The Who

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer

NIGEL J LEWIS is the founder and investment manager/advisor.

As the key investment person of ROSE OAK Nigel is responsible for all aspects of advice and management with clients. He has over thirty (30) years of investment management experience.

Prior to the management buyout (MBO) in early 2004, Nigel was a Director of Gresham Partners Capital Limited. He joined Gresham in 1998 and, reporting directly to the joint managing directors of Gresham Partners Limited, was responsible for the group’s proprietary listed investments.

Whilst there he also advised on the Investment Bank’s international equity exposures, foreign revenue currency hedging activities, and provided general investment insights to the group’s primary divisions; corporate advisory and private equity.

In 2001, external wholesale clients separate to Gresham Partners own capital, were able to co-invest with or have discrete advisory and management agreements for the investment services of Nigel and his team.

The successful investment track record established in January 1998 was bought by ROSE OAK as part of the management buyout in 2004.

As a direct result of the purposeful and documented investment strategy the ROSE OAK Proprietary Investment Fund (unit trust established in 2001), re-allocated all fund assets to 100% cash during May and June 2008. In the midst of the GFC, September-October 2008, all protected funds were successfully returned to clients by ROSE OAK. 

Since 2009 ROSE OAK chooses to only advise and manage individual client mandates and offers no pooled structured investment vehicles.

Nigel’s investing experience includes five years as an equity portfolio manager and analyst at the asset management arm of Swiss Bank Corporation (Australia) Limited (‘SBC’) (previously known as SBC Dominguez Barry Ltd). This time period was under the mentoring of (now) ROSE OAK’s Chairman (since 2009) Vincent Parrott.

Nigel’s responsibilities whilst at SBC included both investment management research, dealing, as well as learning, developing, and building investment risk management business processes and commensurate IT support infrastructure.

These investment workflow and business process learnings included an in-depth research trip to Brinson Partners Inc. in Chicago immediately after SBC’s purchase of Brinson Partners in 1994. As well as a research trip to Swiss Bank Corporations’ head office in Switzerland to understand its in-house investment risk management IT projects being developed.

Nigel’s formal educational qualifications are;

·   Bachelor of Business (Accounting & Finance), University of Technology Sydney;

·   Master of Commerce (Finance), University of New South Wales; and

·   Master of Commercial Law, Deakin University Melbourne.

Nigel’s education in the derivatives markets started in 1992 with in-house training courses whilst at SBC conducted by then one of the largest options trading firms globally, O’Conner & Partners (purchased by Swiss Bank Corporation in 1992). That training included passing and obtaining a Sydney Futures Exchange Registered Representative designation whilst working at SBC.

Nigel routinely attends formal and informal training courses to ensure he stays up to date via continuing education programs on the dynamic global investment, compliance, and risk management issues.

These courses have included financial, legal, compliance, and business management training courses including; the Fiduciary Collage program and the Directors’ Collage executive education program at Stanford University Law School, California, and regular professional training conferences, workshops, association courses, and university short courses for continuing education throughout Australia, America, and Canada.

As part of giving back to the community, Nigel served as an independent, non-executive director for a not-for-profit aged care and retirement village company from 2013 – 2017.

Independent, Non-Executive Chairman

VINCENT PARROTT is the independent, non-executive Chairman of ROSE OAK.

Vincent has over forty (40) years of experience in the funds management and superannuation industries.

He started his career with UAL Merchant Bank in Johannesburg, South Africa where he was involved in investment research, portfolio management and finally Head of Investment Research for the bank.

His roles in Australia have included:

·  Senior Australian Equities Manager at AMP;

·  Head of Australian Equities at Swiss Bank Corporation (Australia) Funds Management;

·  Business Development Manager at BT Funds Management; and

·  Chief Investment Officer at Aberdeen Asset Management.

In November 2001 Vincent set up and was Managing Director of a boutique equities firm, Veritas Investment Management, which subsequently became Souls Funds Management in 2003. He occupied this position until 2008.

Vincent joined the listed financial services firm Diversa Limited as Head of Funds Management and took over the role of Managing Director in 2013. He occupied this position until the merger of Diversa and OneVue Limited in October 2016, where he then served as Executive General Manager Investment Consulting for the OneVue Group.

From 2018 until March 2023, Vincent was a Senior Investment Consultant at Mercer Investments (Australia) Limited.

Vincent’s experience covers most aspects of the Funds Management industry including investment research, portfolio management, client service, marketing, compliance, fiduciary responsibilities, and general management.

Vincent holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.