BT Panorama hires long-serving Russell Investments executive

BT Panorama hired a long-serving Russell Investments executive to lead its managed accounts division.

Tim Furlan is the new head of managed accounts at BT Panorama, stepping into the role vacated by Zac Leman in May.

Furlan was most recently the managing director and head of Australia and New Zealand at Russell Investments. Prior to that, he was the managing director of the master trust and superannuation business, overseeing a team of 20 covering master trust client service, business development and operations.

He joined the fund manager in 2004 as an actuary to several defined benefit funds, advising on all superannuation matters and contributing to thought leadership on retirement and investment strategies. Furlan also spent nearly a decade as a consultant at Towers Perrin.

Furlan said: "What attracted me to BT is the strength and breadth of the offering - real investment choice, backed by the scale of one of the largest managed accounts platforms in the market."

"There's no single way to run an advice practice, and no single managed account that suits every adviser. BT's strength is that we have a range of solutions to implement model portfolios - giving advisers the flexibility to deliver their investment approach their way, and to keep it consistent as their business grows."

BT Panorama's managed accounts assets have reached $43.8 billion. This spans separately managed accounts (SMAs), tailored portfolios (MDAs) and adviser portfolios.

BT chief product officer Annabelle Kline said: "Managed accounts remain a critical priority and a growth focus for BT."

Over the past year, BT has added 89 managed portfolios across 17 investment manager suites, including three private markets solutions, four Vanguard portfolios on its lower-cost Focus menu and an expanded range of specialist and in-house managers.

"It's this continued investment in choice and capability that advisers value. Under Tim's leadership we're excited to build on that momentum and further strengthen our offering," she said.

Furlan added that advisers are under real pressure to do more for more clients.

"Managed accounts, done well, take the heavy lifting out of implementation - letting advisers deliver their investment approach more consistently and spend more time on the conversations that matter most to their clients," he said.