Top ranked energy analyst Saul Kavonic joins MST Marquee

One of Australia’s most outspoken energy analysts has joined boutique equities house MST Marquee.

Prior to his role as head of integrated energy and resources research at Credit Suisse, Mr Kavonic covered oil, gas and renewables in Australasia for Wood Mackenzie. Picture: Fabrice Coffrini/ AFP.

Top ranked energy analyst Saul Kavonic will join equities research firm MST Marquee in late 2023, jumping ship to the boutique firm after working at Credit Suisse since 2018.

Mr Kavonic, a regular contributor to The Australian, was appointed “for his fiercely independent – at times iconoclastic – views on energy markets, energy policy and corporate strategy,” a MST statement said.

He replaces Mark Samter, who jostled with Mr Kavonic as a top rated energy researcher, before leaving MST to join hedge fund Millennium in June this year.

Prior to his role as head of integrated energy and resources research at Credit Suisse, Mr Kavonic covered oil, gas and renewables in Australasia for Wood Mackenzie and previously worked at Woodside Energy, M.H. Carnegie & Co, and the United Nations and African Union Commission.

“Kavonic is an authority in the energy sector, has unparalleled industry insight and a track

record of successful bold calls, and there is strong demand from investors for his services on the MST platform,” MST chief executive Gerard Satur said.

Saul Kavonic

“He is not scared of having strong considered views on sensitive topics in the energy

sector, something that is possible at MST Financial.”

Mr Kavonic added that “calm, considered and curious thinking is critical to navigating a ‘just transition’ in our energy landscape, where monumental shifts are underway.”

He has been critical of federal Labor’s ‘‘make it up as you go along’’ policy approach this year, saying several market design overhauls in as many months had damaged the investment landscape in Australia and added fresh sovereign risk concerns.

MST’s simplified research model allows clients to join the platform and pick which research they want to pay for through an annual fee with analysts netting a percentage of the revenue.

Its research team has more than 250 Australian companies under coverage, covered by a team of more than 25 research analysts.