Harvey Kalman to chair MSC Group

MSC Group, the boutique corporate trust, has confirmed the appointment of Harvey Kalman as group chairman.

Kalman joins after a 21-year career at Equity Trustees where he led and grew the corporate trust business from $700 million under management to $100 billion.

MSC, which provides trustee and fund administration services to more than 200 funds, has recently expanded into Singapore.

The corporate trust views Kalman's appointment as central to shaping the Group's future and carving out its position globally and in the Australian corporate trustee market.

His extensive corporate trustee market experience to an already highly experienced board and support MSC in its continued growth in the Australian market, and into the global market, as the firm expands into Singapore.

Currently, Kalman is chair of Raiz Invest and sits on a half dozen other boards.

"Harvey's industry expertise will help support MSC as we expand into the global market with the opening of our Singapore office," said MSC Group managing director Matthew Fletcher.

"MSC Group's entrance into Singapore is not simply opportunistic. Our analysis represented Singapore as a more progressive hub and the next logical step for us to strengthen our financial services offering and support our strategic priorities.''

Fletcher added that MSC has a flexible and commercial approach to capital structuring and trusteeship to meet investor demands. Even larger institutions and fund managers like Australian Unity, Axa, and Spark Infrastructure have moved to MSC, signalling their need for something different from the market, he noted.

For his part, Kalman said Singapore is a more progressive market that provides investors and clients a more streamlined approach to capital raising and management.

"They have a regulatory and taxation framework that supports more flexible capital arrangements - something that our Australian market just isn't doing.''

"My main focus is going to be showcasing why MSC's patterns of action are relevant to ensuring the competitiveness and security of the Australian market.

The new chair said MSC is focused on building a diverse range of fund services and offerings, working with the right clients, and ensuring cycle-proof sustainability.

"I am confident with their entrance into the Asia Pacific market and their strong track record in prioritising value, I can help drive the next phase for MSC Group and deliver exceptional results for investors.''

MSC Group has been increasingly attracting staff from larger corporate trust businesses, such as Equity Trustees, Perpetual, and AET.

The trustee services provider's latest hire is Craig Sutton who joins as head of technology.