Investment Committee Chair

BA, BSc, GAICD, MBA

Sandra is Chair of the Investment Committee. She has a strong background in ESG and experience on both the buy-side and sell-side. She was the former top-rated head of ESG and utilities equities research at Credit Suisse Australia. She is a director of Workcover Queensland and was a former trustee and Chair of the Investment Committee of QSuper, leading up to its merger with SunSuper.

Sandra is also on the Board of the Investor Group on Climate Change, whose scope includes Australia, New Zealand and Asia, and is on the New Zealand Stock Exchange Corporate Governance Institute. Sandra is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of Chief Executive Women.

Non-Executive Director

BEc, FIAA, MAICD

Michael is also a director of Australian Ethical Superannuation Pty Limited.

Michael has been a director of financial services, community services and church organisations with roles focussing on strategy, investments, ethics and leadership. He is currently Chair of Wesley Mission and Chair of Synod Board, NSW/ACT, Uniting Church of Australia. He has been a member of the ethics and stakeholder advisory committees at other organisations.

In the funds management industry, Michael had experience spanning senior investment and general management roles. These roles have included leadership of a large Australian Sustainable Investment Fund and being a company spokesperson on corporate governance issues.

Investment Committee Member

BA (Maths & Economics)

With more than 30 years of investment experience in asset consulting and funds management, Sean’s roles have spanned markets in Asia, London, Australia, and New Zealand. Sean is currently founder and CIO of Aurora Capital, a climate focussed KiwiSaver Fund in NZ. Prior to his current role he led AMP Capital’s Multi-Asset business in Sydney which managed over AU$120b across multi-asset strategies; and was an asset consultant with Willis Towers Watson, where he provided strategic consulting advice to some of the world’s largest pension funds as well as heading up Manager Research in Asia.

Investment Committee Member

BEc (Sydney) FCA GAICD F FIN

Steve is a member of the Investment Committee. Steven has more than 30 years experience in investment, consulting and leadership of financial services organisations both in Australia and internationally.

Steve has extensive experience in global specialised funds management and financial institutions. While at Hastings Funds Management he held various roles including heading the European business, re-establishing the Infrastructure Debt business and heading the global Equity asset management function. Before this Steve was a Managing Director and Head of Debt Capital Markets at Westpac.

Steve is currently a Director of Australian Registry Investments Pty Limited, AssetInsure Pty Limited and is a Member of the Equity and Debt Investment Committees for Vantage Infrastructure.

Investment Committee Member

BEc, MCom, MCom(Hons), CA, GAICD, FGIA

Non-Executive Director since 2018

Julie is a Member of the People, Remuneration and Nominations Committee, the Australian Ethical Investment Limited Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee and the Investment Committee. She is a Director of Australian Ethical Foundation Limited, AvSuper and Masters Swimming NSW. She is also a member of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust Audit and Risk Committee.

She has over 20 years of experience in executive and board roles including experience with superannuation, investments, financial planning, stockbroking, research, insurance, audit, finance, acquisitions and business integration.

Julie’s most recent executive experience was Group General Manager Corporate Development and General Manager Operations for IOOF. She was previously Director of Finance India and Asia Pacific for Standard and Poor’s, Head of Research for Morningstar, Chief Operating Officer at Intech and Senior Audit Manager with EY. Julie’s prior board experience includes Perennial Value Management, Ord Minnett,Tax Payers Association (NSW Division) and Tax Payers Research foundation.

Investment Committee Member

BA (Political Economy), GAICD

Non-Executive Director since 2013

Mara is a Member of the People, Remuneration and Nominations Committee, the Investment Committee and the Australian Ethical Investment Limited and Australian Ethical Superannuation Pty Limited Audit, Risk & Compliance Committees. She is a Director of Australian Ethical Superannuation Pty Limited and Australian Ethical Foundation Limited.

Mara brings executive experience from Green Cross Australia, Choice, CSIRO, Macquarie Bank and Canstar. She is a Founder of The Salmon Project, specialist advisors to Climatetech and Agritech scale-ups advancing Series B venture funding through deep tech R&D. She is the Non-Executive Chair of two organisations: Bowerbird Collective, a chamber music ensemble dedicated to nature conservation through performance and asset consultants Australian Impact Investments. She is a Non-Executive Director of the Boards of GreenCollar and The Conversation Brazil.

Chief Investment Officer

MEng, GAICD

Ludovic joined Australian Ethical in April 2023 as Chief Investment Officer.

He has over 30 years of experience in ESG investing, funds management, commercial and investment banking and financial advisory.

Prior to joining, Ludovic was the Chief Investment Officer for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Australia’s Green Bank. He also had previous roles at Hastings Funds Management, Westpac, ABN AMRO, Macquarie Bank, UBS and BNP Paribas.

Ludovic holds a Master of Engineering from Ecole Centrale de Paris, France, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of Multi Assets

CFA

John is responsible for the Balanced Fund, as well as the overall AE SAA process. John joined Australian Ethical in March 2021. John’s primary responsibility is to design and implement investment strategies across the range of multi-asset portfolios at Australian Ethical, including the super investment options.

