User talk:Lucyscroope/sandbox
Lucyscroope (talk) 12:55, 4 November 2020 (UTC)
Kerr Neilson is a South African born Australian investment manager who co-founded Platinum Asset Management Ltd in 1994. Platinum originated as a specialist company in international equities and continues to operate globally in 2020, now with a multibillion dollar portfolio (Platinum, 2020). The success of the company is attributed to Neilson’s ability to transcend short-term market investment and focus on long-term returns, an ideology that was formulated through a degree at the University of Cape Town (Bachelor of Commerce) and developed over decades working in finance and investment management prior to 1994 and beyond. This ideology was imbued into Platinum Asset Management Ltd with Neilson as chief executive officer and provided the company with an “ethos that has underpinned Platinum’s approach to investing, product distribution, investor communications and every other aspect of our operations.” (Platinum, 2020) This investment philosophy continued into Neilson’s personal financials and investment decisions with his uncanny success making him a billionaire from 2007 through to today (Forbes,2020). In 2007, Neilson floated his shares in Platinum Asset Management Ltd. This proved to be a critical financial period that returned well for Neilson, with the majority of shares Neilson retained (57%) being valued at $2.9 billion (Forbes, 2007) and confirming his billionaire status. Currently in 2020, Neilson’s involvement in Platinum Asset Management Ltd continues in the position of chief investment officer for Platinum portfolios.
Early Life • Youth & Education Kerr Neilson was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 4th of January, 1950. Raised and educated here, Neilson first demonstrated an inclination for a future in investment management when he bought his first stock at the age of 13. Since then, Neilson’s ability to consistently choose high-performing stocks has dubbed him “Australia’s Warren Buffet” (Sydney Morning Herald, 2015) In 1969 - 1973 Neilson completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Cape Town, where he graduated at the age of 23. • Career Neilson moved to Australia following the completion of his bachelor’s degree and immediately commenced working in investment management. For a period of 10 years Neilson worked in finance and investment management, most notably in the investments department of Cortaulds in London. Following this period, in 1983 Neilson became the head of retail funds management for Bankers Trust Australia.
Platinum Asset Management Ltd It is in 1994 that Kerr Neilson co-founded Platinum Asset Management with the financial backing of George Soros (Platinum, 2020). Neilson acted as managing director, executive director and chief investment officer. Founded as a specialist company in international equities, Platinum Asset Management now manages an estimated $22 billion AUD in total funds (Platinum, 2020). Platinum Asset Management continues to adopt Neilson’s investment ideologies with a ‘contrarian, long term investing philosophy’ that looks beyond short-term market turbulence to achieve strong long-term absolute returns (Platinum, 2020). In 2018, Kerr Neilson stepped down as Chief Executive Officer to be replaced by Andrew Clifford. Neilson continues as chief investment officer for Platinum Master Portfolio and Platinum Japan Fund (Platinum, 2020).
External Links: https://www.platinum.com.au/About-Platinum
Personal life • Judith Neilson Kerr and his former wife Judith Neilson had two children together during the course of their marriage, daughters Paris and Beau Neilson. Kerr and Judith were married until their divorce in 2015, making Judith Neilson a billionaire in her own right and one of Australia’s richest women as stated by Forbes. According to the Business Review Weekly (BRW), Neilson’s net worth fell from A$3.35 billion to A$2 billion in 2015 as a result of the divorce, and to A$1.95 billion in 2016. Whilst Kerr Neilson’s former wife, Judith Neilson debuted on the 2015 BRW Rich 200 with a net worth of A$1.55 billion in 2015 (BRW, 2015).
Judith’s financial status has supported her philanthropic initiatives, exemplified through Judith funding a $100 million institute for journalism (Judith Neilson Institute, 2020). This institute is to be situated in Sydney and founded to encourage independent quality journalism. It will be called the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism & Ideas.
• White Rabbit Gallery In 2009, Kerr and Judith Neilson opened the White Rabbit Art Gallery in Chippendale, Sydney to display their collection of artworks that they have acquired over the previous decades (White Rabbit Gallery, 2020). The gallery showcases and pays particular tribute to 21st century Chinese modern art, as a reflection of Judith’s personal inclination towards Asian art culture. The White Rabbit Art Gallery is today one of the most significant collections of Chinese contemporary art. The Neilson’s donations towards philanthropic art projects since 2007 and opening of the White Rabbit Gallery pushed The Art Life to list Judith Neilson as one of the 50 most powerful people in Australian art (Australian Financial Review, 2018). Today, the White Rabbit Gallery is funded solely by Judith Neilson (White Rabbit Gallery, 2020).
Australian Billionaires In 2007, Kerr Neilson floated Platinum Asset Management shares (20%) on the Australian Stock Exchange (Forbes, 2007). The majority of the shares Neilson retained (57%) was valuated at $2.9 billion and made Neilson both a billionaire and one of Australia’s wealthiest people (Forbes, 2020). Forbes listed Neilson in their 2010 list of Australia’s Richest People with a net worth of $2.29 billion USD. Within the following couple of years however, unexpectedly low returns throughout the 2012 financial year resulted in a 16 per cent decrease in net profit. This fall being mainly attributed to a 14 per cent reduction in investment income (BRW, 2012). Subsequently Neilson cut performance bonuses and an increase in base salary (Platinum, 2012), which meant Neilson yielded A$42 million in dividends during the 2012 financial year (BRW, 2012). Albeit this, Neilson has continued to be listed in Forbes’ lists Australia’s 50 Richest People and Billionaires from 2010 until the most recent publication of 2019. Judith Neilson has consistently been listed on Forbes’ Australian Billionaires list since 2015. The most recent listing of number 2057 on Forbes’ Billionaires 2019 list. (Forbes, 2019) In 2020 it was the first year that Judith Neilson has not been listed with Forbes estimating her net worth at $720 million AUD. (Forbes, 2020) However, as of 09/10/2020 Forbes has returned her billionaire status with an estimated real time net worth of $1.1 billion. (Forbes,2020)