Pie Funds has cut seven staff across the group and reshuffled several more following a review.
The move has seen the Auckland-headquartered Pie lose one employee apiece from its wealth, client services and investments divisions while a number of others have been relabeled.
Meanwhile, Pie has slimmed down further staff from its Juno KiwiSaver scheme, which will revert to its original digital-only model. The manager will also stop publishing the quarterly Juno magazine, which may continue under another owner.
Following the reshuffle, Paul Gregory, previously head of investments, formally takes on the chief operating officer (COO) role. Gregory took over as interim COO this April after incumbent, Lance Jones, resigned. However, Jones remains on the Pie board.
Pie’s investment team has reduced from 12 to nine post the restructure with Gregory and investment operations analyst, Bianca Fledderus reassigned to the operations unit. Fledderus retains a dual portfolio management title, though. But the team has shed one assistant investment analyst.
Elsewhere, financial adviser, Rob Glasgow, departs leaving a Pie wealth team of four while head of events, Tanja Ritson, exits the firm’s client services division. Pie rejigged a number of other roles seeing staff shift between teams.
Gregory said Pie began the review last December with the COVID-19 crisis slightly “complicating” the process.
He said the restructure would see Pie’s investment, wealth and KiwiSaver units working more closely together under a streamlined and refocused business.
Pie has been in growth mode over the last couple of years, adding Juno and the wealth arm to complement its core funds management business as well as opening a satellite office in Havelock North.
Last January the firm abandoned a bid to raise up to $75 million of equity capital to bolster ongoing growth plans. Pie, which started life as a small cap specialist, abolished its performance fees, effective April 1 last year.
Juno has also been through some changes in its short life to date with co-founder, Jacqueline Taylor, leaving the business last March.
As at the end of May, Pie reported funds under management of just under $1 billion, split between almost $840 million in its unit trusts (net of cross-holdings) and close to $150 million in Juno.
The glossy Juno magazine, which pulled in revenue of about $240,000 over the 2019 financial year, had a book value of $35,000, according to Pie accounts.