010

(Entrance is located opposite of Wildfire restaurant)

Parking

There are a number of car parking options close by:

• Downtown (Customs St, 6am - Midnight)
• Princes Wharf (Off Quay St, 24 hours)
• Viaduct Carpark (Next to Tepid Baths, 24 hours)

If you are using public transport, The Maritime Room is located 350 meters from the Britomart Transport Centre. If you are travelling by taxi, there is a taxi rank right outside our front door.