Australasian fund researcher, ResearchIP, has lost its sole NZ-based employee after consultant, Andy Mahony, took up a responsible investment role with ANZ earlier this month.
Mahony joined ResearchIP in November 2020 as the company sought to ramp up coverage of the NZ funds market. Founded by the Queensland-based, Darren Howlin, ResearchIP has a long association with the NZ funds market, including a turn as the qualitative engine of FundSource when it was under NZX control.
Howlin said the NZ research business continues as is following a smooth handover process. He said ResearchIP would look to hire again in NZ but was “under not pressure to find someone”.
The research house provides data on about 700 NZ funds, issuing qualitative reports on a subset for financial advisers and other investors.
Prior to ResearchIP, Mahony served as an investment consultant for Auckland-based firm, EriksensGlobal.
He arrives at ANZ Investments just as the bank-owned funds group embarks on a back-office upheaval with Mercer and BlackRock in line to take over some investment management and administration responsibilities.
ResearchIP is also a part-owner, and service provider, to the Flint Wealth investment platform, which saw chief executive, Angela Vale, depart for the top job at FNZ NZ this April.
Flint had a few vacancies “in the budget”, Howlin said.
Meanwhile, First Sentier Investors has lured long-time Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) Australia sales executive, Kevin Kandasamy, as institutional distribution head for NZ and Australia.
Kandasamy spent 17 years at DFA in various senior sales roles, most recently as co-head of the client group in the region.
He reports to First Sentier APAC head of distribution – the Singapore-based, Lauren Prendiville.
“We are pleased to welcome Kevin to the business. The depth of his experience will be an asset to the team and our culture of putting our clients first,” Prendiville said in a statement.
Previously owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, First Sentier is now part of the Japanese conglomerate, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. The group manages about US$146 billion across multiple asset classes with its listed infrastructure fund popular among NZ investors.
Also last week, MFS Investment Management country head for Australia and NZ, Marian Poirier, has set a retirement date for next April with institutional sales head, Josh Barton, anointed as successor.
In a statement, MFS global head of distribution, Carol Geremia, said the move reflected the manager’s “thoughtful and transparent approach to long-term succession planning”.
“ … Marian has been working closely with Josh on the transition and will continue to do so until Q1 2024,” Geremia said.
Both Poirier and Barton joined MFS 11 years ago. Prior to MFS, Barton worked in several sales-related positions at BlackRock.
MFS, one of the oldest fund managers in the world, has almost A$900 billion under management globally, of which about A$30 billion comes via Australian and NZ clients.
In NZ, the growth-oriented manager is on the ANZ Investments multi-manager panel while the Investment Services Group-owned fund manager, Clarity, offers a MFS global shares strategy in a PIE wrapper. As at the end of June the Clarity MFS PIE reported over $155 million under management.