Finance Finesse

MANAGING DIRECTOR MICHAEL OHANESSIAN SHARES HOW HE TOOK PRAEMIUM FROM STRUGGLING TO SUCCESSFUL BY CAPITALISING ON ITS UNIQUE CAPABILITIES.

- JULIE COOPER

Almost a decade ago, Michael Ohanessian signed on as Managing Director at Praemium, the global company based in Australia revered for assisting wealth advisers in delivering great investor experiences and outcomes, using its proprietary integrated Managed Accounts Platform. It wasn’t a planned move in the sense that he had been actively looking for a new career opportunity. In fact, this opportunity came knocking on his door.

Michael was working as an investment manager for Lion Capital at the time. But before that, he found himself in an array of diverse roles with experience managing engineers of all types, ranging from microbiologists to biochemists, architects, and even software engineers. An engineer himself, Michael found his niche really sat in the technology space. “I’ve always felt comfortable in technology companies,” he says. “So when I was approached for the role, I asked a friend who was familiar with the company what Premium does that’s different. I still remember his exact quote today. He said, ‘Michael, they take everything that’s in a portfolio and they blow it up and reconstruct it every night.’ And the funny thing is, I immediately understood what he meant. It was technology.”