John has 15 years’ experience in the investment industry in Australia and Hong Kong with previous roles as a portfolio manager of both multi-asset and equities portfolios as well as investment strategist at MLC, CLSA and Macquarie. John joined the investment industry after roles in technology companies, including IBM.

John graduated from The University of New South Wales with a Master of Commerce and Bachelor of Engineering (Honours). He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Head of Impact and Ethics

CA (Fellow), M (Env), BA (Juris)

Alison joined Australian Ethical in May 2023 to ensure our investments continue to meet our Ethical Charter and grow our positive outcomes for animals, people, and planet.

Alison has more than 20 years’ experience in responsible investment and stewardship, working with numerous industry leaders in her prior roles with Pendal and Regnan. A Chartered Accountant, Alison also completed a Master of Environment and was previously a corporate sustainability advisor with EY.

Head of Investment Business Management

Clinton is responsible for the operational oversight of the investment team including processes and procedures, systems and technology, commercial and governance, performance and reporting, structure, workflow and resources.

Clinton has over 25 years experience in Financial Services and the Asset management Industry in Australia and Asia Pacific, with previous roles at IAG Asset Management, Manulife Asset Management, Credit Suisse Asset Management and Westpac Banking Corporation. Clinton holds a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of NSW, as well as attaining his professional Chartered Accounting and Certified Information Systems Audit qualifications whilst working at Ernst & Young Sydney.

Ethical Futures Lead

BA, LLB, MLitt, PHd

Stuart evaluates the impacts which companies’ products, services and operations have on people, animals and the environment. He also contributes to our voice for more sustainable business and investment models and practices. Stuart has previously worked with St James Ethics Centre and as a banker and lawyer.

Portfolio Manager, Emerging Companies and Australian Shares

Andy assumed full portfolio management responsibility for the Australian Shares Fund in April 2008, although he has been responsible for the small cap component of the Trust since August 2006, while joining Australian Ethical in December 2004.

Andy has worked in investment management for over 20 years commencing his career at Colonial Mutual NZ as a research analyst and then a domestic equity analyst. He then spent over two years in the UK working for Friends Provident Asset Management before returning to work at ANZ Funds Management (NZ) as a Portfolio Manager. In 2002 he spent over a year at Fidelity Australia in an account management position for the wholesale fund manager before setting up his own Australian Financial Services licensed equities research business undertaking research services for a number of ASX listed companies and institutional investors.

Andy graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of Business Studies (Economics and Finance with an honours degree in Finance) in 1991.

Portfolio Manager & Equities Analyst

Deana Mitchell joined Australian Ethical in 2018 and has around 20 years of experience in equity markets. At Australian Ethical, Deana is the portfolio manager for the International Shares Fund and is responsible for the consumer, technology, and diversified financials sectors. She also oversees our governance and voting responsibilities.

Prior to joining, Deana spent 14 years at Macquarie as an Associate Director, where she held various senior roles in Equity Research including Head of ESG Research, Deputy Head of Small Caps and senior investment analyst.

Her research and stock picking skills were well regarded, with recognition of her research in Peter Lee surveys and her stock picking in Thomson Reuter Analyst Awards. Deana is a CFA charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW.

Portfolio Manager & Equities Analyst

MBA

Mark joined Australian Ethical in March 2016 and has over 13 years’ experience as an equity analyst. At Australian Ethical, Mark has had responsibility for analyst coverage of a number of sectors and is currently responsible for sectors including media, telecommunications, transport, infrastructure & utilities, agriculture, and materials.

Prior to joining Australian Ethical, Mark spent 10 years as a sell-side equities analyst, originally with ABN AMRO Australia and most recently with Morgans Financial Ltd. Prior to joining ABN AMRO, Mark completed a full-time MBA at the AGSM in 2006 and also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University, Texas, USA.

Systematic Equities Portfolio Manager

Natalie joins Australian Ethical with two decades of experience in researching and investing in Australian equity markets. Most recently, she held the position of Portfolio Manager at Perpetual Limited. Previously, Natalie was Deputy Head of Australian Equities at abrdn Asset Management where she worked for 18 years. At abrdn, Natalie was portfolio manager for the award-winning Small Companies and Sustainable Australian Equities funds. 

Prior to this, Natalie worked for Deutsche Bank as an equity research analyst. She has previously held roles at Coca Cola Amatil, NM Rothschild & Sons and Royal & Sun Alliance. She is widely quoted in the press and is an industry panelist. 

Natalie holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of NSW where she was awarded a Co-op Scholarship. She is a CFA charterholder and holds a CFA Certificate in ESG Investing. 

Portfolio Manager, Fixed Interest and Income fund

Tim is the Fixed Income Portfolio Manager for Australian Ethical, managing both the Fixed Interest and Income Funds. Tim started with Australian Ethical in 2002 in the Fund Administration team. Since then he has performed roles in Investment Operation, as a Trainee Equities Analyst and backup to the Fixed Income Portfolio manager, eventually assuming portfolio management responsibility for fixed income in 2009.

He graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts (Politics) and has also completed a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment from FINSIA in 2007.

