Cross Asset Wealth Management

Cross Asset Wealth Management

Cross Asset Wealth Management was founded in Sydney, building a discretionary managed account structure that gives clients direct ownership of underlying securities rather than pooling capital into unit trusts. The firm's investment committee, led by co-founder Alex MacLachlan, constructs bespoke portfolios combining ASX-listed equities, global exchange-traded funds, and direct fixed-income holdings. This architecture is uncommon in the Australian private wealth market, where most competitors default to managed funds or wrap platforms. The strategy spans five asset classes: Australian equities, international equities, fixed income, real assets, and alternative strategies. Within alternatives, the firm accesses private credit opportunities—including Australian middle-market corporate lending and real estate debt—alongside select hedge fund strategies. Direct property holdings feature in client portfolios, with allocations to commercial real estate and residential development finance. Geographic coverage concentrates on Australia and developed Asia-Pacific markets, with selective US dollar-denominated credit exposure. As a boutique manager, Cross Asset Wealth Management operates without the multi-office footprint of larger Australian wealth firms. Client relationships are managed from the Sydney headquarters, where a lean team of investment professionals handles portfolio construction, manager selection, and client advisory. The firm maintains relationships with external research providers and executes trades through institutional brokers. Unlike platform-based competitors, Cross Asset retains full discretion over asset allocation and security selection, positioning itself as an outsourced CIO for family groups and high-net-worth individuals. What separates Cross Asset from the Australian wealth management mainstream is its mandate architecture. The discretionary managed account structure—where each client holds a segregated portfolio of individually titled securities—provides tax-transparency advantages that pooled vehicles cannot replicate. This matters acutely for Australian families managing capital gains tax events and franking credit optimization, two structural features of the domestic tax system that reward direct ownership.