Ellerston Capital
Ellerston Capital is an independent Australian multi-strategy investment manager, founded in 2002 and based in Sydney. It runs equities, hedge-fund and private-asset strategies rather than water alone: the single water company (don't) Waste Water tracks is Envirosuite, a publicly listed Australian environmental-monitoring software firm held in its small-cap funds. As of 2026 its water commitment rates One-Off.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Ellerston Capital is one of Australia's better-known home-grown fund managers, and it began life close to the country's wealthiest family. Ashok Jacob set it up in 2002 after years running Consolidated Press Holdings, the Packer family's investment company, and still chairs it today while managing its global-equities book. Ellerston is a generalist, multi-strategy manager: Australian, global and Asian shares, long-short hedge funds, and a smaller private-assets and pre-IPO arm.
Ellerston, for a newcomer to water investing, files under broad institutional asset management rather than anything water-themed. Water reaches a house like this through one listed holding rather than a dedicated fund, and here that holding is Envirosuite, a company listed on the ASX, Australia's stock exchange, whose software watches air, noise and water quality for industrial sites, airports and water utilities. Ellerston picked it up through its small and micro-cap equity funds, where it became one of Envirosuite's larger shareholders.
Ellerston's water exposure sits with its small-companies team, not its founder. The Australian Micro Cap Fund, run by chief investment officer David Keelan and portfolio manager Alexandra Clarke, hunts undervalued ASX minnows across any sector, and Envirosuite is the one that happens to clean up an environmental problem. (don't) Waste Water rates Ellerston's water commitment One-Off, reflecting that single tracked company across two disclosed purchases rather than a standing water thesis.
Ellerston, for a water founder reading this, is not a water investor in any meaningful sense, but it is a useful reminder that environmental software can earn its place in a hard-nosed generalist portfolio on the numbers alone. Its water track record is one company deep, and whether Envirosuite stays a quiet line in a micro-cap fund or pulls Ellerston toward more of the sector is, for now, an open question.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
Portfolio · 1 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Ellerston Capital invest in?
- Ellerston Capital is a multi-strategy manager that invests across Australian, global and Asian shares, long-short hedge funds, and a smaller private-assets and pre-IPO arm. It is a generalist rather than a sector fund. The one water company (don't) Waste Water tracks in its portfolio is Envirosuite, an environmental-monitoring software company listed on the ASX, Australia's stock exchange.
- Is Ellerston Capital a water investor?
- Ellerston Capital is not a dedicated water investor. It is a generalist Australian fund manager whose single tracked water holding is Envirosuite, a publicly listed environmental-monitoring software firm, picked up across two disclosed transactions through its small-cap funds. (don't) Waste Water rates Ellerston's water commitment One-Off as of 2026, reflecting that one bet.
- Who runs Ellerston Capital?
- Ellerston Capital was founded in 2002 by Ashok Jacob, its executive chairman, who previously ran Consolidated Press Holdings, the Packer family's investment company. Its small-companies funds, which hold the firm's one tracked water stock Envirosuite, are run by chief investment officer David Keelan and portfolio manager Alexandra Clarke.
- Where is Ellerston Capital based?
- Ellerston Capital is based in Sydney, Australia, and has managed money since 2002. It invests on behalf of institutions, superannuation and pension funds, family offices and high-net-worth investors, with a multi-strategy platform that spans listed equities, hedge funds and private assets rather than a single region or sector.
- What is Ellerston Capital's connection to the Packer family?
- Ellerston Capital's founder and executive chairman, Ashok Jacob, was chief executive of Consolidated Press Holdings, the Packer family's private investment company, before starting Ellerston in 2002. The Packer family was historically associated with a minority stake in the firm, which is majority-owned by its principals and staff.