Zenith has bolstered its research and investment capabilities through two senior appointments, with Charl Marais joining the business as Senior Portfolio Manager, and Dan Cave joining in the newly created role of deputy Head of Income Research, effective 15 June.

Joining Zenith's portfolio solutions team and based in Sydney, Charl Marais brings more than 20 years of experience across portfolio management, manager research and selection, and multi-asset strategies. 

Most recently, Marais was a senior portfolio manager at Yarra Capital Management, where he oversaw investment performance across the business’ funds and mandates, and held responsibility for external manager research and selection.

Prior to Yarra Capital, he was a senior portfolio manager at Nikko Asset Management. He has also held roles at Suncorp Group, Morningstar, and earlier in his career at Absa Bank. Marais holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) certification, as well as a Bachelor and Master of Chemical Engineering from Stellenbosch University.

Marais will report to head of portfolio solutions, Andrew Yap, who says the appointment reflects the growing demand for Zenith's portfolio management capabilities.

"Charl brings a depth of experience that spans institutional portfolio management, external manager research, and multi-asset portfolio construction across some of Australia's most respected investment firms," Yap says.

"His experience demonstrates exactly the kind of rigorous, performance-focused approach our growing client base expects. We’re looking forward to the expanded capacity his appointment will bring to the team.”

Cave rejoins Zenith having originally entered the business in 2017 as a senior investment analyst, before departing in 2023.

He returns to Zenith from Frontier Advisors, where he spent three years as a senior investment consultant on the real assets team conducting manager research and advising institutional clients on private infrastructure. He holds a Bachelor of Economics and Finance from RMIT University.

In his new role, he will be based in Melbourne and report to head of income research and head of sustainability, Dugald Higgins. Higgins welcomed Cave's return to the business.

"Dan has deep expertise in income research and a thorough understanding of how Zenith operates - he knows our standards, our methodology and our clients," Higgins says.

"He returns with a broader perspective on the institutional market and a sharper focus on private markets, which adds a valuable dimension to our income research capability. This is a newly created role and Dan will play a central part in continuing to strengthen our offering.”