Senior Equities Analyst

CFA

Michelle joined in February 2023 and has over 17 years of experience in equity markets. At Australian Ethical, Michelle is responsible for bank, insurance and real estate stocks.

Prior to joining Australian Ethical, Michelle was an investment manager for Washington H. Soul Pattinson (WHSP) in the Equities Large Caps team. She was at Milton Corporation, a listed investment company for 16 years prior to the Milton-WHSP merger.

Michelle is a CFA Charterholder, CPA qualified and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Equities Analyst

Jason has over eight years of financial services experience across KPMG, SuperChoice Services and Ord Minnett where he focused on small and micro-cap stocks as a lead covering analyst.

His current analyst coverage – Small cap healthcare, Agriculture and Travel & Leisure.

Equities Analyst

Zeljka Black is a senior Equities Analyst with over 20 years’ experience in Australian financial markets. At Australian Ethical her research responsibilities include Industrials, Utilities & Infrastructure, Ag and Lithium sectors.

During her career at Ausbil Investment Management, Zeljka was responsible for covering the Banking, Insurance and Diversified Financials sectors. She also has experience across the broader Industrials sectors, in addition to Financials while at Ethical Partners, 452 Capital and Audant investments.

Zeljka has completed a Bachelor of Mathematics and Finance (UTS), a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investments (FINSIA) and is also a CFA Charterholder. 

Senior Investment Analyst

CFA

Julian joined the investment team as an analyst in September 2017. He assists with the management of the multi-asset portfolios, including asset allocation, manager due diligence, reporting, and forecasting. Julian has been with Australian Ethical since 2016.

Julian graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Commerce, with a double major in Economics and Finance, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Senior Investment Analyst

CFA

Daniel joined the investment team in November 2022, with over 6 years of prior experience at Christian Super. He assists in the management of the multi-asset portfolios with a focus on portfolio construction, asset allocation and risk management.

Daniel graduated from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) with a double degree in Commerce/Economics, majoring in Accounting, Finance and Economics. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Senior Investment Analyst

Yong joined the investment team in November 2022, with more than 8 years of prior experience in investments at Christian Super. He assists in the management of the multi-asset portfolios through manager research, investment analysis and portfolio monitoring.

Yong graduated from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) with a degree in Commerce, majoring in Accounting and Finance. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Quantitative Analyst

Jason joined Australian Ethical in 2015 and has over 8 years experience in the investment industry. Prior to joining, he spent 3 years as a quantitative analyst at BBY Ltd and 2 years as a research analyst at Bandini Investment Holding.

Jason holds a Master of Finance from the University of Sydney and Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from Monash University.

Manager, Investment Performance, Reporting and Data

Angela joined the Australian Ethical team in 2022, coming across from Christian Super where she had worked since 2014. Angela has responsibility for investment data reporting and analytics, and the systems that work across this data.

Angela graduated from UTS with a Bachelor of Information Technology and has also completed a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment from FINSIA in 2008.

Ethical Stewardship Lead

BA-Psych, LLB (Hons)

Amanda is responsible for Australian Ethical’s ethical stewardship activities including company engagement and advocacy. She is also responsible for assessing investments against the Australian Ethical Charter, evaluating the impacts of company products, services and operations on people, animals and the planet. Amanda joined Australian Ethical in February 2018. Her areas of focus include animal protection and halting and reversing nature loss.

Before joining Australian Ethical, Amanda was a Senior Associate at law firm Allens. She is currently a director of the Animal Law Institute.

Senior Impact & Ethics Analyst

BA-Pol Sci & Phil, MA Pol Econ

Persephone performs ethics research to define our sustainable investment universe. She is responsible for assessing investments against the Australian Ethical Charter, evaluating the impacts of industries and investments on people, animals and the planet. She also engages in ethical stewardship activities, and is responsible for policy advocacy and strategic engagement work streams and communications. Her focus areas include climate change, including high emitting and hard to abate sectors like built environment, and transition facilitating activities like transition minerals and hydrogen. Persephone joined Australian Ethical in November 2020.

Before joining Australian Ethical, Persephone worked in research across the Climate Justice Initiative, Common Capital, Reconciliation Australia, and the Greens.

Senior Impact & Ethics Analyst

Ella has 7 years experience in research in the university sector. Ella previously worked as a post-doctoral researcher investigating the role of responsible investment in driving food industry accountability for health.

Ella also has extensive experience evaluating and benchmarking corporations and the public sector on their policies and performance related to food environments.

Ella has a PhD in public health, specialising in the commercial determinants of health.

Impact & Ethics Analyst

BEc, BBus (Hons)

Shannon performs ethics research to define our sustainable investment universe. She is responsible for assessing investments against the Australian Ethical Charter, evaluating the impacts of industries and investments on people, animals and the planet. She also engages in ethical stewardship activities, primarily around animal research. Her focus areas include healthcare, animal research and evolving ethics research systems. 

Prior to joining Australian Ethical, Shannon worked as a Research and Engagement Analyst at Pendal and Regnan, contributing to the development of ESG insights connected to both impact and financial value.

Shannon received first class honours in finance for her thesis examining the climate transition implications of infrastructure investment and its effect on sovereign bond yields.