ASB Bank’s new chief investment officer Frank Jasper wants to take advantage of the bank’s size as the country’s second-biggest KiwiSaver manager to help more Kiwis make better investment decisions.
One of his priorities in taking on the role is to empower people when it comes to their investments, which he says is a big part of his responsibilities. In a large organisation like ASB, which manages $18.17 billion of KiwiSavers’ money, there’s a real opportunity to advance that goal, he said.
“Where I can make a contribution is if I can help Kiwis make better investment decisions,” he said. “I’m an asset manager and I’ve done it for a long time.”
Jasper is a known quantity in financial markets. He was chief investment officer at Fisher Funds from 2017 before his departure in 2021. He'd been a portfolio manager at the firm when he joined it in 2005 during one of founder Carmel Fisher’s expansion drives, when she bought Coronet Asset Management to expand Fisher's offering to cover Australian shares.
ASB has tended to outperform the other big four banks across its KiwiSaver returns over the past 10 years, though they still tend to lag behind the top specialist fund managers.
Stacking up the numbers
Its conservative fund was the sixth best performer over 10 years in the latest Morningstar survey with a 3.8% annual return, while its moderate fund was the third best with a 4.8% annual return. The balanced fund’s 6.5% annual return and its growth fund’s 7.7% annual return were the fifth best performers in their respective categories over 10 years.
ASB signed up to a strategic partnership with global investment powerhouse BlackRock in 2021, helping the bank manage its asset allocation and currency decision across all investment products.
Jasper said the BlackRock relationship is an interesting one, and much broader than the global investment house simply writing product for the bank.
“It’s an IP engine. We get access to real expertise in building portfolios,” he said.
Developing that relationship is another key focus for Jasper in the new role as he tries to work out where the bank wants to be in the KiwiSaver space and how it builds portfolios that deliver better returns.
“The world is always changing and the way you manage money has to be dynamic,” he said. “Over time, ASB’s investment approach will continue to change and adapt to the environment we’re in.”
That will include considering what it means for where ASB’s approach is active, which is around asset allocations, and where it’s more passive, such as in stock selections.
The welcome mat
Emma-Jayne Liddy, ASB general manager of wealth, welcomed Jasper to the team, noting he’d already been on the bank’s investment committee since 2022.
“With a volatile market, the recent changes to KiwiSaver announced by the government, and an uncertain geopolitical environment, it’s important for our clients and all New Zealanders to have confidence in their investments,” Liddy said in a statement. “We have a big role to play here and we’re looking forward to Frank’s leadership and expertise to help set the business up to deliver on its ambition.”
Jasper said the latest bout of volatility in financial markets was a good reminder about needing to find megatrends in building a long-term portfolio where there’s a structural tailwind over the next three, five or 10 years.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Yucel Moran on Unsplash.
Disclosure: Paul McBeth has been an ASB banking customer since 2016. His KiwiSaver is with Milford Asset Management.