Investment management team

IOOF has a team of experienced investment specialists managing your money

Stephen Merlicek, M. Com.(Hons), B. Ec.(Hons) F.Fin

Chief Investment Officer

Stephen was appointed to the role of Chief Investment Officer at IOOF in October 2009.

Prior to joining IOOF, Stephen was the Chief Investment Officer at Telstra Super for 10 years. During this time, Telstra Super was consistently a top performing fund, and received numerous investment awards. Previously Stephen has also worked as a Portfolio Manager, an Economist and a soldier with the Australian Army.

Stephen has a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from Monash University in Melbourne, a Master of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Melbourne and is also a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia (FINSIA).  

Dan Farmer, M. Com.(Hons), B. Ec.(Hons)

Portfolio Manager, Australian Equities

Dan was appointed as Portfolio Manager Australian Equities at IOOF in February 2010. In his role, Dan is responsible for the performance of the Australian equity holdings of IOOF's multi-manager products, including IOOF MultiMix.

Prior to joining IOOF, Dan was Senior Executive Investments at Telstra Super, managing the funds Australian equity portfolio for seven years. During this period Telstra Supers Australian equity product consistently ranked highly in the Super Ratings performance survey. Dan was also the Portfolio Manager responsible for day to day management of internally managed Australian share portfolio's at Telstra Super.

Dan has a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from LaTrobe University in Melbourne and a Master of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Melbourne.  

David Kilmer, F.Fin, CPA

Portfolio Manager, International Equities

David was appointed as Portfolio Manager International Equities at IOOF in August 2010. In his role, David is responsible for the performance of the International Equity holdings of IOOF's multi-manager products, including IOOF Multimix.

Prior to joining the investment team, David was Head of Research for the IOOF Research team, managing the manager research for the IOOF platform business and its retail model portfolio for two years. During this period, the IOOF platform was rated as the No.1 platform by Wealth Insights. The model portfolio managed by David also outperformed its benchmarks consistently.

David holds a Graduate Diploma of Applied Investment and Finance, is a Certified Practicing Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst candidate.  

Stanley Yeo, B.Com, LLB (Hons), CFA

Portfolio Manager, Strategy and Implementation,

Stanley was appointed as Portfolio Manager, Strategy and Implementation at IOOF in September 2010. In his role, Stanley is responsible for the strategy and asset allocation of the diversified products of IOOF's multi-manager funds.

Prior to joining the investment team, Stanley was a Senior Consultant at Russell Investments.  He has advised on strategic asset allocation, portfolio construction and implementation to large Asian sovereign wealth funds and large corporate superannuation funds. He actively managed and implemented the strategic asset allocation of the BHP Billiton Superannuation Fund to achieve consistent first quartile returns. Prior to this, Stanley was an Investment Analyst at Gartmore Investment, UK.

Stanley holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), a Bachelor of Commerce and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.  

Hugo Agudo, B.Sc

Portfolio Manager, Alternatives,

Hugo was appointed as Portfolio Manager Australian Equities at IOOF in February 2010. Hugo is responsible for managing the alternative investments of IOOF's multi-manager products.

Hugo joined IOOF as part of the AM Corporation purchase in March 2003, and had been with AM more than 3 years. Prior to his appointment as the portfolio manager for alternatives, Hugo was the main research analyst for the IOOF MultiMix international equities and private equity investments. Hugo was also the main analyst responsible for the portfolio construction of the IOOF MultiMix Diversified Funds.

Hugo has a Bachelor of Science majoring in statistics from Macquarie University, Sydney  

Simon Gross, Assoc. Dip. Valuation (Property)

Portfolio Manager, Property

Simon is responsible for all of the IOOF property products. He has managed the IOOF MultiMix Direct Property portfolio since 2004 and during that time the product has ranked highly in comparison to its peers and has consistently outperformed its benchmark.

In addition, Simon manages the funds multi-manager Australian and Global Listed Property portfolios. In his role, Simon is responsible for the Australian and Global listed property holdings of IOOF's multi-manager products.

Simon is a qualified property valuer. He joined the industry in 1980 and has worked for a number of leading investment institutions including Australian Fixed Trusts and GIO Australia where he gained extensive experience in senior rolls managing substantial national property portfolios.