Annuitas has hired former Mint Asset Management chief investment officer (CIO), Anthony Halls, to fill the same role at the government funds management house.
Halls left Mint last August after nine years with the firm for family reasons. He takes on the responsibilities previously held by general manager investments, Paul Bevin, who resigned in January this year following an 18-year stint at Annuitas.
Tim Mitchell, Annuitas chief, said in a statement that Halls is “a highly experienced and well-regarded investment professional, and we’re really delighted that we’ve been able to attract someone of his calibre”.
The Wellington-based business has also named ex Kiwi Wealth responsible investment strategist, Holly Marshall, to a similar position.
Marshall resigned from Kiwi Wealth earlier this year as Fisher Funds absorbed its new acquisition in a move that saw a raft of employees depart.
She steps into a newly enhanced responsible investment job at the government funds group.
“Our responsible investment work was previously being done by one of our investment analysts who left earlier this year,” Mitchell said.
He said Marshall “brings strong responsible investment credentials and we’re looking forward to her helping us rise to the challenge of more deeply integrating ESG considerations, particularly responding to the climate challenge, into our investment processes.”
She started at Annuitas last week while Halls officially joins near the end of July.
The two new hires almost complete the rebuild for the business with only the asset allocation role, previously held by Keith Poore, left to fill. Poore joined the Accident Compensation Corporation fund in a fixed term asset allocation job in February.
Mitchell, who replaced Simon Tyler as chief in January, said Halls would complete the search for a new asset allocator.
Annuitas runs the investments for the $5 billion Government Superannuation Fund (GSF) and the $1.6 billion National Provident Fund.
Last month the ex Smartshares chief, Hugh Stevens, also joined the GSF board.
Elsewhere, ethical funds firm, Pathfinder, is on the hunt for portfolio construction specialist to work alongside chief investment officer, Paul Brownsey.
The new job includes helping with the associated Alvarium discretionary investment management service (DIMS) portfolios.
Pathfinder has bolstered its investment of late with two new senior analyst hires – including former Mint portfolio manager, Michael Kenealy – as well as a junior.
Kenealy officially comes aboard at the end of this month, joining the growing investment team headed by Brownsey that includes portfolio manager Hamesh Sharma, analyst Holly Armstrong in addition to the three new hires.
Part of the global Alvarium group, Pathfinder manages over $550 million across its funds suite with more than $250 million now in the firm’s KiwiSaver scheme.
Also last week, outgoing NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) chief, Matt Whineray, has picked up a board spot on the Centre for Sustainable Finance (CSF).
Whineray is due to sign-off on his 15-year NZS career, the last five as chief, by the end of this year.
“I have had a particular interest in sustainable finance for some time,” he said in a statement. “This role gives me an opportunity to use what I have learned at the [NZS] Guardians to help CSF achieve its goal of accelerating progress towards a sustainable and equitable financial system in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Treasury financial and commercial group director of projects, Chris White, also joins the large CSF board cast featuring: Bridget Coates, Pip Best, John Duncan, Michele Embling, Fonteyn Moses-Te Kani, Kevin Prime, Simone Robbers, David Tikao, and David Woods.
White headed the inaugural NZ sovereign green bond program last year.
CSF (Toitū Tahua) was established by the investment industry body, Aotearoa Circle Sustainable Finance Forum, to drive the ‘roadmap for action’ on climate change and other environmental issues.
Launched in 2019, Aotearoa Circle is a voluntary organisation of “senior leaders from across the public and private sectors” pursuing “actions that will halt and reverse the decline” of natural resources in NZ.