Wealth management firm, Jarden, has trimmed its NZ team with head of markets, David Fear, among the casualties, according to industry sources.
Fear joined Jarden in 2009 from Citigroup NZ where he was head of equities.
It is understood the investment banking and wealth business also reduced staff numbers in NZ across various divisions.
Jarden has seen some changes at the top of late including the surprise exit in March of veteran chief executive officer, James Lee, who led the group’s ambitious expansion into the Australian investment banking sector.
Jennifer McGowan, head of Jarden Direct in NZ, also left in March.
The Australian Financial Review reported in April that Jarden had made a number of senior employees redundant.
Meanwhile, long-standing MAS head of sales, David Chote, has left the business amid other staff changes at the medical-based insurance and investment house.
At least two other senior employees have departed as MAS (formerly, and formally, known as Medical Assurance Society) readies for change under recently appointed chief, Jason McCracken.
Prior to joining MAS in 2015, Chote spent more than 10 years with AMP-related companies in NZ including almost 8 years as head of distribution of the wealth arm and close to 18 months in a similar job for AMP Capital.
McCracken took over this March from incumbent MAS head, Martin Stokes, who had led the group for the previous 20 years.
Before MAS he held various senior risk management roles in groups such as IAG, Suncorp as well as an almost five-year stint at ANZ NZ ending up as head of investment and insurance risk for the bank’s wealth division.
However, McCracken was also chief of the Switzerland-based International Hockey Federation for more than a year starting in 2017 with another sports-related gap as a ski instructor at Cardrona immediately prior to assuming the MAS job.
MAS is a mutual that specialises in supplying financial services to the medical and related sectors with an investment book of more than $2 billion across its KiwiSaver, superannuation and insurance funds.
The group changed its now $1 billion plus KiwiSaver fund from a restricted scheme to a full retail offering in 2021.
Last year MAS hired Helen MacDowall as head of investments and business development while it is currently recruiting for a head of investments.
Also last week, Public Trust confirmed former Financial Markets Authority (FMA) head of investments, Nick Combs, would join the government-owned organisation in a senior portfolio management role.
As reported earlier this month, Combs left the FMA following an eight-year career with the regulator.
He helped develop the ‘value-for-money’ guidelines currently seeping through the retail funds management sector among other achievements after taking on the head of investments position in 2021.
The US-born Combs has wide experience in the financial and other sectors including stints at Fidelity Investments, Eaton Vance, Babson Capital and Columbus Nova Credit Investments before moving to NZ.
Amanda Livingstone, Public Trust, general manager investments, said in a statement: “We are delighted to welcome Nick. He brings broad experience across multiple asset classes and deep knowledge of structured finance analytics, here and offshore. Nick’s background, coupled with his strong sense of stewardship align well with our commitment to careful management of our fiduciaries’ funds.”
Public Trust manages about $1.2 billion in investment funds on behalf of estates, charities and the student ‘fee protect’ service. Recently, the Public Trust investments completed a transition to the revamped NZX Wealth Technologies platform.