The Craigs Investment Partners-owned QuayStreet Asset Management has lured David Buell from AMP Capital to a new distribution role.
Buell joined AMP Capital as associate director retail in 2016.
His move to QuayStreet follows a slew of similar distribution appointments at boutique funds businesses including the NZX-owned Smartshares, Milford Asset Management and Salt Funds Management.
The NZX named Thom Bentley as Smartshares head of institutional sales in October 2018 – a new position for the index fund provider.
Last September Salt, which currently has two key institutional clients (AMP Capital and Westpac/BT), hired former First State Investments NZ director, Matthew Laing, to a new sales role.
Similarly, in June last year former Nikko Asset Management NZ senior business development manager, Michael Robson, joined Milford in the newly-created position of head of intermediary distribution. Robson was charged with building Milford’s presence in the financial advisory and wholesale investor market: to date, the manager has sourced most of its $6.3 billion direct from investors.
Buell’s shift to QuayStreet, likewise, suggests the Craigs fund management subsidiary is looking for distribution beyond its traditional in-house advisory network. Craigs rebranded the managed funds business – originally known as ABN Amro Craigs Investment Management – as QuayStreet in 2014.
QuayStreet was initially a back-seat brand for Craigs, which used the funds business to manage money for one of the stockbroking firm’s two KiwiSaver schemes as well as housing other superannuation investments.
However, in 2016 Craigs rebadged its ‘Defined’ KiwiSaver product under the QuayStreet name. As at March 31 last year the QuayStreet KiwiSaver scheme reported about $140 million under management compared to just under $210 million in the Craigs kiwiStart Select scheme (which allows members to choose a range of direct investments).
In total, QuayStreet reports over $1 billion under management through its 10 portfolio investment entity (PIE) funds listed on the Disclose website.
According to the just-published QuayStreet 2018 calendar year accounts, the manager generated an almost $2.5 million after-tax profit on about $8.6 million revenue.
QuayStreet, which includes an investment team of six headed by James Ring and Andrew South, was not available for comment.