Kelly departs Merc Mut

It took 12 years and a lot of persuading — but Jamie Kelly, one of the faces of Mercantile Mutual, has switched camps.

It took 12 years and a lot of persuading — but Jamie Kelly, one of the faces of Mercantile Mutual, has switched camps.

Kelly has taken on a new role — but not a new title - with Challenger International.

“I don’t have a title at Challenger and that’s the way I like it - because what I do is about relationships. My business card reads Jamie Kelly, Challenger International — and that’s all it should read,” he says.

Kelly describes his new role as around 70 per cent business development and around 30 per cent “strategic”.

“That means I’m advising on product, the structure of distribution and compliance and training,” he says.

Kelly says the parting with Mercantile Mutual was completely amicable and cites family reasons as the prime motive for his departure.

“Mercantile Mutual is a great company and they were very good to me,” he says. However, “I don’t want a national role. “I have 11-year-old twins and when they were four, five and six years old, I missed out a lot. I don’t want to make that mistake as they go into high school. Challenger was prepared to help me find the right balance.”

Kelly is also keen to work with a home-grown fund manager.

“Challenger is an exciting young Australian company,” he says, “and there are not too many of them around in the funds management industry. Challenger also has a lot of energetic people including Bill Ireland and Roger Bacon who are really focussed.”

Kelly’s 17 year history in the industry began with the Commonwealth Bank in 1983. He went to work for Mercantile Mutual in 1988 when the funds management team numbered 34. Mercantile Mutual now has a funds management team of 900.