Zenith hires former advice director as BDM



Zenith Investment Partners has appointed a Brisbane-based business development manager.
Peter Connolly has commenced at the investment research firm as a BDM for the Queensland and Northern Territory regions. Based in Brisbane, he will report to Zenith’s head of sales, Glenn Boyes.
Connolly holds nearly two decades of experience working in the financial advice industry. Most recently, he spent eight years at Fitzpatrick Private Wealth Partners as a director and senior financial planner.
The Sydney-based advisory firm specialises in wealth preservation, estate planning and investment management for Australian businesses and families.
Prior to this, he served as a principal adviser at Centric Wealth for 10 years. Connolly also held business development and state management roles at Goldman Sachs JBWere and AMP.
According to Boyes, Connolly will focus on business development opportunities for Zenith’s market research and extensive managed account capabilities.
“Peter has decades of experience both as an adviser and in various business development roles. His depth of experience in financial services, particularly as a financial adviser, will be really valuable to help ensure we’re delivering our services and solutions in a way that meets the needs of our growing adviser base,” the head of sales said.
“He also has firsthand understanding of the benefits of managed accounts for advisers and their clients, including the importance of quality investment research in driving strong outcomes.”
Last month, Zenith announced that it had appointed a new group head of research following the departure of Bronwen Moncrieff.
Moncrieff left in August to join boutique fund manager Blackwattle Investment Partners on its investment council, having been at Zenith for over a decade. In her place, head of responsible investment and sustainability Dugald Higgins was appointed to fill the position in an acting capacity while it sought a replacement.
Since then, the firm welcomed Grant Kennaway to the role in a permanent capacity. He previously worked as the global head of manager selection at Morningstar across Australia and the US, and for a decade at rival Australian research house Lonsec including roles such as head of managed funds research.
As a result, Higgins reverted to his original head of responsible investment role, while the team also consists of Damien Hennessy as head of asset allocation and Steven Tang as head of portfolio solutions.
Earlier this week, fund manager GSFM hired a former financial adviser as a key account manager for Queensland. David Cohen started in the newly created role and will be responsible for servicing private clients, wealth advisers and independent financial advisers.
He joined from Praemium where he worked as a business development manager but previously worked for four years in financial advice at Commonwealth Bank.
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