Sam Stanley, NZX head of exchange products, has resigned and will finish up in June, Investment News NZ (IN NZ) understands.
Stanley’s resignation is understood to be unconnected to a raft of changes at the NZX-owned retail research house, FundSource, which also saw two research analysts made redundant.
Last week the NZX revealed FundSource would be withdrawing from qualitative research after finalising a deal with UK-headquartered investment data firm, Financial Express (FE).
FundSource told clients it would “discontinue the qualitative research and editorial components” of its services once the FE system becomes operative at the end of May.
Following the deal, which will see FundSource essentially acting as a retailer of FE data and quantitative fund analysis tools, administration manager, Sandra Waldrom, a 10-year veteran with the firm, and senior analyst, Paras Khanna, have been made redundant.
In a release to clients, FundSource names John Crawford as the “point of contact” at the research house.
Crawford “will collate the quantitative-based services that clients receive”, the FundSource client note says.
An NZX spokesperson said the FE deal would give clients access to powerful analytical tools and information on a broader range of global fund managers.
“We won’t make all of the FE global fund data available as there are literally thousands of them and this huge weight of data would not enhance the user experience,” the NZX spokesperson said. “All the New Zealand and Australian funds we cover will be available with other global funds restricted to those followed and requested by advisers in New Zealand on a case-by-case basis. If an adviser specifically wants access to an offshore fund which is covered in FE’s database then we should be able to make this available to them.”
However, the firm’s exit from the qualitative business means no New Zealand-based research houses will be reviewing local fund managers face-to-face. Morningstar, which recently down-graded its New Zealand presence, does have one fund analyst based in its Auckland office and regularly flies in analysts from Australia to conduct manager reviews.
FundSource is also “reviewing” its annual fund manager awards process that is currently “based partly on qualitative research analysis”.
“We expect to continue with the awards,” the client note says.
It is understood the NZX is also close to naming the new head of its fund management division, a role created following the company’s purchase of Superlife last December.