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Advisers Big Day Out - Capital Cities

Advisers Big Day Out (ABDO) - Capital Cities

March 12 - 26

The Advisers Big Day Out (ABDO), offers financial advisers a one-day event featuring thought leadership presentations, networking, and opportunities for professional development.

The roadshow spans multiple cities, allowing advisers to engage with expert fund managers and stay updated on the latest strategies and trends in diverse asset classes.

Following their participation in ABDO, advisers will gain valuable market projections, insights, and product knowledge, all while earning legislated CPD hours for a full day's attendance.

Dates and locations

Perth

Thursday 12 March
Beaumonde on the Point

Adelaide

Tuesday 17 March
Crowne Plaza Adelaide

Melbourne

Thursday 19 March
Grand Hyatt Melbourne

Brisbane

Tuesday 24 March
The Westin Brisbane

Sydney

Thursday 26 March
Hilton Sydney

AgendaSubject to change

8:30am

Registrations open
Barista coffee and breakfast is on us

8:55am

Welcome from Financial Standard

9:00am

Global economic outlook and the case for local currency emerging market debt: Resilience, risk, and opportunity

Martyn Simpson (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney)
senior investment officer, Colchester Global Investors

Find out more about Martyn

Martyn is a Senior Investment Officer with Colchester Global Investors and has been with the firm since April 2015. Martyn manages portfolios, monitors risk on a daily basis and conducts fundamental economic research. He began his career in 1999 at Baring Asset Management in London where he was a member of the global fixed income team. From there he moved to Rand Merchant Bank in 2004 to manage offshore bond exposures for the company. In 2009 he joined Mercer where he evaluated fixed income managers across a range of strategies, initially in London but then transferring to Singapore in 2012. Martyn graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in Politics and East Asian Studies. He then received a full scholarship from SOAS where he completed an MA in Korean Studies. Martyn was a member of the Territorial Army in the UK and served in Iraq. He is a CFA charterholder.

9:40am

The market has changed. The opportunity hasn't.

Dion Hershan (Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney)
executive chairman and head of Australian equities, Yarra Capital Management

Ed Waller (Perth, Adelaide)
deputy portfolio manager, Yarra Capital Management

Find out more about Dion and Ed

Dion Hershan is Executive Chairman and Head of Australian Equities. He is responsible for leading the Australian Equities team, and is a Portfolio Manager focused on large cap, mid cap and Ex-20 equities.

Prior to transitioning to Yarra Capital Management, Dion was the Head of Australian Equities of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, a position he held since July 2007.

He was previously a Fund Manager at Citadel Investment Group based in New York where he managed a long/short portfolio. He also worked as an Analyst and Fund Manager for Boston-based Fidelity Investments, where he was responsible for managing a diversified fund.

Before moving to the US, Dion worked at Boston Consulting Group where he undertook financial and quantitative analysis, project and client account management.

Dion holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and an MBA from Columbia Business School, New York.

Ed Waller is Deputy Portfolio Manager of the Yarra Ex-20 Australian Equities Fund. He is responsible for research and analysis of banks, diversified financials, infrastructure and utilities securities.

He previously worked for 10 years as an investment manager for Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Prior to that, Ed was a Research Analyst at Adviser Edge Investment Research where he analysed managed investment scheme projects across a broad range of agricultural industries.

Ed holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (First Class Honours) from The University of Melbourne.

10:20am

Maintaining a fundamental focus in a world obsessed with the short term

Tim Carleton (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney)
chief investment officer, Auscap Asset Management

Find out more about Tim

Tim founded Auscap Asset Management in 2012 and has over 20 years' experience in the financial services industry. From 2007 to 2011, he was an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, where he was responsible for managing an Australian equities portfolio using proprietary funds. Prior to 2007, he worked at Macquarie Bank within the Investment Banking Group.

