Public Trust has picked up AMP NZ as a supervisory client, replacing incumbent Guardian Trust in licensed trustee duties for the circa $11 billion wealth management firm.
In what is likely the largest supervisor swap-out of the Financial Markets Conduct Act era, if not forever, Public Trust was slated to take over the AMP oversight role at the beginning of this month, according to disclosure documents.
“During the period, the Manager decided to appoint Public Trust to act as Supervisor for the Scheme,” the AMP KiwiSaver annual accounts note. “The change is anticipated to be effective from 1 August 2024.”
The trustee transition applies across all remaining AMP NZ fund vehicles including the $6.6 billion KiwiSaver scheme and the NZ Retirement Trust (NZRT), which manages about $3.6 billion of employer superannuation money.
AMP NZ recorded $11.1 billion in retail assets under management at the end of March, figures from Plan for Life show, spanning the KiwiSaver, NZRT and other investment funds.
The manager paid about $730,000 in KiwiSaver supervisor fees to Guardian during the 12 months to March 31: NZRT, which has a different reporting period, cost AMP almost $390,000 for supervisory services to the end of June last year.
AMP declined to comment.
Managers are typically reluctant to change supervisors – or service providers, generally – given the transition hassles but the AMP move is not unprecedented.
For instance, in its original incarnation as Gareth Morgan Investments, Kiwi Wealth (now part of Fisher Funds) moved supervisory duties from Perpetual Trustees to Public Trust in 2009; and in 2019 Harbour shifted to Guardian from Trustees Executors.
The AMP switch to Public Trust, however, is the largest such deal: Harbour managed about $4.5 billion at the time while the Gareth Morgan pool was under $1 billion.
After winning the AMP business, Public Trust now oversees about $50 billion of KiwiSaver money – or just under half the market by assets under management – on behalf of 14 schemes.
Meanwhile, AMP is yet to confirm a replacement underlying manager for the almost $800 million currently invested via ANZ wholesale funds in its KiwiSaver and NZRT products.
ANZ gave notice earlier this year to all wholesale clients with an August 31 deadline to find new solutions.
However, while it is understood most ANZ wholesale clients have already, or will have to, shift such funds before the cut-off date, AMP might require more time.
“AMP is currently considering options available, in the best interest of investors in the ANZ funds, and will work with ANZ to establish a plan for transition in the ANZ wholesale funds, which may extend the transition past 31 August 2024,” disclosure documents state. “AMP will communicate to investors after a decision has been made.”