Donna Mason has been appointed to the newly created role of chief customer officer at the NZX-owned funds management firm, Smartshares.
Mason joined Smartshares in 2020 as head of client development after a 12-year stint at AMP NZ wealth in various adviser support and corporate superannuation roles.
She led the group’s winning bid for KiwiSaver default status last year and its purchase of the ASB Superannuation Master Trust, according to a release.
With an annual fee of just 0.2 per cent, the Smartshares default KiwiSaver fund is the lowest-cost by far in the market. The manager completed its $25 million buyout of the $1.8 billion ASB master trust this February, bringing the Smartshares corporate super assets under management to over $3 billion. However, the two schemes continue to operate separately for now.
As chief customer officer, Mason takes on responsibility “for the growth and customer experience of all Smartshares’ investors across the Smartshares and SuperLife brands and across all customer segments – institutional, corporate and sponsored, and retail”, the release says.
“A key part of the challenge is to introduce end-to-end ‘client journeys’ allowing Smartshares to better support our customers’ financial wellbeing through all the meaningful events of their life.”
In June the manager revamped its operations leadership following the departure of chief operating officer (COO), Helen McDowall, for a new head of investments role at the Medical Assurance Society. Smartshares has since disestablished the COO role.
As at July 31, Smartshares reported almost $8 billion in assets under management, benefitting from the bounce in share markets in the month after slumping to about $7.5 billion the previous month.
Meanwhile, Russell Investments global chief, Michelle Seitz, turned in her resignation last week with plans to step down by the end of the year.
In a statement, Russell says it has “hired a leading recruitment firm to assist with the search for a successor, prioritizing growth and delivering on the firm’s strategy and vision”.
Seitz replaced Len Brennan as Russell chief in 2017, moving to the Seattle-based multi-manager and consulting firm after serving 16 years as head of William Blair Investment Management.
During her tenure the firm embarked on a corporate restructure (triggering significant staff changes across global locations) while also inking a landmark deal with private asset specialist, Hamilton Lane, last year.
“Collectively, the Russell Investments team has achieved new records of success, transformed the company into a powerful ‘One Russell Investments’ global platform, and, most importantly, enhanced the value proposition to our clients,” she said in the release. “The company is well positioned to deliver continued long-term growth in partnership with TA Associates and Reverence Capital Partners.”
TA Associates (also part owner of Fisher Funds and BetaShares) and Reverence bought Russell from the London Stock Exchange in 2016 for over US$1 billion.
Todd Crockett, TA managing director, said: “We look forward to continuing to partner with Russell Investments’ talented management team and maintaining momentum in the execution of its business strategy.”
Along with the slated exit of Seitz, Kate El-Hillow, Russell global chief investment officer, has also taken on the co-president title, sharing the role with Kevin Klingert. Both El-Hillow and Klingert joined Russell last year, arriving from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, respectively.
Pete Gunning, Russell Australia veteran and former global chief investment officer, was named vice chair and strategic relationships officer at the same time in 2021.
Russell reported about US$330 billion of funds under management and US$1.2 trillion of assets ‘under advisement’ as at the end of March this year.