QuayStreet to be unplumbed from Craigs

In a surprise move two years ago NZX, which runs the passive Smart business, acquired active manager QuayStreet from Craigs Investment Partners.

While there were questions whether QuayStreet would remain active, or provide Smart with an enhanced passive product offering, or systematic approach, the decision has been made to keep it as an active manager.

“We’re keeping the active management philosophy,” Smart chief executive Anna Scott says.

The decision makes sense as QuayStreet has been winning awards over the past couple of years.

QuayStreet has been named Morningstar KiwiSaver manager of the year for two years in succession, and more recently it won the INFINZ diversified fund manager award.

INFINZ judges said QuayStreet demonstrated “strong risk-adjusted performance over the previous five calendar years and across diversified growth portfolio.”

Scott says Smart provides the investment infrastructure, customer service and marketing expertise, while QuayStreet has its own identity and investment expertise.

While it is a small investment team, QuayStreet is looking to recruit more investment expertise.

For the past two years Craigs has been providing “transitional services” to NZX, but now NZX plans to bring all those services in house.

“We want to be able to grow QuayStreet,” Scott says.

Craigs has been providing all the client administration for QuayStreet and that will move inhouse to Smart my August 1.

Scott says that will “better able to position ourselves as a brand available outside the Craigs distribution channel.”

It has not been so much of a roadblock for retail firms as it has been for advisers.

She says that for a number of adviser groups wanting to use QuayStreet, they wanted to “know it’s an independent channel” rather than a Craigs one.

“They don’t want to be using a competitor’s pipes,” QuayStreet Australasia equities Xavier Waterstone says.

Scott says QuayStreet wants to grow in the independent financial advice market and is fielding calls, but the Craigs connection is a roadblock.

Most KiwiSaver advisers have a panel of three or four providers in separate niches. She wants QuayStreet to be one of these niches as a competitive active manager.