John Treloar, the most experienced senior executive in custody in Australia, is to leave the National Australia Bank after 43 years.
Treloar’s resignation, which does not take effect for another six or seven months, follows the introduction of a new flat structure at NAB Custody. The new regional general manager overseeing custody and investment administration, Leigh Watson, will be adopting a hands-on role with eight or nine direct reports from within the leadership team. Watson was appointed last October under the business banking umbrella. He had been running NAB’s business in Hong Kong and was previously with MLC, since 1995, in Australia and Hong Kong. He said last week that he was looking to elevate a number of the team leaders and this had implications for Treloar’s role going forward. Separately, NAB announced last month the appointment of Andrew Hagger in the new role as head of Private and Institutional Wealth, of which NAB Custody is the biggest division. Other parts of that group include JANA Investment Consultants, private banking, financial planning and specialised investments. Watson said that NAB was looking to grow the custody operation and expand in the new areas which have already been flagged such as master manager and emulation services. “John and the team have introduced a number of innovations and we’re keen to continue that. We’re getting close to entering the market (with master manager),” he said. Treloar, who holds an Achievement Award for services to custody from the Australian Custodial Services Association, said he would be focusing on the transition of the leadership over the next few months before deciding on what to do. “I’d still like to work and I’ll see what opportunities there may be,” he said. Treloar was appointed general manager last year but had previously overseen all day-to-day operations of the division for many years. “I’ve had a great time at NAB,” he said. “We have some great people and great clients. It’s been gratifying to get the feedback from clients when we told them of the changes. This type of business is very much a partnership.” Watson said there was a lot of depth of experience in the custody ranks, with managers such as Ray Lester, Brian Keogh and Patrick Liddy.
Future Fund chief investment officer Ben Samild said that FY24 has been a great year for alpha creation, thanks to strong returns in equities and, unusually, across multiple hedge fund strategies all at the same time. He reflected the past few years have been “a difficult time to be an asset owner and to generate positive returns for risk assets” but the Future Fund is tracking well of its long-term mandate.
Simon Hoyle and Darcy SongSeptember 4, 2024
