The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation have filled a senior investment post. William Fletcher, formerly of Fisher Funds, becomes head of private equity and alternative investments for the NZ Super Fund, which stands at $93 billion.
At Fisher Funds he managed the global private equity and alternatives portfolio. His earlier employers include Goldman Sachs in New Zealand, J.P.Morgan in the UK and Carlyle AlpInvest in The Netherlands. Eight of his years at Goldman were spent as an Executive Director in investment banking in its Auckland office, and before that he held a series of banking and investment roles in Europe and the UK.
In the new job, Fletcher takes overall responsibility for the fund’s direct private equity holdings. The role also covers its dealings with external managers, who run mandates in a wide range of listed and unlisted securities.
“I am excited to be joining an organisation of the Super Fund’s calibre and helping to realise what is a really important objective for all New Zealanders,” Fletcher said. He described the Guardians’ reputation for excellence as well deserved.
Will Goodwin, co-Chief Investment Officer at the Guardians, said Fletcher’s experience abroad matched the fund’s global investment focus. Goodwin expects it to help the fund build out its broad network of asset managers and investment partners.
Private equity and alternatives currently represent some 13 percent of the fund’s assets under management.
The announcement came a week after the fund said it would commit $35 million to the latest fund run by Movac, a New Zealand technology investor. Earlier in the year, Private Equity International magazine had named the NZ Super Fund its Asia-Pacific Limited Partner of the Year.
