Kia ora, 

I was pleased to be appointed as Guardians’ Chief Executive Officer in April this year. I have enjoyed getting to know the Guardians team, as well as meeting many of our business partners and key Government stakeholders. I look forward to meeting more of our stakeholders in the months ahead.  

The New Zealand Super Fund is rated amongst the top performing funds in the world, not just for its financial returns but also for its approach to governance and sustainability.  

At 30 June, the Fund was worth a record 76 billion dollars - up from 65 billion a year earlier – and delivered an outstanding return of 14.9% for the year. 

As was the case in the prior year, this year’s strong result was largely driven by the Fund’s investments in global equity markets, both passive and active.  

The Fund as a whole returned just less than our passive Reference Portfolio benchmark, which returned 15.1%. 

Our active investment strategies, which are suited to our long-term horizon, have added significant value over the lifetime of the Fund. Since the Fund began investing, our active investment approach has generated 17 billion dollars more than a passive approach would have done on its own. 

We continue to take a long-term view and remain confident that the Fund is well positioned to take advantage of market dislocations. 

This year we introduced a new organisational strategy, Guardians of the Future, which will guide our work in the years to come. Under this strategy we now focus our efforts in four areas: Strengthen our investment approach; Optimise our organisation; Maximise our team and culture’s potential; and Enhance our external presence.  

The initiatives we work on under this strategy will help us meet an important challenge: how we will scale and optimise the organisation given the Fund is projected to double in size over the next 10 to 12 years. In particular, the Guardians is focused on how we can make these necessary adaptations without losing the organisational culture that has made us both successful and a place where great people want to be. 

The recommendations arising from our five-yearly independent review will also inform our future direction. It was encouraging to see that many of the report’s recommended actions matched the initiatives we are already working on and the focus areas laid out in our strategic framework.  

I am incredibly proud to be a member of this team. I look forward to contributing to further success on behalf of all New Zealanders.