The team that make up Ambassador are  Richard Darke, Peter Tiffin, David Twiss Andrew Vrech and Christina Yip


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Richard Darke (BA, FICB)
Partner

Richard has broad experience and a record of success in building businesses in the institutional financial services industry over a period of more than 30 years across four continents, in Canada, the UK, Hong Kong and Australia.

Following many years as a bank credit analyst and lender to public-listed corporate clients, Richard spent 15 years in institutional fund management marketing with Fidelity Investments, firstly establishing and managing their Hong Kong office and then, following that, being made responsible for establishing the same in Australia, growing global equity assets from zero to A$7bn over a 5 year period.

Richard was subsequently appointed Head of Institutional Business at Credit Suisse Asset Management, Australia where he was responsible for the reorganisation and management of the business development and client service structure. CSAM Australia utilises the services of Capital International for global equities management, and is one of the 10 largest clients of Capital International with over A$7 billion assets under management. Richard’s team was responsible for business acquisition for this product as well as liaising between the clients and the US domiciled fund managers.

He is well known and respected amongst clients and asset consultants.

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Peter Tiffin (B Comm. ASIA, GAICD, MBA, ACA)
Partner

After spending a number of years with Price Waterhouse and being admitted to the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Peter ventured into the world of entertainment working for one of Australia’s leading entertainment impresarios, Paul Dainty.

Peter then moved to the financial industry where he has subsequently had over 15 years experience which has included working for the asset management arms of two global powerhouses, HSBC and Credit Suisse.

Over this time he has built strong relationships with many of the leading researchers and asset consultants as well as the gate keepers to many of the largest and most influential superannuation funds.

Peter has been instrumental in the launch of several successful income focused products in Australia including Syndicated/(Leveraged) Loans, Hybrids and High Yield funds.

A firm believer in the benefits of education for clients, Peter successfully launched a number of such initiatives at Credit Suisse which have been directly attributed to mandate wins by the clients.

Peter has extensive marketing experience of the listed property, direct property and fixed interest asset classes.

In addition to being a Chartered Accountant, he is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a holder of the Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Australian Securities Institute and was awarded an MBA from the MGSM (Macquarie).
TBA
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David Twiss 
Partner

David has over 22 years financial markets experience gained in Australia, the U.S and U.K where he held senior management and marketing and sales positions. Over his career he has demonstrated a strong track record in asset gathering and client retention. In addition he has consulted on marketing and sales strategies, engaged in market research and product development and the establishment of domestic and offshore investment vehicles.

In addition to successfully establishing his own specialist consulting practice directed towards the investment management industry David was a Founding Principal of a specialist Australian equity boutique investment manager. In this capacity David was instrumental in the establishment and development of all aspects of the company’s business including sales and marketing, product development, business management and investment operations.

Prior to this David spent 10 years at HSBC Asset Management where he was Head of Institutional Business at HSBC Asset Management (Americas) Inc, New York and an Associate Director at their Melbourne operation. At HSBC, David was pivotal in building new institutional business in both traditional and alternative investment offerings and key client retention.

David also spent five years in London, as General Manager of MAP Fund Managers Ltd (London), a joint venture company between Spain's largest insurance company MAPFRE and Skandia Life of Sweden. Previous to this he was responsible for investment marketing at Paribas Asset Management (U.K) Ltd. In both roles he was responsible for the sales and marketing of traditional and quantitative investment management products to U.K, Irish and European institutional investors.

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Andrew Vrech (BEng(Hons))
Partner

Andrew had ten years experience at William M. Mercer working in a variety of roles including actuarial analyst, administration project manager, pension consultant and investment consultant.

In 1993 he was selected to establish an investment consulting practice in the Mercer Hong Kong office. Over two and a half years there he built the practice into a credible alternative in the marketplace and won a number of major clients.

In 1997 Andrew moved to Fidelity Investments as Manager, Business Development where he was involved in all aspects of business development and client servicing. Whilst at Fidelity funds under management went from A$0.5bn to $A7bn and Andrew was responsible for the attainment of a number of blue-chip clients.

Andrew has a strong reputation in the market with both the investment consultant fraternity that he understands well and the key decision makers at the major superannuation funds.

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Christina Yip
Client Service and Office Manager

Christina has 15 years administration and client service experience.

Prior to joining Ambassador Funds Management Services, Christina worked with Richard Darke and Andrew Vrech in the Sydney office of Fidelity Investments where she was responsible for office management. Christina brings to Ambassador strong experience and skills in customer and sales support.

Amongst other client service duties, Christina is responsible for liaising between the fund managers and the investors, ensuring reports are accurate and received on a timely basis.