Victor Rodriguez, Chief Executive, Funds Management
Victor was appointed Chief Executive, Funds Management in August 2022 and continues to act as Head of Fixed Income after joining Challenger Investment Management in April 2017. Prior to his appointment, Victor was Head of Asia Pacific Fixed Income at Aberdeen Asset Management based in Singapore between 2014 to 2017. Here he led a team of more than 30 investment professionals across the region including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia. Prior to locating to Singapore, Victor led the Aberdeen Fixed Income business in Australia. Victor held various roles over 13 years at Credit Suisse Asset Management in Australia, including Deputy Head of Fixed Income for three years up to 2009. Victor holds a Bachelor of Economics from Sydney University and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from FINSIA.
Pete Robinson, Head of Investment Strategy, Fixed Income
Pete is responsible for Challenger Investment Management’s multi-strategy credit portfolios including the Challenger IM Credit Income Fund, Challenger IM Multi-Sector Private Lending Fund and Challenger IM Private Lending Opportunities Fund. Pete has over 17 years’ experience investing in public and private credit markets in Australia, the United States and Europe with a particular focus on securitised credit. Prior to returning to Australia in 2010 Pete was based in London at WyeTree Asset Management, a specialist asset manager focused on credit opportunities in residential real estate markets. He started his career at Challenger holding responsibility for the Alternative Credit Portfolio. Pete graduated with a combined Bachelor of Commerce/Science degree from the University of New South Wales and is a CFA Charterholder.
Gerard Hargraves, Head of Real Estate Lending, Fixed Income
Gerard is responsible for Challenger Investment Management’s Institutional Real Estate lending portfolios. Gerard has over 25 years’ experience spanning real estate investment and lending. Gerard joined Challenger Investment Management in 2010 and has overseen the origination and management of ~A$3bn in commercial real estate loans. Prior to joining Challenger Investment Management, Gerard spent four years at Fortress Investment Group, after property banking roles at NM Rothschild & Sons (Australia) Limited, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. He also spent 8 years in property development, most of this time with Bovis Lend Lease. Gerard holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from University of Queensland and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from FINSIA.
Sid Kumar, Head of Acquisition Finance, Fixed Income
Sid is the Head of Challenger Investment Management’s Acquisition Finance business with primary responsibility for origination, structuring, execution and portfolio management for acquisition finance deals. Sid has over 15 years experience in high yield credit across investment banking and asset management. Sid joined Challenger Investment Management in January 2017 after 7 years in investment banking with Barclays Capital where he worked across Leveraged Finance structuring & underwriting, Debt Advisory, High Yield Bonds, Equity-Linked Financing and Corporate & Acquisition financing across ANZ and Asia. Sid holds a Bachelor of Computer Engineering degree from Anna University and an MBA from the IIFT School of International Business, New Delhi.
Stephen Martin, Head of ABS, Fixed Income
Stephen is Head of ABS with responsibility for the Domestic and Global Asset Backed Securities portfolios. Stephen joined Challenger Investment Management in 2008 as an Analyst in the asset and liquidity management team. Since 2011, Stephen has been a member of the Fixed Income team focusing on asset backed structuring and investing. Stephen is a CFA Charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree from the University of Sydney.
Chris Whitcombe, Head of European & US ABS, Fixed Income
Chris joined the Fixed Income team in July 2021 and is Head of Challenger Investment Management’s European & US ABS portfolio. Prior to joining Challenger Investment Management, Chris was a Director at 400 Capital Management (400CM) where he focused on European structured credit, having helped establish the European office of 400CM in January 2016. Before 400CM, Chris worked at Kinson Capital, a structured credit advisory firm specialising in risk management, structuring and complex valuations. Chris is a CFA Charterholder, CIPM Certificant and holds a MMath degree from the University of Bath
Andy Armstrong, Senior Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Andy is a Senior Portfolio Manager with a focus of his role being on residential mortgage whole-loan acquisitions. Andy joined Challenger Investment Management in January 2022 and has over 20 years’ experience in structured credit and private debt markets. Prior to joining Challenger Investment Management, Andy ran the private credit & speciality finance investing strategy at East Lodge Capital, a $2bn asset manager based in London and held various senior roles prior to this with Castlelake LP, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns. Andy holds an M.A in Political Theory from the University of Glasgow and an LLB in Law from Strathclyde University.
