We guide individuals, families and businesses on succession, wealth transfer and inheritance.
Vest Advisory is a boutique succession consultancy, established to help you – and the ones you care about – avoid the pain and devastation of leaving these critical matters until it’s too late.
Our expert team – Michael Naphtali, David Naphtali and Andy Gowers – first connected through their mutual interest and expertise in succession and inheritance planning. Together, they established Vest Advisory in 2023.
We work with your other chosen experts – accountants, lawyers, wealth managers, bankers – to ensure your succession and inheritance decisions make sense for your unique situation. Solutions that are both agreed and seamless, for you, and the people and causes that are important to you.
Research by Griffith University estimated that Australians aged 60 and over would transfer $3.5 trillion (or an average of about $175 billion per year) in wealth in the next two decades.
The need for trusted, independent advice in succession and inheritance planning has never been more important, and Vest Advisory provides this service for you, your family and your business.
Vest Advisory’s partners and Chair have an outstanding track record in helping families and businesses address their own succession issues.
Succession and inheritance can be a sensitive, delicate and sometimes emotional process. You want your discussions to be confidential, and your decisions to be thoroughly considered by skilled and respected professionals who really care. Vest Advisory is here to help support and guide you.
Our Team
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David Naphtali
Founder
David grew up in and around successful family businesses. His formal career as a lawyer began at Mallesons Stephen Jaques, specialising in advising clients on the development and financing of large-scale infrastructure projects. He moved to Hong Kong in 2002 with his wife Kelly.
During his time in Hong Kong, David founded of Madison Pacific Trust – a successful, specialised provider of Corporate Trust services. David and his partners grew the business from two staff in Hong Kong, to a team of over 40, with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and the Cayman Islands. Madison Pacific focused primarily on Debt Capital Markets and leveraged transactions more generally. In 2018 Madison Pacific was sold to Tricor Group, owned by Permira Funds.
Due to his background and experience, David was involved in a number of complicated inheritance and succession matters. These experiences motivated David to found Vest Advisory, together with Andy and Michael, to help other families avoid the same difficult, traumatic (and often expensive) scenarios he encountered during his time at Madison Pacific.
David returned to Australia in 2021 with his family which had, over the 20 years in Hong Kong, swelled to include 3 children (all of whom he is pleased to say are passionate Richmond supporters) and a dog named Dusty - for the obvious reason.
David has a BA and LLB (Hons) from Deakin University and is admitted to practice in both Australia and Hong Kong.
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Andy Gowers
Founder
Andy applies learnings from the competitive worlds of elite team sport and business, to help Vest Advisory’s family and business owner clients with succession and inheritance advice.
After 12 years in the Australian Football League as a player with both the Hawthorn and Brisbane Football Clubs, yielding 140 games and a premiership in 1991 with the Hawks, Andy was appointed Hawthorn’s Director of Football, serving between 2014-2017, encompassing the famous ‘3-peat’ era.
In December 2022, Andy was elected President of the Hawthorn Football Club.
Andy completed a Bachelor of Business from David Syme Business School (Monash University) during his playing days, and later, a Diploma of Financial Services. He established Time Advice – a boutique financial services and wealth management business – in 2011, with a former ANZ Business Banking colleague. During this time, Andy worked closely with hundreds of individuals, families and businesses, as they navigated their wealth management and succession plans. The business was successfully sold in 2021.
Andy now specialises in succession and inheritance advice. He is a strong advocate for business and entrepreneurship, and a regular presenter and speaker at industry and sporting events. Andy enjoys his role as a trusted confidante, elite perfomance coach and mentor for many successful business owners and emerging leaders.
He is an avid golfer and cyclist, and is an ambassador for the Amy Gillett Foundation, Australia’s leading cyclist safety organisation. Andy has been a passionate supporter of FightMND for 10 years, and has served on committees and advisory groups for local sporting and community organisations.
Andy is married to Anna, has 3 adult children and two grandchildren.
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Michael Naphtali
Chair
Michael’s outstanding commercial experience and his ability to find original solutions for clients is widely recognized in the business community. Michael was Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Pratt Group for many years. He has also been a Director with Hill Samuel, the predecessor to Macquarie Bank.
Michael started his own consultancy operation, Hind Consulting and Investment Pty Ltd in the early 1990s catering to the needs of predominantly large private clients – strategy, financing, succession, acquisitions, asset disposal and capital raising projects.
In 1996 Michael founded Hindal Corporate with David Beatty. His work expanded as Hindal became sought after as an innovative and trusted boutique corporate advisory service.
When in 2008 Hindal was acquired by Credit Suisse, Michael joined them as Executive Director. Michael remained with Credit Suisse until 2019. Subsequently he has continued to sit on a number of family business boards, and several not-for-profit boards as well as spending time with children and grandchildren.
Michael’s involvement in many community and charitable activities was recognized in 2003 when he was awarded a Centenary Medal for services to the Jewish community and to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. In the 2008 Australia Day honours he received an AM for service to the community through executive roles with environmental, educational, sporting and Jewish organisations.
Michael has a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from Monash University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
