‘Women in Super’ (WIS) NZ has evolved into ‘Empower Women’ with a broader mandate under the group’s new base within the Financial Services Council (FSC).
Officially joining the FSC last week, the former stand-alone advocacy group will have a “true focus on collaboration and breaking down silos” as Empower Women, according to ex WIS chair, Tracey Cross.
Cross, now co-chair of the FSC diversity, equity and inclusion committee, said in a release that the organisation was “excited by the opportunities for change that this new community can aim to deliver, through impactful action”.
“You do not need to be in the financial services industry to participate and yes, we would love men to be involved,” she said.
Outgoing FSC chief, Richard Klipin, said the new sub-group would “prioritise inclusivity, allyship and furthering better outcomes for women”.
Modelled on an earlier Australian counterpart, WIS NZ launched in 2001 with the goal of supporting women in the financial services industry and lobbying on related issues. As at last March, WIS reported 115 members.
Cross said within the FSC, the new alliance would continue to focus on “women’s financial wellbeing, advocating for women’s specific financial and retirement planning needs and challenges”.
She said Empower Women also “aims to increase the number of women in leadership and decision-making positions, attracting more women to the industry”.
Also last week, the NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) confirmed Jo Townsend as chief executive, ending an almost year-long search to replace Matt Whineray in the coveted role.
Townsend headed the A$40 billion South Australian public sector pension scheme, Funds SA, from 2015 until last year. She resigned in February 2023 just a couple of months ahead of Whineray, who gave about eight months’ notice in May.
“I am very much looking forward to a break and time with family after almost 40 years in the workforce,” Townsend said last year.
But the prospect of heading the $70 billion plus NZS has lured the Australian institutional fund executive back to the fray.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Guardians. The NZ Super Fund is known and respected globally as a high-performing institutional investor,” she said in the release.
Townsend isn’t the only Australian in a senior leadership position at NZS. She joins Stephen Gilmore, who took over as NZS chief investment officer in 2019. Gilmore previously served as chief investment strategist for the Australian Future Fund.
Coincidentally, former Future Fund alumni CIO, Sue Brake, has fetched up in NZ again as interim head of asset allocation for ANZ Investments following the departure of incumbent, Maaike van Tol, to the NZS.
Brake, who began her career in NZ, was a senior investment strategist at NZS for more than seven years ending in 2016.
Prior to Funds SA, Townsend held top-level investment and management roles for several institutions including REST Industry Super, NGS Super, Retirement Benefits Fund, Value Capital Management and Rothschild Australia Asset Management.
She assumes her NZS duties this month, relieving interim chief, Paula Steed, who has filled in since December last year after being seconded from her job as general manager strategy and shared services.
Elsewhere last week, Morningstar named its NZ fund manager of the year as the now NZX-owned, QuayStreet.
With about $1.6 billion under management, the former Craigs Investment Partners fund shop also picked up the Morningstar KiwiSaver manager of the year award.
The QuayStreet KiwiSaver growth fund topped its category over the three years to the end of 2023 with an annualised return of 7.9 per cent, according to the latest Morningstar survey of the sector.
In a stripped-down awards list, the research house also named Devon as domestic equities fund manager of the year for its trans-Tasman strategy while the Australia-domiciled, Bentham, won the fixed interest trophy for the Global Income product.
Devon managing director, Slade Robertson, said in a release that the win marked “a testament to the strong performance delivered by the Devon funds, not just in 2023, but over the past five years, underpinned by a strong team and robust investment processes”.
“The environment over this period has been a challenging one for markets, but a highly productive one for astute active investors,” Robertson said.
For the third year in succession, Morningstar also dropped the global equities gong from the NZ schedule “as there were no eligible candidates demonstrating suitable achievement across our award criteria”.
The Morningstar Australian fund research team itself has seen a steady stream of exits over the previous 12 months or so including Justin Walsh and Tim Wong who departed last week.