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About Us

Who we are

Luke and Gideon founded Ferguson Hyams with a common belief that a fantastic investment product could be made by combining talented alternative investment managers from around the world with a proven history of great risk-adjusted alternative fixed income styled returns and providing them with a platform of risk control and governance.

Additionally, they both believed that the asset bubble, created by central bank zero-rate policies since the global financial crisis in 2008, was nearing its conclusion as central banks begin to normalise their interest rate and quantitative easing policies.

Therefore, they saw a great need for an investment product that will deliver solid annual returns with controlled volatility without relying on this asset bubble to continue indefinitely.

Our mission is to connect wholesale investors to our asset backed alternative high yield funds, which target solid, stable returns, regardless of the direction of stock markets and other global markets.

Management Team

Luke Ferguson CEO and Director

Luke Ferguson is the Chief Executive Officer and Responsible Manager for the AFSL. Prior to co-founding FHIM he was a director of a global alternative and automated trading research company for wholesale investors and high pedigree traders.

The company, under Luke’s leadership was positioned to fast-track the process of matching high quality trading strategies to international investor mandates. Luke was responsible for systematising the risk management frameworks into the trading system to be leveraged by the trading teams and onboarding domestic and international traders. Luke holds RG146 qualifications in Derivatives, Foreign Exchange, Securities and Managed Investments.

 

 

Gideon Hyams Chief Investment Officer

Gideon Hyams is the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and prior to co-founding FHIM he served UBS in a number of capacities for over 17 years, more than half of that time as Managing Director in Zurich.

In a stellar career at UBS he was the youngest banker to be appointed Director. He managed one of the largest FX derivative portfolios in the market with in excess of 10,000 option and cash positions representing a notional value of several billion dollars. He consistently produced annual profits in excess of USD $80million and under his leadership secured the prestigious Risk Magazine Currency Derivatives House of the Year Award.

His technical expertise lies in trading and risk-managing the breadth of exotic and vanilla derivative positions. His business expertise is evident in his management of high performing teams of traders and in developing and implementing systematised risk management and pricing protocols.

Educated in England, Gideon holds an Honours degree in Physics from University of Oxford and professional qualifications in Financial Planning, Derivatives and was ranked in the top 3 of Swiss Bank Capital Markets Classes in Pricing and Risk Control.

 

 

Matt McKay Australian Relationship Manager

Matt McKay is the Australian Relationship Manager and a shareholder at Ferguson Hyams.

Prior to Ferguson Hyams he played Professional Football for 17 years with the Brisbane Roar, where he was Captain and led them to their first ever A-League championship.

He has 59 caps for the Australian national football team, where he became captain and played in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Matt is responsible for connecting high net worth and sophisticated investors to the high value investment products at Ferguson Hyams.

Matt identifies, builds and maintains key relationships with new and existing investors.

Matt frequently meets with Private Wealth Advisors, Stockbrokers and high net worth individuals and holds RG146 qualifications in Generic knowledge, Managed Investments, Derivatives and Foreign Exchange.

 

 

Andrew Miles Business Development – Investor Relations

With over two decades of experience in Financial Markets, Andrew is a distinguished professional who has dedicated 15 of those years at Macquarie Bank, where his focus was mainly on delivery of bespoke client solutions for Listed Derivatives customers.

Starting his career in London and leading client facing teams in Asia and Australia, Andrew's experience in understanding customer needs and relationships is extensive.

 

 

Tim Griffiths Head of Commodities

Tim leverages over a decade of commercial experience across integrated agribusiness sectors spanning grain procurement, commodity trading, exports, infrastructure development, and agricultural asset investments.

In his advisory roles he employs an intricate understanding of:

  • Agricultural commodity pricing dynamics
  • Risk management strategies
  • Complex commercial agreements
  • Logistics and infrastructure planning
  • Financial analysis and modelling
  • Investment origination and due diligence processes

This allows Tim to provide informed, holistic guidance across operations, planning, financials, and strategic growth initiatives to a range of agribusiness clients.

