Hostplus chair, Damien Frawley, has joined newly-launched wealth manager Granite Bay Private Wealth as its founding chair.
Frawley joined the $140 billion Hostplus fund in July 2022 and is chair and independent director, having previously served as chief executive of Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC).
In addition to this Hostplus role, he will now support Granite Bay Private Wealth which is a newly-launched high net worth (HNW) advice firm based in Sydney and Brisbane.
This will see him reunite for former QIC colleague David Asplin who has also joined Granite Bay as its chief executive.
Asplin was previously head of funds management and deputy managing director at the institutional investment manager while Frawley was its chief executive for a decade until 2022.
“I chose to be involved with Granite Bay because it’s built on the principles that matter most in wealth management: strong governance, disciplined decision-making and a genuine commitment to doing things properly. This is a business that operates with the transparency and accountability that clients rightly expect,” Frawley said.
Granite Bay will specialise in serving high-net-worth (HNW) individuals, multi-generational families and sophisticated private capital. With the backing of a syndicate of prominent investors, the firm said it plans to execute an “ambitious growth strategy” as it eyes opportunities in other states.
As well as Frawley and Asplin, it is led by Steve Moon as managing partner, Matt Nicholls as chief operating officer and founding partner Peter Opie, all of whom worked together at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Platform and wealth advisory specialist Jessica Brady has also joined as general manager, having previously worked at Macquarie and CFS.
BlackRock will act as the firm’s outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO), giving Granite clients access to the asset manager’s global capabilities and multi-asset strategy and solutions team.
