Morgan Online, 26 January 2012
Last week’s announcement of the sale of Gareth Morgan Investments (GMI) to Kiwibank was big news. But it won’t mean big changes to the way we manage your investments.
While there will be a change of ownership at GMI from 1 April 2012, it will be very much business as usual for our clients and members. Over the medium term, we believe the sale will enable us to deliver an even better level of service.
Gareth Morgan remains a key member of the investment strategy team as well as a major client. The sale will mean that Gareth has more time to devote to investment strategy.
“To be honest I’m relieved to hand over the duties of ownership. My passion remains investment strategy, the standard of client service, and innovation. Now that can be my sole focus at GMI.”
If you’re a member of the Gareth Morgan KiwiSaver Scheme or the GMI Superannuation Scheme:
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Your money stays in the same scheme
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You will receive the same monthly reports
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Your contact and website log in details stay the same
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Your funds will continue to be invested and managed by GMI
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Public Trust will continue to be the trustee for both schemes
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The same fees will apply
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We will strive to maintain the high customer service levels our members have come to expect from us
If you’re a client in the Private Portfolio service, you will continue to get the same personal portfolio management service that GMI has been delivering for more than ten years. There’s no change in our client adviser and investment strategy teams as a result of the sale to Kiwibank.
Your money will still be managed by the same people. It won’t be managed by Kiwibank, or by any other party.
GMI will remain a stand-alone business run by the same people, out of the same premises, using the same websites our clients have become familiar with. Gareth Morgan and Andrew Gawith will continue as executive directors of the businesses.
Kiwibank has “signed up” to the GMI values – this was a very significant feature of the deal and the future of the businesses.
As Gareth has said “If we were selling it needed to be to a party that understood, accepted and was capable of reinforcing the core values of our business: trust and honesty; transparency; respect for clients’ interest; and the continual pursuit of excellence."
Gareth and Andrew will keep their private portfolios managed by GMI and will maintain their KiwiSaver accounts at GMK.
As Gareth has stated publicly “I set up GMI to manage my own money because I couldn’t find anyone with the degree of reporting and accountability that I required to do it for me. There was a major gap in the market on these factors which led to erosion of trust in the industry and consequent attention from regulators.” So long as GMI remains one of the best practice shops in the country his funds will remain right where they are.
For GMI, business as usual also means continual improvement. With the combination of our strong IT and software development skills and Kiwibank’s scale, we anticipate a number of opportunities to expand the range and quality of services that GMI and GMK provide.