Singapore government investment fund, Temasek, and Canadian pension fund giant, Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CPDQ), have popped up as direct shareholders on the register of the main FNZ entity.
Both Temasek and CPDQ appear for the first time via associated entities as named stock-holders in the FNZ Group company list of owners.
The two mega-funds appear with 0.01 per cent apiece in the FNZ entity, likely in a strategic move ahead of a potential legal battle with employee-shareholders.
A group of FNZ staff have threatened to take the company to court this month over alleged breaches that saw employee stock diluted after a series of debt and equity raises by corporate owners.
While FNZ Group lists 11 owners, almost 95 per cent of the business equity is held in the Cayman Islands-registered Falcon Newco.
CPDQ owns 44 per cent of FNZ, according to the Canadian pension fund’s 2024 accounts.
Elsewhere last week, charitable fund specialist, Trust Management, has topped-up its board with Anthony Halls and John Brabazon joining as independent directors.
NZ investment industry veteran, Halls, finished a two-year stint as Annuitas chief investment officer at the end of March after serving in the same role for Mint Asset Management for five years.
He also held senior investment roles at the NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) and BT Funds Management. Halls will sit on the Trust investment committee, too.
Anne Blackburn, Trust chair, said Halls brings “deep experience across institutional investment management and public sector funds brings valuable insight to our Board as we continue to grow and diversify our offerings”.
Blackburn is also chair of the Annuitas-managed Government Superannuation Fund. Annuitas is yet to fill the CIO spot left vacant by Halls.
Meanwhile, Brabazon has spent 40 years in capital markets and governance positions, most recently on the boards of Dairy Farms NZ and the Canada-based EnviroGold Global. His other former director spots include with Auckland Airport, the Accident Compensation Corporation (including on the investment committee) and NZ Mint – the latter as chair.
Trust oversees about $1.6 billion across several asset classes including a large property portfolio. The manager recently awarded the giant US investment firm, Nuveen, a global ‘green’ bond mandate, replacing BlackRock, in a transition set to complete next month.
Matthew Goldsack, Trust general manager investments, said the Nuveen strategy had already generated some interest from investors and advisers.
Also last week, the NZS amalgamated two top-table roles into one after naming Paula Steed as chief operating officer.
Under the move, Steed will take on duties previously assigned to the separate general manager roles of technology, and strategy and shared services.
NZS chief, Jo Townsend, said in a release: “Combining these business units will help break down operational silos and create a clearer line of sight between our strategic priorities and their execution.”
Townsend said the now $80 billion plus sovereign wealth fund needed to future-proof operations with its size expected to double over the next 10 years.
Steed served as acting chief for the during the interregnum between the departure of then-chief Matt Whineray in December 2023 and the arrival of Townsend last April.
She joined NZS in 2021 following a 25-year career in financial services that included executive jobs at AMP, ANZ and ASB.
Finally, the Wellington-headquartered Booster has hired Nadine Brown as chief customer officer to replace Diana Papadopoulos.
Papadopoulos was promoted to chief executive this March as Booster founder stepped aside to assume the managing director title.
Brown comes to Booster from the South Island arm of Foodstuffs, the NZ-owned supermarket chain behind the New World and 4Square brands, where she was digital channels and enterprise lead.
She has held various roles in the Foodstuff group dating back to 2009, albeit in a broken shift interspersed with turns at TSB and The Warehouse.
Papadopoulos said Brown offered a “deep understanding of customer experience, strategy and technology transformation”.
Booster manages about $8 billion including $6 billion plus of KiwiSaver money.