Paul Dyer, Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) fund chief investment officer, signs off next year with an enviable record.
After taking the reins from long-time incumbent, Nicholas Bagnall, in 2019 – firstly in an interim capacity – Dyer has seen the fund grow more than 12 per cent to top $50 billion while accruing about $1.7 billion through active management.
He was confirmed as permanent CIO late in 2020. Dyer joined the ACC fund in 2008 in an investment advisory role following a four-year stint as CIO for the NZ Superannuation Fund.
Previously, Dyer also served as CIO of AMP Capital NZ during its heyday while also counting key government advisory roles with the Finance Ministry and Treasury in his resume.
Mark Cross, ACC director and investment committee chair, said in a release: “We have been fortunate to have Paul lead our experienced Investments team these past five years and we are in good shape to manage the succession and continue to meet our outperformance targets as one of New Zealand’s largest active investors.”
Dyer is timing his exit with the completion of the first, and voluntary, independent Treasury review of the ACC fund due to report back in the first quarter of next year.
“The review will be a significant milestone for the ACC and any recommendations that come out of it will undoubtedly help to set up for the next chapter for the Investments team,” he said in the release.
“I look forward to supporting the team through this process in 2025”
ACC plans to open the recruitment effort early next year.
Also last week, Perpetual Guardian Investments (PGI) named Sean Preston in the newly created role of head of wealth partnerships.
Preston joins PGI as the estate planning specialist looks to expand into the retail and independent financial advisory markets on the back of its recent purchase of boutique fund manager, Castle Point, that came with a managed investment scheme licence.
The firm currently manages about $2.5 billion through in-house wholesale funds and discretionary investment management services (DIMS) portfolios.
Prior to joining PGI, Preston was chief commercial officer for Immersve – the NZ start-up company helping Mastercard deliver crypto-backed payments.
Before coming to NZ he held senior global executive roles for Visa in Asia, Australia, Italy and the UK.
Elsewhere, the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA) has named 17 NZ managers in its ‘responsible investment leaders’ category this year – one more than last year when the industry body and product-rating organisation changed the criteria for the award to include only the top 20 per cent of managers in the scoring process.
RIAA leaders this year include Mint Asset Management, Devon Funds, BT Funds Management, Harbour Asset Management, Milford Asset Management, Pathfinder Asset Management, AMP Wealth Management and Morrison & Co.
The group’s NZ benchmark report is due out on December 3.