Moncrieff left in August to join boutique fund manager Blackwattle Investment Partners on its investment council, having been at Zenith for over a decade.
In her place, head of responsible investment and sustainability Dugald Higgins was appointed to fill the position in an acting capacity while it sought a replacement.
Since then, the firm has appointed Grant Kennaway to the role in a permanent capacity. He previously worked as global head of manager selection at Morningstar across Australia and the US and for a decade at rival Australian research house Lonsec including as head of managed fund research.
In this role, he will be responsible for leading the delivery and expansion of the combined investment and super fund research program to financial advisers and platforms across Australia.
Based in the firm’s Melbourne office, he will report to managing director, Jason Huddy, commencing in the role on 11 November.
Higgins has now reverted to his original head of responsible investment role while the team also consists of Damien Hennessy as head of asset allocation and Steven Tang as head of portfolio solutions.
Huddy said: “Grant is a highly respected executive with broad experience leading large and diverse teams. He has a passion for research and how this can be delivered to advisers and platforms, for the benefit of investors. He also brings to the team important experience in working through regulatory and market changes, which continue to play a role in shaping the investment and super landscape for advisers and their clients.
“His depth of knowledge of the Australian market is exceptional and he will be a great asset to the business in this pivotal role and a strong complement to the existing team of seasoned analysts within the group.”
Zenith was founded by investment director David Wright in 2002 and later acquired super fund research house Chant West in 2020 and asset allocation business Heuristic Investment Systems in 2021. It was acquired by global data firm FE fundinfo at the end of 2021.
Wright served as the firm’s CEO until December 2023 before moving into the investment director role where he has overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the firm’s investment functions.
