The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) will lose its third top table executive this year following the resignation of director of external communications and investor capability, Louise Nicholson.
During the year-to-date the FMA has also seen the departure of Sarah Vrede, head of capital markets, and Karen Chang, head of enforcement – both to chief executive roles in regulatory-related organisations.
Vrede joined the similarly captioned NZ Financial Markets Association – the institutional banking industry body – this January while Chang took up the coveted chief executive job at the Serious Fraud Office in March after an almost five-year stint at the FMA.
Previously head of the NZ Debt Management Office, Vrede, and ex ANZ corporate affairs manager, Nicholson, both came to the FMA in 2019.
Last year long-time incumbent FMA chief, Rob Everett, resigned with his replacement, Samantha Barrass, stepping into the position this January. Everett is now head of the government-run venture investment outfit, NZ Capital Growth Partners.
An FMA spokesperson confirmed Nicholson had resigned “a couple of weeks ago and will be finishing her tenure in mid-August”.
“Louise joined the FMA three years ago to help its communications reach a broader audience. During her time, she has introduced new digital channels for consumers and industry, spearheaded projects to create more consumer-friendly materials, and launched new initiatives to connect with the industry (including the popular live-streamed FMA Debate),” the spokesperson said. “Louise has no immediate plans at this stage.”
Currently, the regulator has two senior executives doubling in acting roles: Paul Gregory, as interim head of capital markets in addition to his formal position as director investment management; and, director market engagement, John Botica, who also fills in as head of regulation.
Also in acting mode, Mercer NZ has named Padraig Brown as interim chief investment officer.
Now located in Auckland, Brown has been the Sydney-based Mercer Pacific head of real estate since 2011 following more than 10 years in the UK in senior investment strategy roles with several organisations including BlackRock.
A spokesperson said Mercer NZ continues to recruit for the permanent CIO position as well as the head of consulting job left vacant by the departure of David Scobie earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Wellington fund-hosting and platform business, Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS), has made two senior hires.
Former Booster product and compliance manager, Peter Long, joins IIS as fund-hosting head of product. At the same time, Jason Choy takes on the new role of chief investment and product officer for the IIS-owned InvestNow direct-to-consumer platform.
Long assumes responsibility for delivering investment fund to clients, the firm said in a release, in the fund-hosting division headed by general manager, Michael Courtney.
Courtney and Long previously worked together at the Rabobank fund platform, which IIS bought in 2018, shifting the more than $100 million of assets under management to InvestNow.
Prior to joining InvestNow, Choy was senior portfolio analyst for AIA NZ, looking after the insurer’s investment solutions.
He has also been involved in his family’s successful food manufacturing business.
Choy’s duties include responsibilities for the InvestNow KiwiSaver and the in-house diversified Foundation Series funds.
Last week start-up rival fund platform, Flint Wealth, named Angela Vale, as chief executive.
Vale served as head of digital financial services boutique, Footprint, since 2018 after a short turn as chief growth officer for Perpetual Guardian.
She also held senior customer and strategic roles for several NZ companies including Sovereign and the Kelly recruitment group.
Founded in 2019 as a three-way partnership between Trustees Executors (TE), Harbour Asset Management and Australian firm Research IP, Flint officially went live this January with a suite of more than 100 funds on offer.
TE chief, Ryan Bessemer, said in a statement, that Flint would continue to grow under Vale into a business “akin to a managed-fund supermarket”.
“Angela brings with her decades of experience in leading business growth and innovation and through her career has proven she has the diverse range of skills that position her well to running an agile start-up like Flint Wealth,” Bessemer said.
“We firmly believe the way investors consume investment services will change dramatically over the coming decade, and traditional service models – currently run by static industry stalwarts – will be significantly disrupted. With her depth and breadth of experience, we know Angela will drive the growth and customer-centric model of Flint Wealth forward.”
Also last week, the NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) confirmed Cristina Billett as general manager coporate affairs after she previously held the role in an acting capacity.
Billet joined NZS in 2009, moving up from a counsel position to head of legal in 2015 while also chairing the now $55 billion sovereign wealth fund’s risk committee.
She will have “responsibility for the Legal and Communications teams and the Board Secretariat”, according to an NZS release.
The NZS board is also searching for a new member following the surprise exit of Kirsty Mactaggart just one year into a five-year term.
NZS Board of Guardians members are formally appointed by the Governor-General on approval of the finance minister. However, candidates are selected from nominations from an independent committee established by the minister.
“On receiving those nominations, the Minister consults with representatives of other political parties in Parliament before recommending the Governor-General appoint a person to the Board,” the NZS website says.