East Coast Capital Management (ECCM), a leading Australian alternative investment manager, today announced the formation of its inaugural Advisory Council, bringing together senior financial services leaders to provide independent guidance and strategic insight as the firm enters its next phase of growth.
This announcement follows a year of momentum for ECCM, including the appointment of Simone Haslinger as Chief Executive Officer in January and Mary Xu as Chief Operating Officer in April. The Advisory Council will provide the executive team with input across areas including investment strategy, governance, risk management, fundraising, operational scalability and product development.
The Council’s inaugural members are:
- Kim Ivey, one of the pioneers of Australia’s hedge fund industry and Founder of Vertex Capital Management. Ivey brings over three decades of experience in multi-asset investing, portfolio risk management, and industry advocacy. He previously served as Chairman of AIMA Australia and is currently a Trustee Director of the Alternative Future Foundation.
- Nina Dunn, founder of investor communications consultancy Fidare, and business development and strategic marketing strategist at Ellerston Capital and Third Link Growth Fund. Nina has also held senior executive positions with Wilson Asset Management and Barwon Investment Partners. She brings more than 20 years of experience in capital raising, institutional relationship management, and strategic marketing for alternative investment firms.
“At a time when ECCM is deepening its investment platform and building out its operational capability, the formation of the Advisory Council is a natural evolution,” said Simone Haslinger, Chief Executive Officer. “It provides our leadership team with access to experienced, external voices – people who understand the nuances of the market and will help guide our strategic thinking,’” Haslinger added.
“Kim and Nina bring both substance and perspective. Their input will challenge us to think beyond the short-term and ensure we remain disciplined, client-focused and aligned with our long-term investment philosophy.” Haslinger said.
The Advisory Council will meet regularly with ECCM’s leadership, providing input on market developments, strategic direction and institutional engagement as the firm expands its offering.
ECCM’s flagship ECCM Systemic Trend Fund has delivered annualised returns of over 11% net of fees over its 5.5 year track record, outperforming the SG Trend Index (a composite index of trend following manager returns) by 6.3% per annum, and the S&P/ASX200 total return index by 2.7% per annum, in each case with significantly lower volatility. Since inception, the fund’s annualised Jensen’s alpha against the SG Trend Index is 8.3%.
About East Coast Capital Management (ECCM)
Founded in 2008 by Adam Havryliv, East Coast Capital Management (ECCM) is a Sydney-based systematic fund manager specialising in quantitative trading strategies. Its flagship strategy, the ECCM Systemic Trend Fund (ECCM STF), seeks to capitalise on directional price trends across a portfolio of over 80 diversified and liquid global futures markets, including equity indices, foreign exchange, fixed income and commodities. The fund aims to deliver returns with low correlation to traditional asset classes.
ECCM’s Systemic Trend Fund was recently named Best Performing Fund over 5 Years – Trend Follower (AUM <US$100m) by The Hedge Fund Journal and was also awarded Best Global Macro and Managed Futures Fund for 2024 at the Hedge Funds Rock Australian Alternative Investment Awards.