Staff influx plugs holes in ANZ funds house | Investment News NZ

ANZ Investments has largely filled a swag of staff vacancies with about a dozen hires across its funds management and operations staff of late including the appointment of the former QuayStreet head of fixed interest, Roy Cross.

However, Cross has switched codes in his role as ANZ senior equities analyst, reporting to newly promoted head of equities, Max Lesser, who has responsibility for the Australasian shares fund, according to a bank spokesperson.

Lesser, who joined ANZ in 2018 as a portfolio manager, took up the top equities job created following the resignations of head of Australasian equities, Craig Brown, and Alan Clarke, co-head of diversified portfolio management, last year.

As reported earlier this year, several other senior investment and operations staff left after Brown and Clarke – both ANZ veterans – departed the $35 billion bank-owned funds management group.

Following the internal makeover, Andrew Mortimer has also been bumped up from a senior analyst role to portfolio manager of the ANZ wholesale share fund and private bank portfolios

Meanwhile, Francois de Cannart has joined as senior equities analyst on the Australasian Properties Fund run by long-time ANZ investment manager, Craig Tyson.

Prior to taking on the ANZ position, de Cannart served as managing director of the London-based real estate investment firm, Round Hill Capital, from 2018 until last October. He previously worked for the UK arms of Jefferies and J P Morgan in investment roles.

Another UK import, David Otero-Lambert, has assumed the head of investment analytics and compliance job, reporting to CIO, Paul Huxford.

Otero-Lambert was most recently head of portfolio management and risk reporting for J Rothschild Capital Management ending an almost 14-year stint with the storied UK firm this year before accepting a consultancy gig at ANZ this March – now morphed into the full-time position.

All told the ANZ investment business has restocked about 12 roles this year with the head of external managers and partnerships the only remaining senior vacancy, the spokesperson said.

ANZ is the largest non-government retail funds operation in NZ with about $35 billion under management including close to $20 billion held via its three KiwiSaver schemes.

Reportedly, the ANZ funds arm, headed by Fiona Mackenzie, is also considering a move to outsource its investment administration.