Veteran ANZ funds business development manager, Mary Potter, is to leave the $30 billion firm to take up a new career as a financial adviser.
Potter has worked with ANZ or predecessor brands – Armstrong Jones, ING and OnePath – since 1999, building a high profile among financial advisory groups.
In a note to clients, ANZ funds head of distribution, Trisha Edmonds, said: “This is a significant end of an era not only for Mary, but certainly mixed emotions for her colleagues, peers and undoubtedly the New Zealand advisory community.
“Mary has been a key figure across the financial services industry, leading by example, and ably showcasing ANZ’s range of products and solutions in both the KiwiSaver and Managed funds space with the New Zealand consumer always being top of mind.”
Potter will officially end her 25-year stint with the storied local funds management business on June 28 to join an advisory firm – understood to be Milestone – in Hamilton as a financial adviser.
“… our loss is the gain of those New Zealanders seeking professional and quality financial advice,” Edmonds said.
The ANZ funds house has been through a few changes of late including a move announced earlier this month to exit the wholesale investment business.
Elsewhere, Vanguard has recruited a chief externally for the first time by naming former BlackRock senior executive, Salim Ramji, to replace incumbent, Tim Buckley, by year-end.
Buckley gave notice in March to call time on his 33-year career at the-now US$9 trillion passive fund pioneer including the last six years as CEO.
He was the fourth Vanguard chief including founder, Jack Bogle (who resigned in 1999) – all of whom served as long-time employees at the indexing behemoth.
Incoming Vanguard chief, Ramji, ended his 10-year career at BlackRock this January following a top-level clear-out as the firm restructured its business lines. He was global head of iShares (ETF brand) and index investments.
Ramji joined BlackRock in 2014 as global head of corporate strategy after advising the firm in his previous consulting role with McKinsey & Company.
In a statement, Vanguard lead independent director, Mark Loughridge, said Ramji would “strengthen and expand our mission and purpose, driven by serving the interests of individual investors”.
“Vanguard’s distinctive structure and culture have helped tens of millions of our investor-owners plan for their future and families,” he said. “We have significant opportunities for growth ahead, including how technology and the client experience can drive solutions and extend the benefits of wealth management to more investors.”
The firm is the second-largest fund manager in the world behind BlackRock, which reported almost US$10.5 trillion under management at the end of March.
Vanguard previously managed about $10 billion for NZ large investors, including several KiwiSaver providers, until 2020 when it exited the institutional market in Australasia.
However, investors can still access Vanguard via exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – either listed offshore or as underlying manager for several Smartshares products – or unlisted pooled funds.
The brand has a strong retail following in NZ on direct-to-consumer platforms such as InvestNow, which recently reported more than $150 million under management in four portfolio investment entity funds backed by Vanguard ETFs.
