Broking house FNZC formally adopts the rugby-hued Jarden brand today following a short period under its current banner.
The national group, which boasts almost 60 advisers under its wing, announced the switch to Jarden in March this year just over two years since capitalising the old First NZ Capital name as FNZC.
As well as the broader rebrand, the FNZC discretionary investment management service (DIMS) would take on the new label of ‘Compass by Jarden’.
“Our new identity embraces the future direction of our firm, while remaining true to who we have always been, with our clients at the centre of what we do,” FNZC told clients last week.
“Over the past two years we have invested across the capital markets to build New Zealand’s leading investment and advisory group.”
Among a raft of changes, FNZC has recently added two investment offerings: a private real estate vehicle, Pearlfisher; and, an access to emerging private companies via Principal Investments.
The group has also struck deals with innovative equity research platform, Shareclarity, and start-up specialist Icehouse Ventures.
Last year the firm folded in two new purchases – Direct Broking and OMF – in a bid to provide “online direct investment, and currency and commodity hedging”, FNZC says.
The group also holds a majority stake in Harbour Asset Management.
In 2017 FNZC hired former NZ Super Fund head of investments, Fiona Mackenzie, to design a strategy targeting a wider client base.
James Lee, FNZC chief, said at the time: “We’re acutely aware that FNZC is a very bespoke business that targets client solutions to individual needs.
“But we don’t provide solutions at the simplified product level.”
FNZC has been through several other incarnations, including a phase as Credit Suisse First Boston, but the new name harks back to one of the group’s antecedent firms, Jarden & Co.
The stock broking business was founded by Ron Jarden in 1961 “in a room above Tom Morrison’s menswear shop in central Wellington”, according to FNZC.
“As well as a great stock broker and businessman, Ron was a star All Black, playing 16 tests on the wing between 1951 and 1956,” the website says.
Jarden later partnered with Bryan Johnson to create the business that evolved into FNZC.
Also last week, the recently-rebranded adviser services group, Finzo, was granted the CEFEX certification recognising the achievement of global fiduciary standards.
Finzo, previously known as the Boutique Advisers Association, is the second NZ firm to earn the CEFEX badge “and one of the only 14 firms globally”, the group said in a statement.
CEFEX managing director, Carlos Panksep, said in the release: “[Finzo] have earned the right to use the CEFEX Mark which indicates the firm’s established practices are aligned with investors’ interests and worthy of trust and confidence.”
Elsewhere, former ANZ head of wealth products, Ana-Marie Lockyer, has resurfaced as executive general manager of AA Finance – the new joint venture between AA and Suncorp. AA and Suncorp announced the new partnership this February that a statement said would “jointly explore how both organisations can expand financial service offerings”.
To begin with, AA Finance will offer personal loans for cars, motorbikes and boats but other more complex products could follow. Suncorp already backs the AA life and general insurance ranges.
Lockyer left ANZ last December soon after the sale of the bank’s NZ life insurance business to Cigna. She joined the-then ANZ joint venture with ING in 2009 before serving in several senior wealth roles at the bank.
Since leaving ANZ, Lockyer studied at Harvard after being accepted for ‘The Women’s Leadership Forum: Innovation Strategies for a Changing World’ .