Martin Pretty
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Toptal member since January 8, 2019
Martin is an investment and finance veteran and a CFA charter holder. He has held the head of research roles on the sell-side, managed investments for a well-known and highly regarded family office and sat on the boards of several public companies. Martin is also the founder and investment manager of a boutique investment management firm.
Career Highlights
Education Highlights
Certification Highlights
Case Studies
State of the Market
Adhering to Our View
Capital Markets Update, March 2020
Industry Expertise
- Security Products & Services
- Investment Banking
- Financial Modeling
- Capital Markets
- Financial Markets
Other Expertise
- Australia
- Boards
- Financial Modeling
- Investment Portfolio Management
- Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
- Presentations
- Valuation
Work Experience
Non-executive Director
Scout Alarm
- Assisted with fundraising, introducing the company to investors, brokers, and advisers, and worked closely with the appointed adviser to secure $2 million in capital commitments for first-round then another $3m four months later.
- Provided advice and significant commercial and corporate opportunities.
- Reviewed and contributed to company documents including regulatory filings and press releases.
Non-executive Director
SPACETALK
- Selected for a new position with an exciting business that I have followed for some time and I believe will benefit from my skills, knowledge, and experience.
- Brought in to add capital markets and finance expertise to the board.
- Looked to for my breadth of experience and knowledge supporting diverse growing technology businesses over 20 years.
Founder, Director, Investment Manager
Equitable Investors
- Launched the business and investment products, established the legal structure, secured regulatory licenses, and contracted with service providers.
- Raised seed capital as well as funding for an open-ended unit trust primarily from sophisticated investors and other investment managers, and created the information memorandum, presentation, and other documentation.
- Analyzed businesses and built models, met executives, researched industries, and assessed opportunities and value.
- Advised multi-site senior care operator on sale of business and assets. Renegotiated a previous deal after modeling implications. Prepared financials, contract schedules, other DD material. Managed lawyers, drove deal to close, prepared financials.
- Engaged with management and non-executive directors of investments discussing business conditions, the capital structure, risk, opportunities, and competition.
- Consulted with family offices on investments and was contracted to work with one office on a pool of investments.
- Published financial commentary contributing market and stock analysis to a well-known online finance platform, establishing and updating a personal blog, adding proprietary research to a buy-side platform; and appearing on television.
- Ranked by Morningstar as the top-performing small and mid-cap fund in Australie in six months to February 28, 2021 - and top five over 12 months.
Non-executive Director
Centrepoint Alliance
- Promoted the sale of an insurance premium funding business unit, engaging with investment bankers and internal management to establish and complete the sell-side process at a premium valuation.
- Drove a refreshment of the board of directors, driving the acquisition of new board talent.
- Drove board agenda on a revised business strategy that resulted in the recruitment of a new CEO and refocusing on the critical value drivers of the business.
- Assessed multiple acquisition and investment opportunities reviewing M&A models, including accretion/dilution and synergy cases, as well as draft proposals, and led the investment approval process for the most attractive deals.
- Proposed and supported capital management initiatives to ensure the efficient utilization of shareholders funds, including special dividends and buy-back activity.
Investment Manager
Thorney Investment Group
- Helped establish and manage Thorney Opportunities, a publicly traded investment company that increased value at a rate of nearly 17% per annum over nearly five years.
- Identified and seeded assets into Thorney Technologies, an investment company.
- Built an interest of just under 20% in superannuation trustee Diversa before the Company's acquisition by a more significant financial services player.
- Identified and invested in many successful technology investments including "buy now, pay later" financial technology company Afterpay and online moving platform Updater.
- Represented Thorney in negotiations relating to several distressed businesses, investing in the successful turnaround of consumer brand company Pental, which held a portfolio of well-known brands in categories like bleach and soap, but faced execution and capital structure challenges.
Education
Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance
Finsia - Melbourne, Australia
Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Economics
University of Melbourne - Melbourne, Australia
Certifications
Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Australian Institute of Company Directors
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Skills
Finance
Financial Advisory, Investment Monitoring, Investment Summaries, Capital Investment Appraisals, Investment Briefs, Portfolio Analysis, Value Creation, Financial Modeling, Valuation, Valuation Multiples, DCF Valuation, Equity Valuation, Investment Thesis, Investment Portfolio Management, M&A Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), M&A (Sell-side), M&A (Buy-side), Comparable Company Analysis, Cost of Capital, Return Analysis, Ratio Analysis, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Business Advisory, Fundraising, Investment Memoranda, Capital Raising, Financial Regulations
Output Software
Excel 2016, Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Microsoft Publisher
Industry Expertise
Capital Markets, Financial Markets
Geographic Expertise
Australia, United States, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Southeast Asia, Asia
Data & Analysis Software
Bloomberg, Capital IQ
Other
Financials, Analysis, Writing & Editing, Equities, Markets, Research Analysis, Financial Writer, Financial Statements, Relative Valuation, Investing, Investment Funds, Investment Ideas, Investment Cases, Investments, Portfolio Management, Boards, Board Presentations, Board Development, Board Work, Excel Modeling, Reuters Eikon, Peer Comparison, Transaction Comparables, Company Research, Research Reports, Investor Presentations, Financial Presentations, Investment Presentations, Business Strategy, Strategy, Business Analysis, DuPont Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Pro Forma Analysis, Governance, Investment Manager, Initial Public Offerings, Client Presentations, Private Capital Markets, Pitch Decks, S&P Capital IQ, Economic Capital, Finance Director, Presentations, Executive Presentations, Pitch Presentations, Change Management, Business Planning, Risk Management, Security, SaaS, Health IT, Excel 365
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