FirstCape looms as Jarden renames numbers Investment News | Investment News NZ

Jarden has relabelled three numeric stand-in NZ companies following the wealth management merger agreed with the National Australia Bank (NAB) and Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) last month.

Previously known as Jarden One, Two and Three, the space-saving corporate entities have been recast under various wealth and/or asset management titles as a formal restructure looms.

Under the agreement inked mid-December, the NAB-owned NZ wealth businesses JBWere along with the BNZ KiwiSaver and fund house will be lumped in with the local Jarden assets including the advisory arm, Harbour Asset Management and direct-to-consumer outfit, Hatch Invest.

Once implemented, the NAB Australia JBWere business will own 45 per cent of the new entity – to be known as FirstCape – with PEP to hold 35 per cent with Jarden to pick up the remaining 20 per cent stake.

A release at the time said FirstCape would comprise “a combined 113 advisers, NZ$29bn of funds under advice and administration and NZ$15bn of funds under management, including NZ$5bn of KiwiSaver funds under management”.

Collectively, the new venture was valued at about $400 million.

Malcolm Jackson, the Jarden wealth chief set to head FirstCape, appears as sole director of one of the newly renamed companies while sharing governance duties with Sam Ricketts – Jarden NZ co-head – in the other two.

Jackson was also named on the board of the Jarden-FNZ joint venture, Hatch Invest.

FNZ paid about $40 million to buy the direct-to-consumer US share-trading platform, Hatch, from Kiwi Wealth in October 2021 before paying a further $56 million to Jarden the following year to create the Hatch Invest JV.

Ahead of the formal restructure, Jarden has reserved nine FirstCape entity names on the Companies register.

Meanwhile, the other big NZ wealth management merger of late 2023 completed in mid-December with Forsyth Barr assuming control of Hobson Wealth shares.

In the wake of the takeover, Forsyth Barr executives including head, Neil Paviour-Smith, along with Peter Cearns and Ian Hankins joined the Hobson board as four incumbents departed.

Hobson founder, Warren Couillault, and senior investment adviser, Brad Gordon, remain as directors.

It is understood some Hobson roles have been disestablished post the buyout.