Hi Ellen, could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I come from a Greek family. I was born and raised in South Africa and am now a proud citizen of Australia where I have lived for the past 11 years. After completing my degree, I worked for an asset management company in South Africa for several years. Following our move to Australia and having my two sons, I started an accounting business as well as an adventure tour business – two opposite extremes – which very much sums up my personality. I recently decided to get back into the world of investment and was lucky enough to be introduced to Darryl and the Perth FIIG team.
I love spending time with my family and friends, I love adventuring outdoors, I love to travel but contrasting to that I love to cook, read and just relax at home.
What attracted you to FIIG and the world of fixed income?
My previous investment experience had focused on the retired investor, with an investment objective of providing a consistent and reliable income stream. I began to identify with these investors early on and realised how dependent many of them were on the reliability and predictability of that income stream and how we were making a real difference in their lives by providing them with a fair degree of certainty. This made my decision to join FIIG an easy one as I identified with FIIG’s investment approach and objectives, and valued how the culture is targeted at what is ultimately best for the client.
How was the transition to the new role? Did your day to day duties change?
I am on a very steep learning curve but picking things up quickly! Thankfully the team has been overwhelmingly welcoming and helpful so I am excited to see how this story will unfold.
What have you learnt from the last few months/COVID crisis?
Looking at the positives, the part I enjoyed most about Covid isolation was spending time at home cooking for hours with my kids, playing board games, doing puzzles, going for long walks. It felt like we pushed pause for a while and had time to reassess how much time is spent on things outside of the most important people in our lives. I think I will walk away from this with a revised version of what I think is important and hopefully a simpler, less complicated life.
Thinking outside of work – what are your hobbies? Tell us about your Dog.
I love the sunrise so I am early to rise, early to bed! I tend to exercise most days be it a run – often with my dog, a bike ride, a swim (preferably in the ocean) or a gym session. My Labradoodle thinks she is human and demands at least two walks a day! The word ‘walk’ is avoided in our home as even if it is whispered at the other end of the house she hears it and what follows is an overly enthusiastic 40kg dog sprinting full throttle towards you which never ends well. Weekends revolve around kids’ sport, be it AFL, soccer, surf club, mountain biking (which I tend to join in too) with a little socialising and hopefully some rest in between.
What is the number one goal you want to achieve at FIIG?
I would like to develop strong long-term relationships with both clients and colleagues and become someone they can depend on for honesty, reliability, consistency and accuracy.
Finally, how do you define success?
I believe success comes from being happy in what you do. If you come to work doing something you love you’ll naturally make a positive difference in the lives of your clients as well as the people you work with.
Ellen is based in the Perth office. She can be reached on (08 9421 8506).