The Art & Science of Determining How Much of your Wealth to Hold in the U.S. vs Australia

Host: Ashley S. Murphy, CFP® GFP Fellow

Tri-citizen of the US, Australia and the UK & Principal of Areté Wealth Strategists Australia, a financial planning firm based in the US, whose expat clients constitute 90% of its portfolio. More Info

At Arete Wealth Strategists Australia, Ashley works with clients to bring strategy, structure, clarity, confidence and compliance to their global financial lives and keep it that way.

Founded In 2013, Arete Wealth Strategists Australia is an SEC-registered, fee-only financial planning and investment management firm for Australian/American expatriates located in the United States and Australia.

As of 2021, Ashley and his team have grown the firm from start-up in 2013 to 63 client households with $63M in Assets Under Management while experiencing an impressive 400% growth in Assets Under Management in the past 3 years.

Ashley is a tri-citizen of the USA, Australia and the UK. From 2014 - 2017, Ashley taught in the CFP programs at UC Berkeley Extension and Golden Gate University. He was formerly a Knowledge Circle host for the International and Cross-Border Knowledge Circle with the Financial Planning Association (2017 - 2019), and a regular conference speaker. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning in Australia making him one of the only financial advisors qualified in both countries. Ashley has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and profiled in Financial Advisor Magazine. He places a strong emphasis on learning and typically achieves a multiple of the required Continuing Education (CE) credit for his designations.

Ashley’s undergraduate studies at the University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia) were in Business Management and Management Information Systems. Ashley has long felt a passion for financial planning and investment management. While completing his undergraduate studies, he founded an investment club and grew it to over 300 members.

In 2005, he ventured to the United States to pursue his dreams in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ashley worked for several large companies, including Visa, Babcock and Brown and VWR International as a corporate financial analyst.

Ashley began the transition to financial planning in 2008. In 2009 he completed the first level of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. In 2010, Ashley was named runner-up ‘Student of the Year’ in the UC Berkeley Extension’s Personal Financial Planning program and won a number of scholarships. In 2012, he obtained his Certified Financial Planner™ designation.

Ashley, his wife Eliza, daughters Elise & Jasmine maintain their residence in Minneapolis, MN but are living in Brisbane, MN through 2022. He enjoys cycling, reading and world travel. He is a futurist with interests in architecture, renewable energy and demographics.

Guest: Courtney Kokulis

Vice President and Market Leader at BlackRock

Guest: Timothy Driscoll, CFA

Director at BlackRock

In 2018 he branched out on his own, seeing a disconnect in the market between top tier events, and the beverage services provided. His staff are his contemporaries from the craft cocktail world.

Equal Parts Cocktail Co. started out as a custom-built bar, with polished live-edge wood, sleek curves and simple portability. Simeon brought his warm hospitality and ability to match flavors with people to create memorable events for clients looking for outstanding client or employee happy hours, dazzling holiday parties, and more.

In 2019, the horse trailer arrived. Hot on the heels of a mobile bar trend sweeping the the country and Instagram, he tricked out a sleek, black trailer. Partnered with his father, a former doctor turned custom wood-worker to build from scratch a bar that can go wherever the party takes us. Equal Parts’ staff of craft cocktail specialists provide extensive bar experience, both in drink making skill and inviting hospitality. Whether slinging straight forward drinks, or sussing out favorite flavors for a signature cocktail that hits all the right notes.

Every bartender who works with Equal Parts is a highly skilled drink maker with craft cocktail experience at many of the most notable bars in Minneapolis and St. Paul.