New private wealth play leverages BlackRock OCIO

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

15 January 2026

Former Morgan Stanley and CFS investment advisers led by Steve Moon have kicked off a new private wealth play – Granite Bay Private Wealth.

With Moon as managing partner, the firm boasts David Asplin as chief executive officer, Matt Nicholls as Chief Operating Officer and Jessica Brady as general manager.

Announcing the launch of the business, Moon said the Australian wealth market is evolving rapidly and the firm wants offer investors genuine choice beyond the largest institutions.

As CEO, Asplin pointed to the firm’s fresh approach noting that it has “no outdated legacy systems and no inherited constraints”.

Granite Bay has appointed BlackRock as its Outsourced Chief Investment Officer.

BlackRock Australasia Head of Multi Asset Strategy Solutions, David Griffith said Granite Bays model represented a strong fit for BlackRock’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer offering.

The announcement said that, alongside the OCIO appointment, Granite Bay has formed an Investment Committee independently chaired by Debbie Alliston, former Head of Investments at BT Investment Management and former CIO for AMP Capital’s $80 billion multi-asset business, and supported by external consultants David Griffith, Head of Multi Asset Strategy Solutions, BlackRock Australasia and John Lockton, Head of Investment Strategy, MST Financial.