Michael Bell
Chief Investment Officer/Analyst
Commenced in Industry – 1995 Joined the team - 1997
Michael was appointed as Chief Investment Officer in May 2018, while maintaining his position as Analyst and Portfolio Manager for various portfolios. Previously he was the Head of Dealing. Prior to Solaris, Michael was a member of the Suncorp Equities Investment Team as Head of Dealing and Portfolio Analyst where he was responsible for quantitative analysis and acted as product specialist for the High Alpha and After Tax portfolios. Michael has a Bachelor of Business – Accountancy from the Queensland University of Technology and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance through the Securities Institute of Australia.
Charles Casey
Analyst/Portfolio Manager
Commenced in the Industry - 2007 Joined the team - 2018
Charles has full portfolio responsibilities as an Analyst and is also co-Portfolio Manager for the Solaris Australian Equity Income Fund. Before joining Solaris Charles worked for QIC as a Portfolio Manager in the Global-Multi Asset Team and previously a Research Analyst for the same team. After graduating from the University of Queensland with dual Bachelor Degrees in Commerce and Economics, Charles worked for Macquarie in a range of roles, most recently as a Senior Manager in Product Management based in Sydney. Charles is a CFA Charterholder and has completed a Diploma of Financial Planning (RG 146 Compliance) through Kaplan Professional.
Lisa Domagala
ESG Analyst/Portfolio Manager
Commenced in Industry – 1987 Joined the team - 1993
Lisa provides supplemental advice and direction on a range of ESG issues to the Solaris analysts. She is the Portfolio Manager for several ESG themed portfolios and has extensive experience in the Australian equity market, both as an analyst and on the dealing side, for both buy-side and sell-side firms. Prior to Solaris, Lisa served as the Head of Dealing at Suncorp. She was also portfolio specialist for the Suncorp Ethical Balanced Trust and other dedicated ESG portfolios. Her role included acting as the Ethical Committee chairperson and compiling specific ESG research and maintaining databases for analyst use. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance & Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia.
Will Earnshaw
Managing Director/Analyst
Commenced in Industry – 1996 Joined the team - 2000
Will is Managing Director of Solaris as well as retaining full portfolio responsibility as an Analyst. Prior to Solaris, Will was a member of the Suncorp Equities Investment Team as an Analyst. Will spent the first 5 years of his career working in the Chartered Accounting profession, before gaining international financial markets experience as a risk analyst with Robert Fleming & Co and NatWest Equities in their OTC equity derivatives businesses. Will holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics from the University of Queensland, and is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. He holds a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment from FINSIA and is a CFA charter holder.
Gillian Gibbs
Client Director
Commenced in Industry – 2005 Joined the team - 2022
Gillian joined the Solaris team as Client Director in 2022. Gillian focusses on Solaris’ client and investor relations. Sitting with the investment team, Gillian is able to provide insight in to Solaris fund performance, positioning and is well versed in all aspects of Solaris’ approach to investing. Previously, Gillian was at QIC where she held a number of roles most recently as Client Relationship Director, and earlier worked closely with the investment teams as Director, Investment Specialist. Prior to joining QIC, Gillian was Associate Director at Wellington Management (London) and earlier at MSCI Barra (London). Gillian is a CFA Charterholder, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Banking & Finance) and a Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Sciences) from the University of Queensland, Brisbane.
Damien Keune
Analyst/Portfolio Manager
Commenced in Industry – 2002 Joined the team - 2006
Damien has full portfolio responsibilities as an Analyst and is also co-Portfolio Manager for the Solaris Long Short Fund. Prior to becoming an analyst at Solaris, Damien was Head of Dealing where he was responsible for the day-to-day management of the dealing desk, dealing operations, identifying profitable trading opportunities, and communicating relevant market information to the investment team. He was also responsible for producing and analysing the team’s quantitative and risk analysis reports. Prior to Solaris, Damien was a dealer with the Suncorp Australian equities investment team. Damien holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Queensland and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment through FINSIA.
