Māori values-based Australasian equities manager, Tahito, has landed an out-of-the-blue mandate from a US philanthropic fund.
The US$500 million Christensen Fund, which backs indigenous people causes around the world, awarded Tahito an undisclosed allocation via implemented consulting service, Global Endowment Management (GEM).
Following a prompt from the Christensen group, GEM “managed to locate” Tahito, according to a release.
Tahito founder, Temuera Hall, said the “amount invested is confidential under the client agreement so unfortunately something we cannot disclose, but we can say they are one of our top 10 clients by funds under management”.
“What is note-worthy to us is the interest in our indigenous Māori Kaupapa fund from a sizeable international philanthropic fund and a global endowment manager,” Hall said.
Originally from Utah, husband-and-wife team Allen and Carmen Christensen established their eponymous charitable fund in 1957 to collect and loan indigenous art before changing to its current focus on native peoples and biodiversity.
Launched in 2007 by former portfolio managers at the North Carolina Duke University endowment fund as an ‘outsourced chief investment officer’ business, GEM reports about US$11 billion under management.
According to the latest Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) survey, the Tahito fund managed $24 million as at the end of March. Over the three years to the end of March, the niche Australasian equities strategy returned 5.7 per cent against 6.1 per cent for the median manager, the MJW report shows.
Hall founded Tahito in 2019 as a wholesale fund under the banner of the Investment Services Group (ISG) manager, Clarity, later developing into a standalone retail brand in the stable that also includes Devon, JMI Wealth and Select Wealth Management.
Meanwhile, the Financial Services Council (FSC), has named Haydee Stroud as interim chief as long-time incumbent, Richard Klipin, steps down.
Stroud joined the FSC in 2017 as head of member services.
Rob Flannagan, who recently extended his stint as FSC chair, said in a statement: “Haydee has played a key part in the FSC’s growth and success over the last seven years, and holds a wealth of knowledge and experience in the FSC’s ecosystem, operations and vision.
“We are confident that Haydee will lead the FSC with stable hands and sustain the momentum the FSC has built in 2024 whilst the Board continues recruitment for a CEO.”
She will take up the role on May 8 with a farewell shindig for Klipin planned this week ahead of his return to Australia.
Also last week, both ASB and Booster picked up investment-related gongs in the Canstar ‘Innovation Excellence Awards’.
Canstar named ASB a category winner for its KiwiSaver digital advice tool while anointing Booster for the boutique’s new ‘Savvy’ cash-like product.
“ASB integrated the provision of advice into their projections tool to make it more accessible and tailored to an individual’s needs,” a Canstar release says. “The judges noted ASB’s proactive and original approach to this financial worry for Kiwis.”
Booster rolled out the Savvy service late last year to offer bank-style transaction services and interest-bearing accounts framed around a cash managed fund.
“The judges found Savvy to be particularly unique with considerable ‘wow’ due to its outside-the-box approach to money management.”