Fisher Funds has named Harbour Asset Management head of client servicing, Jody Kaye, as chief financial officer (CFO).
Kaye, also Harbour chief operating officer, will take over as Fisher CFO from incumbent Glenn Ashwell later this month.
Recently-appointed Fisher chief executive, Bruce McLachlan, said Ashwell “is taking a career break after a long stint at Fisher Funds”.
Ashwell joined Fisher in 2003 as general manager following five years with the-then Tower Trust in a range of roles including head of custody, investment accounting and registry.
In a client note, Harbour says Kaye would be “leaving our team as of the 14th July 2017”.
“We will be sad to see him go after seven years with Harbour. It was a difficult decision for Jody, but he feels ready for a fresh challenge and we all wish him the very best for the future,” the note says. “Harbour has a strong succession strategy in place for all key roles.”
The Wellington-based fund manager would recruit separately for each of the two roles Kaye performed, the note says.
“Jody covered both [chief operating officer and head of client servicing], but we are delighted to announce that we will be resourcing these roles separately in the coming months,” Harbour says in the note. ”In the interim, members of our team are stepping forward to make the transition seamless for all clients.”
Kaye joined the fund manager in 2010 from First NZ Capital Investment Management, whose parent company owns a majority share in Harbour.
Fisher currently boasts more than $7 billion under management including about $5 billion of retail funds, of which roughly $3.5 billion is sourced from the group’s two KiwiSaver schemes.
McLachlan replaced Fisher Funds founder, Carmel Fisher, as CEO in February following a five-year stretch as head of the Co-op Bank.
In 2013, TSB Bank took a cornerstone stake in Fisher, eventually boosting its holding to almost 49 per cent. Ashwell retains a 1.56 per cent share of Fisher, according to Companies Office figures.
