August 2014

Melbourne is our second biggest recruitment market in Australia and the focus for our August newsletter. Melbourne remains a significant Australian hub for corporate activity and boasts a longstanding private wealth community stretching back for generations. Notably for Australian services financial recruitment, two of the Big Four, NAB and ANZ, are headquartered in Melbourne, although over the past decade they have had sizeable operations established in Sydney.

From a private wealth perspective there is a big client advisory community in Melbourne, seeking to tap the High-Net-Worth market. Many of the prominent private wealth businesses in Australia typically have relationship management teams in Melbourne that are larger than their Sydney businesses. Superannuation, as well as asset management, feature prominently in Melbourne. A significant player in this sector is Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, Future Fund, who this month announced that they have reached over $100bn in assets under management. Melbourne is also home to several other industry super funds, most notable of which is the acquisitive Australian Super, now reaching $66bn in assets under management. These large mega funds aside, there is also a raft of other smaller asset managers bridging the divide between private wealth and institutional money management to create a thriving investment community in Victoria.

Peruvian food has made its mark on Melbourne lately with a few new places opening up, one of which is Pastuso. Right in the centre of town at 19 ACDC Lane, Pastuso could be a good place for a more relaxed business lunch. It opened in July and has been well received so far.

Grabbing a bite to eat from food trucks is becoming more trendy and if you don’t mind a bit of casual outdoor eating, then head to Trailer Park this weekend. Don’t worry, the one in July had heated dining areas, so you won’t freeze during the experience.

If you are in Melbourne in October or November you might want to check out Brian Cox and Sir David Attenborough’s live shows. In the ‘90s he was an actual rock star but now he’s a rock star of a totally different kind; Brian Cox engages people around the world with his captivating science programs on topics like astronomy and physics. He’s made science cool again, and he’s in Melbourne this October. Sir David Attenborough is a nature-loving legend, with over five decades of filmmaking under his belt, and he’s headed to Melbourne in November with a new 3D stage event.