Mark Johnston, Principal

Mark has been managing research in the wealth management space since 1999, and over that time has been widely quoted in the media on trends in the industry.

Mark is a Qualified Practicing Market Researcher (QPMR), a full member of the Australian Market and Social Research Society (AMSRS), and a General Member of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA).

He holds degrees in Financial Administration (graduated first in class) and Law (with First Class Honours) from the University of New England, and was awarded 3 medals for excellence from the Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants.

Dr Borhan Uddin, Director of Statistical Consulting

Borhan brings more than twenty years of research, academic and statistical consulting experience with different universities and organisations in Australia and overseas.

His previous roles include:

Borhan has a MSc (First class, First) and PhD in Statistics.
He has received international recognition for his application of multivariate statistical techniques, having published more than fifteen articles in international journals and received a medal from the New York Academy of Sciences for his contributions to the field of statistical modelling.

Urvi Burman, Client Director

Urvi has worked in various financial services marketing & client services roles since 1996 across UK, Europe, USA and Australia.

Urvi worked in the UK for 7 years (until 2003) with companies such as Barclays, ABN AMRO, Scottish Widows and JP Morgan. In Oct 2003, she was headhunted in Australia to work for endgame communications, the leading marketing consultancy in the Australian financial services industry. There she worked with clients such as Macquarie Bank, AMP and Colonial First State. Urvi has been Head of Client Services and Sales at Investment Trends since 2008.

Urvi holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology and Business Marketing from University College London (UCL).

Pawel Rokicki, Senior Analyst

Pawel has 10 years’ experience in market research, including over 7 years in Australia as analyst and statistician.

He currently runs client satisfaction research for all Australian online brokers and is experienced in designing and analysing complex tracking studies as well as various bespoke projects.

Pawel also runs syndicated research on CFDs, online broking and margin lending.

He has a Masters of Economics from the Warsaw School of Economics.

Recep III Peker, Senior Analyst

Recep Peker is the lead Analyst for Investment Trends’ planner, SMSF and platform reports, specialising in identifying and evaluating emerging trends in the financial planning industries in Australia and the UK.

After graduating first in his honours class in economics at the University of Technology, Sydney, Recep gained first-hand experience of the advice industry as an Associate Financial Adviser in a boutique practice, and has a broad understanding of the industry, including products, advice models, planner needs and client needs.

Since joining Investment Trends in 2009, he has been a regular contributor to industry media and often presents to executive teams from Australia’s leading financial services organisations.

Uwe Helmes, Senior Analyst

Uwe is a leading industry analyst in the retail brokerage, CFD, foreign exchange and wealth management industry. He runs syndicated research on the high net worth investor market and superannuation industry in Australia as well as a number of international studies including stockbroking and CFD trading in Germany, UK and Singapore.

He currently works on and regularly presents findings of the following reports:

Uwe holds an Honours in Finance (First Class) from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). He completed his Bachelor of Economics, majoring in Econometrics and Finance, at UNSW in 2007.

King Loong Choi, Analyst

King is the lead analyst behind Investment Trends’ superannuation, retirement and insurance reports, specializing in examining and exploring emerging trends in the Australian financial landscape.

He completed his Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and International Business with Distinction at the University of New South Wales. He has also been ranked highly in the Bloomberg Assessment Test. King is currently a CFA candidate.

King has been the recipient of numerous awards:

Trent Hardy, Analyst

Trent joined Investment Trends early in 2011 and currently conducts research into the financial services industry both in Australia and overseas, concentrating on online trading and margin lending.
Trent completed his BA and BSc (Hons) with First Class Honours and University Medal at the University of Technology, Sydney. He obtained a final GPA of 3.94 and also gained a number of awards:

Yuriy Ermolov, Analyst

Yuriy holds a Masters of Business in Finance from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) with a high distinction average. He also completed a postgraduate degree at the Australian National University, majoring in financial management.

Yuriy completed his Bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.95 at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies, where he was majoring in international studies and economics. His thesis on non-profit corporations was highly praised among academia and earned him a recommendation for a PhD program.