Tim has a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney. He is a CFA Charterholder, a CMT Charterholder, a Senior Associate of FINSIA and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

11:00am

Morning tea

11:30am

Built for performance: Engineering your equity portfolio

Scott Bennett (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney)
director, Invesco

Find out more about Scott

Scott Bennett's is a Director, Invesco Solutions, in Invesco's global solutions team. He is responsible for Invesco's suite of investment solutions, including Invesco Quantitative Solutions ('IQS'), Index Solutions, Multi Asset and Private Market Solutions in Australia and New Zealand. Scott is also responsible for leading the Australian-based Invesco Quantitative Solutions ('IQS') team.

Scott joined Invesco in 2023 as Director of Factor Investing & Multi-Asset Strategies, responsible for representing Invesco's Quantitative and Multi-Asset Strategy offerings in the local market. As a member of the Australian Client Group team, Scott was involved in managing external researcher relationships and reviews for these investment capabilities across both institutional and wholesale channels.

Prior to joining Invesco, Scott was the APAC head of quantitative investment solutions at Northern Trust Asset Management, where he was responsible for the development and support of quantitative solutions within the Asia Pacific region, including driving thought leadership and working with large institutional clients on customised quantitative solutions.

Scott's experience also spans 14 years at Russell Investments in Sydney and Seattle across a variety of roles, including leading global quantitative research, being responsible for approximately A$45 billion in factor investing (including portfolio completion strategies and ESG) and managing approximately A$7 billion in Australian equities (including multi-manager solutions, smart beta and after-tax).

Scott has also been published in several academic journals covering topics such as portfolio construction, risk measurement and ESG. Scott earned his bachelor's degree in business (economics and finance) with distinction from RMIT University and a master's in finance (applied finance) from the University of New South Wales.

12:10pm

SMILE through retirement - tackling the top 5 (Sequencing, Market, Inflation, Longevity, Emotion) retirements risks

Ben Hillier (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney)
director retirement, AMP Super

Kiru Anantharaj (Brisbane)
retirement specialist, AMP Super

Find out more about Ben and Kiru

Ben Hillier, Director Retirement at AMP, has over 25 years of experience in strategic management and product leadership, and has worked in every sector in superannuation - retail, profit-for-member, government, corporate and SMSFs, as well as prior roles in banking, energy and property. Ben joined AMP in 2021 where he led the development of MyNorth Lifetime, a market-first lifetime income solution that pay high rates of income for life yet allows complete investment choice and considerable income flexibility. Prior to joining AMP, Ben was Head of Product at QSuper where he launched their Lifetime Pension product. Ben is actively involved as an Affiliate Member of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

A qualified financial services specialist with over 20 years' experience, she has built a career delivering tailored, high-impact subject matter expertise and coaching to financial advisers and their teams. Her areas of expertise include superannuation, retirement planning, investment strategies, and insurance solutions.

Kiru has held a range of roles across the advice value chain, including paraplanner, financial adviser, business engagement manager, and advice coach, giving her a deep and practical understanding of adviser needs.

She is highly passionate about helping advisers deliver better client outcomes and is driven by a mission to empower advisers with the knowledge, confidence, and tools they need to excel and provide exceptional service.

12:50pm

Closing remarks followed by lunch and networking drinks

CPD Information

ABDO is accredited by the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) for CPD hours alighted to Legislated learning areas. The Advisers Big Day Out was accredited in 2025 for 5.25 learning hours, divided into the following categories:

Legislated CPD: 5.25	Knowledge Areas: 5.25
General Knowledge: 2.50 hours Technical Competence: 2.75 hours	Credit: 2.25 hours Economics: 1.25 hours Fixed Interest, Deposits, Non-Cash: 0.25 hours Managed Investments: 0.75 hours Super & Retirement: 0.75 hours

Additional professional development content and content from previous forums can be accessed via Financial Standard's CPD program FS Aspire CPD. FS Aspire CPD users also have access to gaining CPD hours for this event via logging in to FS Aspire CPD.

Book Your Seat

The below details will appear in your CPD certificate.

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