Veterans of the NZ fund management industry, Paul Richardson, and Amanda Smith have joined the investment committee of the $50 billion Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) fund.
Richardson, Mint Asset Management chief investment officer until 2017, and Smith, who served as head of equities for ANZ Investments among other senior roles, come to the ACC investment committee as long-time member, Pat Duignan, retires.
Since leaving Mint, Richardson has taken on director roles with groups including the AGInvest/MyFarm wholesale investment house. Smith is currently chair of Castle Point Funds Management.
In a statement, ACC says it “has actively considered any potential conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of both appointments and have put in place a conflict of interest and confidentiality protocol”.
The pair will bolster the existing ACC investment committee that features James Miller as chair along with other independent directors Stephen Montgomery and David Hunt,
“Amanda and Paul bring years of experience and a wealth of knowledge on financial markets and governance that will be extremely valuable,” Miller said in the release.
“With proven skills in investment analysis, portfolio management, strategic asset allocation and sustainability, they will help round out the diverse mix of skills we have on the committee.
Former “fourth-ranked Minister” in previous Labour governments, Steve Maharey, is set to assume the chair spot on the main ACC board on August 1 to replace Paula Rebstock.
The ACC is also recruiting for a portfolio specialist on the external manager team.
“Working closely with the Manager External Managed Funds and the wider Investment team to maximise returns with acceptable risk in the management of existing global external managers and analysis of new strategies,” the job description says.
Qualities required for the ACC role include “intellectual curiosity that sparks learning, high financial literacy, and a strong moral compass”.
Meanwhile, fellow Crown Financial Institution, the almost $60 billion NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) is also looking to fill a top position left vacant by the promotion of, George Crosby, to general manager portfolio completion in June.
Crosby’s former job as NZS head of portfolio investments “is a senior role within the portfolio completion team that carries out four active investment mandates to drive excess return”, the recruitment ad says.
“Since formation, these have delivered approximately $1.2bn in value add, focusing mostly on structured credit and asset financing trades.”
Other industry positions up for grab include investment consultant roles at both Russell Investments and Mercer.