Bernard Machen
Analyst/Portfolio Manager
Commenced in Industry – 1994 Joined the team - 2000
Bernard has full portfolio responsibility as an Analyst and is also co-Portfolio Manager for the Solaris Australian Equity Income Fund. Prior to Solaris, Bernard was solely responsible at Suncorp for a $550m low tracking error Listed Property Fund. Before joining the Suncorp Equities team, Bernard spent 10 years in the Information Technology arena, with 6 of those working directly for the Suncorp Equities team designing Portfolio Management and Performance systems, and later managing the Investments Systems team. Bernard holds a Bachelor of Business (Computing) from the Queensland University of Technology and Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from Kaplan Professional.
Andrew McLennan
Analyst/Portfolio Manager
Commenced in Industry – 2002 Joined the team - 2022
Andrew has full portfolio responsibilities as an Analyst. He commenced his career at JP Morgan as an emerging companies analyst, before becoming a consumer sector analyst at firms including Commonwealth Bank and Goldman Sachs. He has had previous experience on the buy-side with MIR Investment Management. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Economics (1st Class Honours) from the University of Queensland and received the University Medal in 2001.
Terry Meagher
Operations Manager
Commenced in Industry – 1991 Joined the team – 2018
Terry is Solaris’ Operations Manager overseeing all operational aspects of the firm. Prior to joining Solaris Terry was a senior advisor at the Queensland Treasury Corporation for seven years involved in projects and systems in the market data, finance, document management and human resources areas of the firm. Terry has over 30 years experience working in various roles in the investments and treasury industries in Brisbane and London including companies such as Suncorp, QIC and AMP. Terry is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds a Bachelor of Business (Accountancy) from the Queensland University of Technology.
Ryan Porter
Dealer
Commenced in Industry – 2021 Joined the team – 2021
Ryan is responsible for all dealing operations, identifying profitable trading opportunities and communicating relevant market information to the investment team. Ryan is responsible for producing and analysing the team’s quantitative and risk analysis reports as well as supporting IT systems and development within Solaris. Prior to Solaris, Ryan worked as a Graduate Project Engineer at Honeywell Process Solutions. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) and a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) from the University of Queensland as well as a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance from Kaplan Professional.
Gus Roberts
Head of Dealing/Portfolio Manager
Commenced in Industry – 2006 Joined the team – 2010
As the Head of Dealing, Gus is responsible for the day-to-day management of the dealing desk. Gus is a key contributor to portfolio performance and is responsible for the efficient execution of equity and derivative trading across the Solaris funds. Gus is responsible for all dealing operations, identifying profitable trading opportunities and communicating relevant market information to the investment team and is responsible for producing and analysing the team’s quantitative and risk analysis reports. Gus is also a Co-Portfolio Manager for the Solaris Long Short Fund and is responsible for producing and analysing the team’s quantitative and risk analysis reports. Gus holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance Major) from the University of Queensland and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investments through FINSIA.
Charles Story
Analyst/Portfolio Manager
Commenced in Industry – 2005 Joined the team - 2012
Charles has full portfolio responsibility as an Analyst, having commenced his career at Goldman Sachs and spending over five years gaining global experience in their London, Singapore and Tokyo offices. Charles received a Bachelor of Business degree (majoring in Economics) from the University of Queensland in 2004 and has since completed a Master of Applied Finance (majoring in Funds Management) from Macquarie University.
Natalia Tsurkova
ESG Analyst
Commenced in Industry – 2008 Joined the team – 2024
Natalia has joined Solaris as an ESG Analyst and provides supplemental advice and direction on a range of ESG issues to the Solaris analysts. She commenced her career at Société Générale Bank as a Commercial Banking Credit Analyst, before becoming a Paraplanner at EquipSuper and most recently being employed as a Responsible Investment Analyst at the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA). Natalia has completed a Certified ESG Analyst® Diploma (EFFAS); a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Program (Financial Planning Association of Australia) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (with honours).