S M Shahed, Analyst

Shahed brings along a breadth of knowledge and expertise from his six years corporate experience as well as consulting engagements across a number of industries, including financial services. He has experience working with many local and global organisations, such as British American Tobacco, Telenor Group, Procter & Gamble and the like.

Shahed holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School with a mixed focus in Strategy, Marketing, and Finance. As an international exchange student, he also attended Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University (USA).

He completed his Bachelor of Business Administration at North South University (a leading private university in Bangladesh) and acquired a dual major in Marketing and International Business.

Academic distinctions and scholarships:

Linda Lee, Client Services: Senior Associate

Linda completed her Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance and Econometrics at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

She holds an Honours in Finance (First Class), UNSW. Her thesis modelled the impact of unexpected interest rate changes in Australia, the US and Germany on bank stock prices. The findings in this thesis were applicable to the volatile interest rate environment during the Global Financial Crisis.

Linda was awarded the 2006 – 2009 Co-op Scholarship in Finance at UNSW.

Eric Blewitt – Chief Operating Officer

As COO of Investment Trends Eric sits across many aspects of the expanding international business.

Eric has 20 years experience in Australian and UK financial services in a variety of roles spanning banking, Wealth management and financial markets, having worked for recognisable brands such as Prudential, AMP and Leveraged Equities.

With a successful track record in the corporate superannuation and investment arena in the United Kingdom, Eric has spent the last 10 years in Australia, seven of those as General Manager and later Director, of the market leading Leveraged Equities Business. In that period he successfully navigated the business through the Global Financial Crisis, whilst concurrently acquiring and integrating a Key competitors business.

He holds full Financial Planning Certificate (FPC) and Advanced Financial Planning Certificate (APFC) qualifications from the UK

Tim Cobb, Advisory Board

Tim has 20 years experience in Australian and UK financial services in a variety of Actuarial, Product and Marketing roles with Norwich Union, Virgin Money, and Aviva Australia.

Tim has a deep insight into the platform, superannuation and life insurance sectors and, an unparalleled understanding of what providers must do to deliver profitable success in the adviser market which is based upon his strong adviser relationships.

During Tim’s time as GM of Product and GM of Marketing & PR, Aviva was awarded Life Company of the year, twice, and the Navigator platform developed to a position of market leadership.

Tim is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Actuaries, has qualified with the Chartered Institute of Marketing and has a Diploma of Financial Planning. He has a BA (Honours – First Class) in Economics and a Diploma in Actuarial Science

Andrew Knox, Advisory Board

Andrew has 9 years experience in the financial services sector.
He has extensive knowledge of the retail wealth management industry via roles in wholesale administration, investment research, sales development, business strategy and consulting.

Andrew’s previous relationships with financial advisers and dealer groups have enabled him to develop a deep understanding of the Australian funds management and platform market.

Andrew’s previous role was eBusiness Strategy Manager, Personal Investments at ING Australia.

Ramin Marzbani, Advisory Board

Ramin Marzbani is regarded as a leading technology, internet and financial services analyst and researcher in Australia and Asia.

Ramin was the founder and CEO of www.consult from 1995-2003 and oversaw the transition of the company to ACNielsen following the sale of the business in 2000. The company has gained recognition for pioneering work and excellence in 13 countries.

Previously, Ramin spent three years as a consultant for Booz-Allen & Hamilton and seven years in various positions at IBM. Ramin has a BE from UNSW and an MBA from AGSM.

Ian Webster, Advisory Board

Ian has 9 years experience as a social research analyst with 2 years financial services research/analysis projects.

Ian is also able to draw on a wide range of prior experience in media and publishing:

• 1974-1976: Australian Union of Students – Cultural Affairs
• 1976-1979: AAP – Computer Information Services support
• 1980-1982: IDG – Technology journalist and magazine editor
• 1982-1984: Imagineering – Founder and Software Director
• 1986-1987: Commodore – Software Manager
• 1987-1990: Fairfax Business Media – Technology Journalist
• 1990-1997: MacDirect – Founder and Software Director
• 1999-2000: www.consult – Research Analyst
• 2000-2003: AC Nielsen.consult – Principal Research Analyst
• 2004-2007: IRM – Associate and Analyst
• Education: BEcon – University of New England