David Bothof, Senior Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
David is a Senior Portfolio Manager with responsibility for managing investment grade corporate credit portfolios, cash portfolios and portfolio risk management. David has over 15 years investment experience. He joined Challenger Investment Management in 2007, assisting with management of cash portfolios and analysis of higher yielding opportunities. From 2005 through to 2007, David was a financial analyst at Macquarie Bank focusing on debt markets research and asset revaluations across financial asset classes. David holds a Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance) degree from Queensland University of Technology and a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University.
Justin Voller, Senior Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Justin is a Senior Portfolio Manager responsible for the management of whole loan portfolios as well as the origination, structuring and on-going management of private and public market securitisation transactions. Prior to joining Challenger Investment Management in 2014 Justin had more than 13 years’ experience working in the securitisation industry, including roles at Citigroup Global Markets, Allco Finance Group and Perpetual Corporate Trust, as well as a consultant to originators and funders of securitised asset portfolios. In these roles, Justin gained broad credit and investment experience across a wide range of asset classes, as well as a deep understanding of the operational risks involved in the underlying lending businesses. Justin holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws from Bond University and has a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from FINSIA.
Kieran Roane, Senior Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Kieran is based in London, with responsibility for Investment Grade Corporate Credit investments, and joined the Fixed Income team in 2017. Prior to this he was a Corporate Bond Portfolio Manager for 12 years at Ninety-One Asset Management, investing in both Investment Grade and High Yield Bond markets. Kieran also previously worked for the FCA for over three years in a variety of roles including monitoring fund managers and analysing global financial markets. Kieran holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Finance from The University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). He is also a CFA Charterholder.
Michael Bors, Senior Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Michael is responsible for Investment Grade Corporate Credit portfolios, having joined the Fixed Income team in this position in 2012. For a decade prior to this, he was a sell-side Credit Research Analyst in the Commonwealth Bank’s fixed income business in both Sydney and London. The team was consistently rated number one in external surveys for the best research and analysis on the Australian corporate credit market. Michael holds a Bachelor of Business degree from the University of Technology Sydney.
Paulina Ting, Senior Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Paulina joined the Fixed Income team in February 2021 and is a Senior Portfolio Manager with a focus on Domestic Asset Backed Securities. Prior to joining Challenger Investment Management, Paulina was an Associate Director at Westpac Institutional Bank for 3 years in the Structure Finance division where she originated and structured securitisation warehouse facilities and term transactions across multiple asset classes. Before Westpac, Paulina worked at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in the Debt Capital Markets and Securitisation teams. Paulina holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Actuarial Studies) and a Bachelor of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and is a CFA Charterholder.
Admir Husovic, Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Admir joined the Fixed Income team as a Portfolio Manager in January 2021 managing a wholesale lending portfolio to non-bank financiers in the consumer and commercial finance sector. Admir transitioned from Challenger’s 255 Finance business from a credit risk role which he had held since 2017. Admir has spent over 20 years’ in the finance industry, having also held various senior commercial focused credit risk roles at Rabobank, GE Capital and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Admir holds a Bachelor of Business from Charles Sturt University and is a qualified CPA member.
Cherie Juwono, Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Cherie is a Portfolio Manager in Challenger Investment Management’s Fixed Income business, with a focus on acquisition finance transactions. Cherie has over 10 years’ experience in leveraged finance, corporate and institutional banking across a range of industries. Prior to joining Challenger Investment Management in 2022, Cherie was an Associate Director with HSBC where she was involved in middle-market sponsor and corporate transactions. Previous roles include those with Investec Australia and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Cherie holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Marketing) from University of New South Wales and an MBA from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo.
James Donovan, Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
James joined the Fixed income team in January 2023 as a Portfolio Manager with a focus on Domestic Asset Backed Securities. Prior to joining Challenger Investment Management, James was the Head of Funding at Shift, an Australian SME lender, where he was responsible for establishing its Treasury function. Prior to Shift, James was Head of Funding at Bluestone Home Loans, initially joining the UK business to focus on credit-related asset acquisitions, before moving to Sydney in 2017 to focus on securitisation funding. James began his capital-markets career in Fitch Rating’s European RMBS team. James holds a Master of Finance degree from City University Business School, a Bachelor of Economics degree and is a CFA Charterholder.
