Archives for 2019

The for-sale ASB-owned Aegis platform could lose north of $3 billion in funds under administration (FUA) after Hobson Wealth confirmed last week it would move to rival NZX-owned system. Hobson, then known as Macquarie NZ, was about to jump from Aegis in 2016 but froze the deal in mid-2018 as NZX Wealth Technologies faced delays… [Read More…]

Newly-established digital-only NZ passive funds provider Kernel Wealth has already secured support from several financial advisory groups, according to founder, Dean Anderson. Anderson said both advisers and direct investors would seed the three NZ share funds Kernel launched last week. As well as friends and family, he said early direct investors would likely include interests… [Read More…]

The just-launched robo KiwiSaver, Kōura Wealth, has established six underlying passively-managed funds with a big brand global manager to pick up most of the business. According to the Kōura statement of investment policies and objectives (SIPO), the six funds cover three offshore equities sectors, NZ shares, local fixed income and cash. “For our international exposures… [Read More…]

BNZ head of private bank and advisory, Donna Nicolof, has resigned to “pursue other opportunities” after a six-year career with the bank. In a note published last week, Nicolof said she was “really proud of the business we’ve built and hope I leave a positive legacy”. She joined BNZ in March 2013 as head of… [Read More…]

Suncorp, which announced last year that it would be transitioning its $25 billion securities services contract from NAB Asset Servicing to BNP Paribas Securities Services, has suspended the process. It is one of the strangest events to happen in the custody sector in recent memory. Suncorp did all the right things. Its then-head of operations,… [Read More…]

The advisory industry body Financial Advice NZ has had a demographic makeover during the last 12 months, according to chair, Sue Brown. Brown told the 500 or so delegates at the group’s annual conference in Auckland last week that the proportion of female and younger members increased significantly since 2018. She said women now represented… [Read More…]

A New Plymouth-based iwi group has appointed the NZX-owned SuperLife to run an investment service as part of a broader, novel ‘financial wellbeing’ program. The just-launched Ka Uruora offering will use SuperLife to back its KiwiSaver and WhānauSaver products offered to members of the Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa and Te Kāhui o Taranaki iwis…. [Read More…]

Thomas Murray, the global consulting firm specialising in securities servicing and banking services, is looking to expand its global reach. In Australia and New Zealand it is well known for two things: the ‘star chamber’ and its first two big asset-owner clients. London-based Thomas Murray celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, with co-founder Simon Thomas… [Read More…]

Trustees Executors (TE) is promising a faster, better, cheaper investment administration service after hooking up with an Australian superannuation fund to build a blockchain-based platform for the NZ market. Ryan Bessemer, TE chief, said the recently-inked agreement with Grow Super would reboot the almost 140 year-old trustee company into the digital age. Under the deal,… [Read More…]