Additionally, Tim is progressing Executive MBA studies to complement his real-world expertise with updated academic perspectives.

The diversity of commercial experiences has equipped Tim with dynamic problem-solving abilities and provided opportunities to advance agricultural business operations.

 

 

Weng Cheah Portfolio Manager

Weng brings over 30 years of global financial services expertise to his role as Portfolio Manager at Ferguson Hyams Investment Management. He has leveraged senior management positions across trading, financing, risk management and asset management to craft tailored solutions for institutional investors.

Beginning at JP Morgan in Australia, Weng sharpened his approach across equities trading and derivatives markets. He then progressed through positions in Singapore, London, and Hong Kong - leading teams at global banks like Deutsche Bank, while mastering risk control frameworks.

Exposure to diverse markets allowed Weng to develop specialized capabilities in areas like bespoke structured products and theme-based client portfolios, specialising in food security.

Clients consistently relied on him to distil complex instruments into intuitive portfolio decision drivers. As his career evolved at firms including Newedge and SocGen, Weng formalized a client-centric consulting ethos focused on transparency and trust. This was driven by ethics forged through experience navigating high-pressure trading floors.

Today at Ferguson Hyams, he combines this principle-based orientation with proven expertise in alternative assets and portfolio management - key competitive differentiators.

Weng holds a graduate degree from UNSW and maintains Chartered Accountant credentials - the analytical foundation underlying visionary strategy.

 

 

Ross Jardine Lead Data Analyst

Ross is a seasoned real estate and financial markets analyst with over 30 years of experience advising firms on investments and market conditions.

He has been an integral part of Ferguson Hyams since its inception, contributing his expertise spanning property, development, financial markets, trading, and analytics.

Key credentials and experience:

  • Associate of the Australian Property Institute with CPV accreditation
  • Holds RG146 qualifications in several areas, including managed investments and foreign exchange
  • Previously ran his own trading and analytic advisory firm
  • Worked with major banks, accounting firms, government entities, managed funds, and more

In addition to his advisory experience, Ross serves as Lead Data Analyst at Ferguson Hyams. He leverages his analytical proficiency by overseeing data operations, analysis, financial modelling, and reporting.

Prior to his current role, Ross gained valuable data leadership experience as the Lead Data Analyst for a publicly traded real estate investment firm for over 5 years. During that tenure, he spearheaded implementing new data systems and procedures, and improved analytics and transparency for shareholders.

Ross's extensive experience and wealth of knowledge across real estate, development, and financial markets allows him to provide valuable analysis and insights to Ferguson Hyams and its clients seeking data-driven investment solutions. His longevity with and contributions to Ferguson Hyams underscore his integral role as both a seasoned expert and lead data analyst since the firm's start.

Our Accomplishment

How we did it

Looking beyond Australia to find alternative high yield, asset-backed strategies in regulated fund structures in the US, UK, and Asia. Key sectors were agricultural commodities like wheat and meat, underpinned in insured trade logistics, as well as litigation finance targeting specific lawsuits. Noted the rise in ESG-related lawsuits in 2022-23 for alleged greenwashing and misinformation, especially in the UK.

Took on board how "fixed income" has perhaps become a broad term in Australia, sometimes describing funds that pay consistent income but don't necessarily protect principal.

Ferguson Hyams focuses on true alternative asset-backed strategies that target a high yield uncorrelated fixed income, while maintaining the initial underlying collateral value, using a rigorous selection criteria.

The goal is to find investments that perform well even in under-performing, volatile or bearish equity markets. The strategies are continually evaluated to ensure they meet performance expectations, even after passing the initial selection criteria.

In conjunction with onboarding great alternative high yield, asset backed managers, we also began developing tools to facilitate thorough risk management as well as transparent evaluation and portfolio construction for investors. This has since formed the core evaluation or selection process for the due diligence process undertaken on prospective managers in house.

Get In Touch

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ANY OF OUR TOOLS OR SERVICES, OR TO ARRANGE A PRESENTATION, PLEASE CONTACT US.