Consulting-go-round up north and down south – Investment News NZ

No less than three asset consulting gigs stay up for grabs amid a renewed bout of exercise within the NZ wholesale funding sector that has seen two selections finalised in latest weeks.

Auckland-based boutique, Makao Investments, picked up one other new consumer final month as employer-based superannuation scheme, NZ Refining Firm, accomplished a “complete tender course of”, in response to the fund’s 2023 annual report.

“The appointment is efficient from 1 September 2023, to permit a seamless transition from the Fund’s earlier advisors, Mercer Funding Consulting,” the NZ Refining report says. “There have been no different adjustments to the service suppliers throughout the yr.”

Nonetheless, the employer scheme has seen a significant shake-up throughout the monetary yr after the Marsden Level refinery switched to an import-only terminal mannequin. Over 40 scheme members have been made redundant because the 60-year refining period ended with greater than half choosing a pay-out.

Publish the restructure, the NZ Refining fund reported only one contributing member and 97 pensioners (both energetic or deferred) whereas belongings underneath administration fell to $44 million from $64.2 million the earlier yr on the again of withdrawals and funding losses of -4.8 per cent.

On the guide hand-over date, scheme managers included ANZ, First Sentier, Harbour, Mercer and Nikko.

Beforehand one of many largest employers in Whangarei, NZ Refining, now renamed Channel Infrastructure NZ, made about 240 of its 300 employees redundant after closing the Marsden Level refinery operations early in 2022.

In one other Northland-based occasion, EriksensGlobal has retained the funding advisory gig with the regional council in a outcome that was by no means actually doubtful.

As reported in July, many consultants baulked on the phrases of reference for the Northland Regional Council tender for its $70 million growth fund, preferring to go on the provide.

Incumbent EriksensGlobal was confirmed as winner in a latest submit on the federal government tender website.

In the meantime, it’s understood an asset consulting determination looms at one other regional council, Waikato, which put out a request for an “impartial guide” to conduct a evaluate of its funding adviser this Could.

The $100 million Waikato Regional Council (WRC) fund is at present suggested by Mercer with underlying managers together with Fisher, First Sentier, Harbour, Mercer (ex Macquarie NZ funds) and Stewart Traders.

Over the 12 month to the top of March 2022 the WRC fund was down about 10 per cent, in response to the Council’s annual report.

Additional south, a lot additional south, the virtually $470 million Central Lakes Belief (CLT) has additionally triggered a guide search, in response to trade sources, with the view to adopting an applied funding answer.

Self-described as “the most important philanthropic belief per capita within the Southern Hemisphere”, CLT providers the sparsely populated however well-heeled central Otago and Queenstown lakes districts.

The has about $305 million invested in a diversified portfolio, suggested by Melville Jessup Weaver, with the rest held in shares of Pioneer Power.

In March this yr, former Otago Neighborhood Belief chief, Barbara Bridger, took the helm at CLT.

And eventually, again up north, the Massey College Basis additionally, reportedly, has the feelers out for an funding adviser.

The $56 million Massey Basis fund, which helps tutorial analysis and scholarships, at present invests in three underlying managers – Continuity Capital (personal markets specialist), Milford and Nikko.

In the course of the 2022 calendar yr, the so-called Massey ‘Endowment Funding Pool’ was down 12 per cent.

“Statistically, the Basis’s investments are anticipated to lose cash about as soon as each six years. The Basis’s fund has really carried out a lot better than that,” the fund’s 2022 report says, citing since-inception (in 2004) annualised returns of 8 per cent.

Whereas funding returns detracted final yr, the Massey Basis was bolstered by donations of virtually $10 million together with a single reward of $1.8 million. In addition to particular person donors, the Massey fund is frequently boosted from university-related actions the place lecturers, and/or departments, share some proceeds from the sale of mental property generated in-house.

Bryan Mogridge, appointed as Basis chair in February final yr, says within the report:

“The Basis has bold plans to have belongings of $100 million by 2027 – the centennial anniversary of Massey. Belongings of this dimension correctly managed ought to permit it to contribute at the least $5 million of earnings again to the college every year.”

A Massey alumni, Mogridge is a seasoned NZ impartial director, identified in monetary providers for his transient flip as chair of the George Kerr-associated Pyne Gould Company.