• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • RSS Feed

Investment News NZ

Investment News provides financial advisers news stories from the financial industry in New Zealand. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter.

  • Home
  • News
  • Kiwisaver
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Investment News / AMP stands by its man; Boag steps off Simplicity after breach

AMP stands by its man; Boag steps off Simplicity after breach

July 12, 2020

Boe Pahari: AMP Capital chief

AMP is standing by its recently appointed funds management CEO despite a barrage of ‘me-too’ criticism across the Tasman – and beyond.

Boe Pahari, who officially replaced Adam Tindall as AMP Capital chief early in July, has come under fire after it emerged he was subject to a sexual harassment claim from a now-former employee in 2017.

Based in London at the time, an external investigation found Pahari had breached company standards.

In a statement, an AMP spokesperson said: “The external investigation identified lower level breaches of AMP’s code of conduct for which Mr Pahari had appropriate consequences imposed, including a financial penalty and counselling for his conduct.

“Mr Pahari accepted the findings and apologised to the colleague.”

But, regardless, his appointment sparked some internal dissent, a raft of Australian press coverage and wider questions around AMP governance

In an article penned last week for the influential US business magazine, Forbes, Kristin Ferguson, Australian leadership expert, said the Pahari issue highlights how companies must adapt in a “post #MeToo world”.

“… some senior leaders are learning the hard way that the world has changed once and for all as employees rise up against corporate platitudes that are not followed by meaningful action,” Ferguson says.

The outrage also raises an interesting dilemma for AMP Capital funds that invest according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) protocols.

An AMP spokesperson said the group does not generally discuss individual stocks it holds.

However, the spokesperson said the AMP Capital Sustainable Share Fund has not made any changes to its exclusions during recent reviews. Currently, the firm’s Ethical Leaders Fund does not hold AMP stock, the spokesperson said, but it is not formally excluded.

“The ethics committee will continue to monitor the situation,” the spokesperson said.

While the issue missed mainstream coverage in NZ press, it is understood some local investors were seeking further information from AMP Capital.

The Pahari controversy would be an unwelcome distraction for an AMP just emerging from two years of post Royal Commission deconstruction and corporate rebuilding. At the end of June, AMP finally offloaded its historical life insurance business, adding A$1.1 billion in capital and clearing the way for the new, more-focused strategy set out by chief, Francesco De Ferrari.

With a share price still dwindling under $2 (A$1.71 at close last week), the group could be an attractive takeover target. Indeed, industry whispers suggest some tyre-kicking could be under way with Macquarie mooted as an interested party.

In other governance-related news last week, the Simplicity Charitable Trust, which owns the underlying $1.8 billion KiwiSaver scheme, confirmed foundation board member, Michelle Boag, has stepped down as director.

Boag, a long-time National Party operative and PR impresario, was found to have released private information revealing the identities of COVID-19 cases in NZ.

Simplicity trust chair, Peter Neilson, a former Labour Party cabinet minister, said in a release: “Under the circumstances, it was the right thing to do for Michelle to offer to resign, and the right thing to do to accept it.”

Sam Stubbs, Simplicity founder, said Boag was instrumental in establishing the mainly passive KiwiSaver and investment business, first registered in 2015. Simplicity moved to a charitable ownership structure in 2016 with Boag joining the board the following year.

“Simplicity now has 60 volunteers, and as a foundation Trustee of our charity, Michelle was one of the first,” he said. “She has been a huge supporter, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without her input.”

Boag has also cut all ties with National Party organisation in the wake of the scandal.

