His big break
Having cut his teeth in mutual fund selection as Investment Research Manager at the Commonwealth Bank in Sydney, British-born but Australian-bred Jake Moeller returned to his native home in 2004, to see what the UK had to offer.
It turned out the answer was plenty, and Jake was soon offered the position of Head of Investment Research at MetLife Alico. “It was my first real experience working with discretionary portfolios,” he recalls. “It was a huge role, and very influential for me.”
His current role
Following a subsequent stint as a senior manager at Lloyds Banking Group, in 2013 Jake joined Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company that supplies mutual fund information, analytical tools and commentary.
As Head of UK and Ireland Research, he is currently responsible for increasing qualitative output on mutual fund investments within Europe. It is a different world to fund selection, and the first time that Jake has been employed by a nonfinancial institution. But he has relished the opportunity to approach funds from a new angle.
“The strength of the Thomson Reuters brand is something that I’ve never really had the benefit of before,” he says. “I can knock on someone’s door and say that I work for Reuters and they’ll invite me in. That’s remarkable and very liberating.”
It was Thomson Reuters’ push to increase its qualitative mutual fund output that drew Jake to the job. “Mutual funds are becoming a much more important vehicle for all types of investors, not just your traditional fund of funds manager or ISA investor,” he emphasises.
His desire to give something back
Jake delivers this message about mutual funds at regular conferences, such as the Fund Selectors and Fund-of-Funds Forum, which Thomson Reuters hosted in conjunction with the CISI in July.
“Becoming a CISI member was a big part of my integration,” he says. “That’s why I try to give something back by co-hosting conferences with the Institute.”
His perspective on the CISI
A Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, Jake’s external perspective has also helped him appreciate the way the CISI
runs its courses.
“The great thing about the CISI is that you’ve got industry practitioners and high-level executives preparing the curriculum, and that’s why the courses are so relevant,” he notes. “You get that wonderful overlay of members giving back to the theoretical underpinning of the industry.”
His life outside work
Outside the office, Jake is most content on a hockey pitch or sat at the piano. He says: “I mainly play classical – I’m a big Chopin fan – but have been known to unwind with the occasional sing-along!”
Jake did not reveal how good his singing is, but it is clear he is hitting the right notes as both a head of research and a CISI member.
If you would like to tell us your own back story, email
joanna.lewin@wardour.co.uk
The original version of this article was published in the September 2015 print edition of the Review.