FRANK VILLANTE BEcon, Chief Investment Officer
Frank started his career in 1981 with National Australia Bank in the Economics, Retail and Corporate Banking areas. From 1984 to 1988 he had roles as an Analyst/ Research Manager with Bridges, Son & Shepherd and then with Clark & Co (Citicorp Scrimegour Vickers) as an Analyst and Institutional Equities Dealer. In 1988 he joined the NRMA initially as an Analyst, and ultimately moving into a Portfolio Management role. Frank moved to Bankers Trust in 1995 as a Portfolio Manager where he had responsibility for large and small-cap portfolios until 2001. In 2002 Frank undertook certain consulting roles for both listed and unlisted companies, and was involved in 2 projects for ASIC. Frank joined Celeste Funds Management in January 2004 as Chief Investment Officer. frank@celestefunds.com.au
SCOTT ARMSTRONG BCom (Hons), FFin, Investment Analyst
Scott started his career at BT Funds Management in 1992 where he spent 7 years from 1992 to 1999. He then spent 2 years at Zurich Scudder Investments from 2000 to 2002 and 5 years at Jenkins Investment Management as Head of Investment Research from 2002 to 2007. His career has covered a very wide range of Australian equity activities. Specifically, the analysis of small, medium and large cap Australian stocks, participation in the global analysis networks at BT and Zurich Scudder, involvement in the construction and management of client portfolios, contribution to the development and ongoing refinement of investment process and managing the research agenda and team at Jenkins. Scott joined Celeste Funds Management in February 2008. scott@celestefunds.com.au
PAUL BIDDLE BAcc, BBus (Hons), CFA, GAICD, Investment Analyst
Paul started his career as an analyst in 1992 with Lend Lease Project Finance. In 1994 he joined Ord Minnett Securities (now JP Morgan) analysing a broad array of sectors of the Australian industrial market. In 2000 he joined BT Funds Management and was involved in analysis of both US and Australian equities. In 2002 he joined Merrill Lynch Investment Managers as a fund manager with responsibilities for analysis as well as input into the management of the firms’ Australian portfolios. Paul joined Celeste Funds Management in April 2005. His investment experience covers the industrial and financial sectors listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. paul@celestefunds.com.au
DR ANDREAS STEPHENS PhD, BE (Hons), BSc, FFin , Investment Analyst
Andreas joined stockbroker Paul Morgan Securities in 1998 as an analyst researching companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The company later merged with Johnson Taylor. In January 1999, Andreas joined M. J. H. Nightingale & Co. Limited, a small investment bank and was responsible for detailed financial modelling for various projects, as well as analysis of listed and unlisted companies. He joined Flinders Asset Management in September 1999 and Veritas in February 2002.
Before moving into financial analysis, Andreas undertook research on high efficiency silicon solar cells, leading to the award of a Doctor in Philosophy at the University of New South Wales. He published several articles in leading international research journals, including the Journal of Applied Physics. In 1995 Andreas joined Pacific Solar, where he was responsible for providing engineering support to the development of a new thin film silicon solar cell technology. andreas@celestefunds.com.au
STEPHEN HANICH BEc (Actuarial), Company Secretary & Operations Manager
Stephen started his career in 1991 as a superannuation analyst with MJR Consultants, and later with Rice Kachor Research in roles covering superannuation consulting, product research, investment, insurance products and company secretarial. Stephen joined Flinders Asset Management in December 2000 and Veritas in February 2002. stephen@celestefunds.com.au