The $120 million Whai Rawa investment scheme has named Sam Kellar to replace long-time general manager, David Tikao.
Kellar most recently served as PwC senior compliance manager for about 16 months following almost seven years in a similar position at ASB. Prior to ASB he spent about six years with AMP, firstly as an investment specialist in the AdviceFirst group before taking on product development duties in the wider business.
Head of the pioneering iwi-based fund for over a decade, Tikao has shifted across to a new role as investment manager for endowments within the Ngāi Tahu Holdings (NTH) group.
He has been charged with coordinating access to investment opportunities across the 18 Ngāi Tahu regional groups including how “best to free up Right-of-First Refusal government agency assets”, according to a release.
Iwi have first-right-of-refusal to buy certain Crown land assets under Waitangi Tribunal settlement agreements. Ngāi Tahu, for instance, has purchased the former NZ Rail workshops site in Addington as well as land later developed as residential housing in Tumara Park, Linden Grove, Waikākāriki and Heathridge.
“If Ngāi Tahu declines to purchase the land the Crown may place the property on the open market,” Tikao told iwi members in a note. “There is a 9 month window of opportunity during which the Crown can sell the property on terms and conditions that are not more favourable than those offered to Ngāi Tahu.”
As at the end of June last year, Ngāi Tahu reported net assets of about $1.7 billion, mostly held in direct property or business ventures but with more than $280 million invested in a range of private equity funds and listed shares.
Last year the iwi, which covers most of the South Island, pitched in about $140 million as part of the Fidelity Life purchase of the Westpac NZ life insurance business. Post the Westpac deal Ngāi Tahu owns almost a quarter of Fidelity while the NZ Superannuation Fund holds close to half of the life insurer.
Tikao said he would continue to draw on relationships with product partners developed during his Whai Rawa career.
The Whai Rawa fund was established more than 15 years ago as a savings vehicle for iwi members. In 2016 Whai Rawa joined the licensed managed investment scheme universe, the first Māori fund to be regulated under the Financial Markets Conduct Act.
Initially offering members access to a non-unitised conservative fund managed by Mercer, the iwi scheme switched to a sustainable investment approach in 2019 with daily unit pricing – adding growth and balanced options the following year. Mercer picked up the administration duties from Link at the time in addition to its investment management responsibilities across all three funds.
According to the latest fund updates, the conservative fund accounts for just over $71 million of the $120 million scheme total with the growth and balanced options hitting about $31 million and $20 million, respectively, as at the end of this March.
Kellar said in a statement that he was “inspired by the vision and purpose of Whai Rawa and looking forward to continuing its legacy while building upon the great mahi that has already been achieved”.
Whai Rawa, which counts over 31,000 iwi members as clients, is also applying for a full Financial Adviser Provider (FAP) licence.