John Jamali, Senior Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
John is a Senior Portfolio Manager in Challenger Investment Management having joined in February 2021 with a focus on institutional Real Estate Lending portfolios. Before joining Challenger Investment Management, John was a Real Estate Finance Originator at Gatehouse Bank Plc in London for three years where he was responsible for the origination, execution and close of new real estate debt investment opportunities focusing on the UK market. Prior to this John spent eight years in real estate debt and investment roles at Westmont Management, GE Capital, RBS and Commonwealth Bank focusing on the Australian and European real estate markets. John completed his Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Property and Construction (Masters) from the University of Melbourne.
Marthinus Strauss, Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Marthinus is a Portfolio Manager responsible for providing technical and analytical support to the portfolio managers. He has over 20 years of investment experience. Marthinus joined Challenger in 2016 and the Challenger Investment Management team in September, 2017. Prior to this, he worked as a Fixed Income Analyst at Momentum Asset Management and Ashburton Investments in South Africa. Marthinus holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the North-West University (South Africa) and is a CFA Charter holder.
Maddi Rowlatt, Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Maddi joined Challenger Investment Management as a Portfolio Manager in the London Fixed Income team in June 2023, with a focus on Global Asset-Backed Securities. Prior to joining Challenger, Maddi was a Portfolio Manager at Allspring Global Investments (previously Wells Fargo Asset Management), in the European Financials and ABS team. She began her career at Barclays Investment Bank where she was a Senior Analyst in the European Securitisation Research team. Maddi holds a BSc. In Economics from the London School of Economics.
Sybil Tong, Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Sybil is a Portfolio Manager in the Fixed Income team, responsible for providing technical and analytical support to the Domestic Asset Backed Securities team. Sybil joined Challenger Investment Management in December 2017 as a summer Intern, working for both Challenger Life and Challenger Investment Management. Prior to that, Sybil worked in various roles at Australia International Trade Association, ANZ and Grant Thornton Australia. Sybil holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne and Master of Commerce from the University of Sydney.
Jeff Che, Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income
Jeff is a Portfolio Manager based in London having joined the Fixed Income team in November 2018 with a focus on Global Asset-Backed Securities investments. Prior to joining Challenger Investment Management, Jeff worked as an Analyst at Peak Investment Partners providing research and portfolio management support to the portfolio managers. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and Civil Engineering (Honours) from University of Sydney.
Michael Lee, Senior Analyst, Fixed Income
Michael is a Senior Analyst in the Challenger Investment Management Acquisition Finance business and is responsible for supporting senior team members in structuring, executing and monitoring debt investments. Michael has over 4 years’ experience in private credit and leveraged finance. Michael joined Challenger Investment Management in August 2022 and was previously with Barings in their APAC private credit team with investment experience across the capital structure (senior secured, mezzanine/subordinated debt) and prior to that was in the leveraged finance team at Westpac Institutional Bank focused on recapitalisation/event-driven and acquisition financing transactions. Michael holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and International Business) degree from the University of Sydney.
Justin Lee, Analyst, Fixed Income
Justin joined the Fixed Income team in May 2022 as an Analyst with a focus on high yield credit investments, acquisition finance and real estate. Prior to joining Challenger Investment Management, Justin worked with Commonwealth Bank of Australia where he was involved in deploying capital across bespoke secured and unsecured debt and asset finance products. Prior to this, Justin was at Pitcher Partners for three years where he worked within the mergers and acquisitions, due diligence and valuations divisions. Justin holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of New South Wales and is a CFA Charterholder.
Nicolo Risciotti, Analyst, Fixed Income
Nicolo joined CIM in September 2022 and is an Analyst with a focus on Global Asset Backed Securities. Prior to this, Nicolo was an Associate Analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, working across RMBS, ABS and NPLs. Before Moody’s, Nicolo worked as a Research Analyst at La Française Group, performing financial and operational due diligence using fundamental and ESG analysis techniques. Nicolo holds a Bachelor of Finance from the University of Manchester and a Master of Finance from the University of Warwick.
Vivian Kweh, Analyst, Fixed Income
Vivian is an Analyst having joined the Challenger Investment Management Fixed Income team in June 2022, responsible for providing technical and analytical support to the Domestic Asset Backed Securities team. Prior to that, Vivian was a Senior Operations Associate in the Roc Partners’ Sydney office and supported the investment team by processing transactions negotiated by the front office personnel to ensure transactions were booked and fulfilled appropriately. Vivian was also a Team Leader in NAB Asset Servicing, responsible for preparing accounts and investment reporting for institutional clients.
Vivian holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney and Master of Financial Analysis from the University of New South Wales and is also a CPA holder.