The Contact Story

In 1933, Mr Danny Lewis, a Randwick trainer and Mr Max Claveranne, a Sydney accountant formed a partnership by purchasing the colt “Contact” for £160. Contact ran 4th in the 1935 Melbourne Cup and won the 1936 Sydney Cup. Over three years, Contact earned the partnership almost £6,000, a 3650% return from the long distance stayer. In 2015, it was discovered that Max Claveranne was Tom’s Great Grandfather and Danny Lewis was Will’s Great Grandfather.

In addition to Tom and Will’s long and successful family connection, the Pattinson/Millner family has managed businesses in Australia for over 140 years. Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited (Soul Pattinson) is one of the few successful public companies that has been overseen by the same family for over 100 years. Its leadership has been grounded in successive family members who have been able to adapt to changing times and economic conditions. Rob Millner is the 4th Generation family member of the group and Tom Millner is the 5th.

In 2016, Contact Asset Management was established as a long-term, client focused investment manager, implementing a set of principles honed over many generations. Contact is Independent, financially strong and is owned by its founders Tom Millner and Will Culbert and Contact Staff. We are long term investors, we like to co-invest with founders of companies and we have strong alignment with our investors in all products we manage.