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Gareth Morgan (inset) - Source: ONE News
State-owned Kiwibank is buying the investment management company of well-known businessman Gareth Morgan for an undisclosed price.
The bank, which is government-owned through parent company NZ Post, announced the decision this morning and said Morgan himself will remain as a "member of the investment strategy team".
Gareth Morgan Investments, (GMI), has $1.5 billion in funds under management, of which $650 million is KiwiSaver related, on behalf of more than 57,000 clients.
It brands itself on providing "personal and transparent management" of clients' money and promises a "no-nonsense second opinion on your investments" and "brutal honesty".
Kiwibank Chief Executive Paul Brock described the purchase as "a unique opportunity to rapidly grow our wealth and KiwiSaver businesses, while remaining true to the values that have built Kiwibank".
"GMI's core values of trust and honesty, transparency, respect for clients' interests and the continual pursuit of excellence mirror Kiwibank's values of doing what's right, making it easy and raising the bar," he said.
GMI will be run as a standalone company, though Kiwibank has yet to make a decision on whether to keep the branding, reported BusinessDesk.
Morgan is a well-known businessman, author and financial
adviser. He is the father of Trade Me founder Sam Morgan and
recently led a consortium to buy the licence for the Wellington
Phoenix football team which was owned by Terry
Serepisos.
Morgan initiated the sale to Kiwibank, saying the operation had
grown too big for him to oversee, and that he wanted an institution
that would sign up to his firm's own standards of transparency,
including the use of the Global Investment Performance Standards
and avoiding the pooling of investment funds to let clients see
exactly where their money is.
"Institutions are usually quite jealous of protecting the interests
of the firm over and above the interests of consumers," Morgan
said.
Kiwibank, which launched in 2002, has around 800,000 customers and
offers full personal and business banking services but is still
smaller than the "big four" of ANZ-National, ASB, BNZ and
Westpac.
It already offers a KiwiSaver scheme that currently has 15,000 customers. The scheme is currently managed by AMP Capital, except for its Cash Fund, which is directly managed by Kiwibank.
Do you have money invested with Gareth Morgan? How do you feel about Kiwibank buying GMI? Contact ONE News on 0800 886 397 or news@tvnz.co.nz
- With BusinessDesk