 

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Twitter0
LinkedIn0
Google+0
Facebook0

Read More » Investment News

Recent articles

  • New Salt suite to spice up fund mix January 17, 2021
  • Wealth head quits ASB for Tower job; Platinum loses Asia manager; Matterson moves from Milliman January 17, 2021
  • Westpac follows ANZ with Northern Trust mandate… January 17, 2021
  • … as Trust Management wins over another senior BT investment hand January 17, 2021
  • Capital ventures into BlackRock’s ETF territory January 17, 2021
  • Fresh CIO role as South Pacific aims for co-investments January 17, 2021
  • Lessons from 2020: don’t stop thinking about tomorrow January 17, 2021
  • SSGA to push big firms on ESG, stays mum on merger January 17, 2021
  • Low-carbon switch: why electric future turns on listed infrastructure investor January 17, 2021

Primary Sidebar

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
Learn More »

Most Recent Investment News

New Salt suite to spice up fund mix

January 17, 2021

Wealth head quits ASB for Tower job; Platinum loses Asia manager; Matterson moves from Milliman

January 17, 2021

Westpac follows ANZ with Northern Trust mandate…

January 17, 2021

… as Trust Management wins over another senior BT investment hand

January 17, 2021

Capital ventures into BlackRock’s ETF territory

January 17, 2021

Search by Keyword

Investment News

  • New Salt suite to spice up fund mix January 17, 2021
  • Wealth head quits ASB for Tower job; Platinum loses Asia manager; Matterson moves from Milliman January 17, 2021
  • Westpac follows ANZ with Northern Trust mandate… January 17, 2021
  • … as Trust Management wins over another senior BT investment hand January 17, 2021
  • Capital ventures into BlackRock’s ETF territory January 17, 2021
  • Fresh CIO role as South Pacific aims for co-investments January 17, 2021
  • Lessons from 2020: don’t stop thinking about tomorrow January 17, 2021
  • SSGA to push big firms on ESG, stays mum on merger January 17, 2021
  • Low-carbon switch: why electric future turns on listed infrastructure investor January 17, 2021
  • Bitcoin: the nonsensical asset that makes sense for the times January 17, 2021

Investment News Archive

Most Popular Articles

  • Westpac NZ flags retail advice sale to Forsyth Barr posted on October 19, 2020
  • NZ share-trading splurge could trigger tax alarms… posted on October 5, 2020
  • The horror year in technicolour: free KiwiSaver 13 report released posted on September 30, 2020
  • Flint set to spark platform competition posted on August 17, 2020
  • Four to the core: Smartshares to expand, rearrange and reprice ETFs posted on June 22, 2020
  • Kitset KiwiSaver scheme set to unwrap in spring posted on April 27, 2020
  • Funds eye bargains, self-shoppers hoard cash, KiwiSavers turn conservative posted on March 15, 2020
  • AMP Capital NZ chief quits amid equities exodus offshore posted on August 28, 2020

Sponosored Content

David-Boyle

On the industry play-list: four chart-topping regulations for 2021

David-Boyle

Charge of the lite (advice) brigade

Nathan Field

Pandemic Baby Boom a Bust

Star-date 2020: it’s inflation Jim but not as we know it

Quick-links to Popular News

  • FAP Compliance
  • Coronavirus
  • New Appointments
  • Financial Markets Authority (FMA)
  • Kiwisaver
  • Climate Change
  • Crypto Currency
  • Blockchain
  • Insurance

Secondary Sidebar

Recent News

  • New Salt suite to spice up fund mix January 17, 2021
  • Wealth head quits ASB for Tower job; Platinum loses Asia manager; Matterson moves from Milliman January 17, 2021
  • Westpac follows ANZ with Northern Trust mandate… January 17, 2021
  • … as Trust Management wins over another senior BT investment hand January 17, 2021
  • Capital ventures into BlackRock’s ETF territory January 17, 2021
  • Fresh CIO role as South Pacific aims for co-investments January 17, 2021
  • Lessons from 2020: don’t stop thinking about tomorrow January 17, 2021
  • SSGA to push big firms on ESG, stays mum on merger January 17, 2021
  • Low-carbon switch: why electric future turns on listed infrastructure investor January 17, 2021
  • Bitcoin: the nonsensical asset that makes sense for the times January 17, 2021

Footer

Copyright ©2020 InvestmentNews.co.nz — All Rights Reserved ·— Terms & Conditions