Finance Heavyweights Warwick Traynor, Peter Hensley Set Up Own Advice Shop
10 Dec 2014
ANDREW MAIN
The financial advisory system in Australia had worked well over the decades despite those shortcomings, he [Warwick Traynor] said, but the market was now moving strongly in favour of advice that unequivocally put the interests of the client ahead of any other consideration.
Warwick Traynor and Peter Hensley, who until recently were respectively chief executive of MLC and JB Were, have started their own independent, fee-for-service financial advisory business as part of the reaction against bank-owned “vertically integrated’’ businesses that sell in-house products.
MLC and JB Were are both owned now by National Australia Bank and both executives left their CEO jobs earlier than most observers had expected, Mr Traynor leaving in March last year.
Asteri Asset Management, which is being backed by a number of private equity heavyweights including Grant Samuel Private Equity founder Anthony Rutherford, will officially open its doors in Sydney tomorrow.
It is understood to have a client list of corporate executives nervous of the increasingly obvious problem of conflicts of interest in the 80 per cent of financial advisory businesses in Australia owned by banks and big insurers, because they have historically placed emphasis on selling their own products.
“The profit motive overcame the importance of advice to the consumer,’’ said Mr Traynor.
The financial advisory system in Australia had worked well over the decades despite those shortcomings, he said, but the market was now moving strongly in favour of advice that unequivocally put the interests of the client ahead of any other consideration.
Read more at theaustralian.com.au
Latest news
What the wealth managers are telling clients about private markets
24 Jun 2026
Data published by industry body the Australian Investment Council indicates $161 billion in Australian funds are invested in private assets, an investment category that includes private equity funds, private credit funds and infrastructure assets. Within these categories are subtypes such as private equity funds. Secondaries hold businesses bought from other private equity funds. Continuation vehicles buy assets, often...
Asteri Asset Management nets US$11.9bn as Australia’s HNWs look beyond Big Four
27 May 2026
Asteri Asset Management has been featured in Asian Private Banker, with the article exploring the continued growth of independent wealth management in Australia and the evolving needs of high-net-worth families. In the interview, Managing Partner Jonathan Harper discusses Asteri’s founding philosophy and the firm’s focus on delivering independent, tailored advice to high-net-worth individuals and for-purpose institutions....
Subscribe to Asteri insights
*Please note that the majority of research Asteri produces and distributes is client-access only. Subscribing to the insights distribution list will only give you access to publicly available Asteri reports.