Stepping into the newly created role of Head of Funds at the start of 2026 has been both a privilege and a steep learning curve and Q1 has been a busy and rewarding first quarter. The mandate of the function rests on three pillars, portfolio construction, Advisory Partner engagement and investment governance. The focus of the past three months has been to deliver against each of these in a way that is visible, useful and consistent for the businesses we support.
On portfolio construction, the standout piece of work has been the Infiniti build-out. Four Infiniti House View wrap funds: Cautious, Balanced, Flexible and Growth, were modelled, loaded and went live during the quarter, alongside six Infiniti Fincare wrap fund models built and successfully loaded across five LISPs. The Fincare models are already live and transacting and the Infiniti House View governance document was finalised. This is a meaningful expansion of the Orion investment model range and one of the most concrete Q1 outputs of the new function.
Advisory Partner engagement has been the other major focus of the quarter. The inaugural Head of Funds investment presentation was rolled out across all six Warwick regions in Q1, with Advisory Partners included in the respective regional sessions. These engagements are aimed at strengthening Advisor expertise and providing deeper insight into our investment offerings.
On investment governance, the relationship with the OIM research partners remains central to how the function operates. Monthly engagements run across all ten research partners, providing a steady and consistent flow of market insight, manager updates and research that feeds directly into the conversations we have with Advisors. On the platform side, the Discovery Invest and Sygnia onboardings are both scheduled to land in Q2 and will add meaningfully to an already strong stable of platforms available to our Advisors. Alongside this, the function has continued to support the M&A team through targeted research and engagements with prospective new Advisory Partners, with a number of promising opportunities now under active discussion.
A particular thank you must go to Marc Wiese and Adrian Meager for their continued guidance and support through the transition and to the entire Orion Wealth Managers team for the warm welcome and the constructive engagement throughout. The function exists to make their lives and the lives of their Advisors and clients easier and the partnership has been generous from day one.
Q2 builds directly off the Q1 platform. The priorities are broadening the LISP footprint by closing out Discovery and Sygnia, deepening Advisory Partner engagement through a full Q2 presentation cycle now expanded to include Infiniti and Silverthorn Advisors and progressing several additional projects currently in the pipeline.
It is a genuinely exciting time to be part of this dynamic group and I look forward to building on this start in the quarters ahead.
Onwards.
Mathew Pellatt
