Pie Funds has begun the hunt for a chief operating officer (COO) to replace the outgoing incumbent, Paul Gregory.
Gregory will begin a second stint at the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) this November in the newly created senior ranking investment director role.
According to the Pie recruitment campaign, the COO “is very much the 2IC in the business with a focus on operationalising strategy”.
“In this regard, the role is accountable for ensuring that Pie Funds has best practice process and governance throughout the organisation. This requires a person who can be a conduit between business units and functions, hands-on and high-energy in approach,” the Pie ad says.
“…Personal characteristics and style will be critical in the success of this role. It will suit people who are established senior leaders able to operate at pace and communicate effectively at different levels of detail.”
Pie has engaged Kerridge & Partners to handle the COO job search. Kerridge also recruits on behalf of the NZ Superannuation (NZS), which currently has eight mainly mid-level vacancies.
And last week the NZS named Australian institutional investment identity, Rosemary Vilgan, as its latest board member.
Vilgan, currently chair of the approximately A$13 billion Commonwealth Bank of Australia Staff Superannuation Fund (among other roles), replaces long-time NZS Guardians board member, Stephen Moir.
She headed the giant Queensland government public sector superannuation fund, QSuper, for about 17 years ending late in 2015, establishing a reputation that saw her named a life member of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).
In a statement, Vilgan said: “My background is in supporting large institutional investors as they go through periods of change and I will be drawing on that experience to ensure the Guardians is set up to take advantage of the opportunities in front of it.”
Moir has served on the NZS board since 2009, joining in the same year as current chair, Catherine Savage. Savage is due to end her 12-year term as a Guardian next March.
Aside from Savage, the current batch of NZS Guardians have all joined within the last four or five years, comprising: John Williamson, Doug Pearce, Simon Botherway, Henk Berkman and Catherine Drayton. Guardians are normally appointed for up to five years but can serve further terms.
For the 12 months to June 30 this year the NZS returned 1.73 per cent, underperforming its passive reference portfolio by more than 2 per cent, according to results published last week.
Since inception in 2003, the now $47 billion plus sovereign wealth fund has returned 9.63 per cent after costs (but before tax), still a generous margin above the reference portfolio (8.42 per cent) – albeit that the gap has narrowed slightly year-on-year.
A NZS release said the COVID-19 crisis and ensuing market volatility had affected returns for the latest annual period. However, the fund had ‘leaned into’ the pandemonium, the statement says
“The Fund added significantly to its equity and credit positions as markets fell, and has progressively reduced those positions as markets have recovered,” the NZS says.
Meanwhile, AMP Capital NZ has promoted Supriya Edwards to fixed income analyst, partly filling the gap left by the departure of long-time portfolio manager, Warren Potter, in July.
Potter joined the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) fund in the newly established role of global futures portfolio manager.
Edwards, who has spent 14 years in financial services, joined the Wellington-based AMP Capital in 2014 as an investment performance analyst.
Vicky Hyde-Smith, AMP Capital NZ head of fixed income, said in a statement: “Filling this position with someone of her background and skills is key to ensuring the New Zealand Fixed Income team continues to deliver strong performance outcomes.”
As well as Hyde-Smith, the senior AMP Capital NZ fixed income team includes portfolio managers Tim Mowbray and Carrick Lucas.
In another gap-filling move last week, the mostly passive KiwiSaver and investment firm, Simplicity, named founder of food charity Eat My Lunch, Lisa King, as consulting brand director.
King fills a spot left vacant by Amanda Morrall, who departed Simplicity in June to take up a marketing role with rival KiwiSaver scheme, the Pathfinder-backed CareSaver.
Simplicity has more than $2 billion under management, largely in the KiwiSaver scheme, on behalf of 47,000 plus members.