Gamekeeper turned poacher: Botherway returns to funds management

Having helped reshape the regulatory landscape Simon Botherway is now looking forward to playing in it himself when he takes up a new role as general manager of investment for ANZ Wealth in May.

Mr Botherway returns to the funds management industry after a three-year period as a company director and more recently as a member of the Securities Commission and chairman of the establishment board of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

ANZ announced his appointment this morning.

Mr Botherway will step down as a director at Fisher and Paykel Appliances at the end of next month, and from his roles at the FMA and the Securities Commission when the new regulator starts up.

At ANZ Wealth he will oversee investment strategy for wholesale and retail funds across the bank’s businesses, responsible for more than $12 billion in funds under management.

Mr Botherway said he was excited by the new challenge.

“My personal desire is to see improved outcomes for capital market participants in New Zealand, both for investors and issuers and through role of the FMA establishment board I feel I’ve been privileged to contribute to change in that regulatory space,” he said at a media briefing earlier today.

“This role at ANZ provides me with a new challenge and opportunity to participate on behalf of investors on what I think will be a new and exciting area for capital markets in New Zealand.”

Known as sharemarket activist during his time at boutique fund manager Brook Asset Management, Mr Botherway made consistent headlines in the early to mid 2000s in fighting for stronger investor rights.

Resistance to Ironbridge Capital's takeover bid for CanWest MediaWorks, for example, eventually achieved a healthy premium for his company's stake against what other shareholders were paid.

Whether he continued that sort of activist style at the much bigger bank remains to be seen.

“I think I’ll be operating in more or less the same sort of way but what I would say is that ANZ has a very capable internal investment management team and I wont be looking to interfere with that,” he said.

“My approach is to understand the business in detail and depth before making any decisions or recommendations as to how things could be done better but I’m sure that will come in due course.”

Mr Botherway indicated that it was a good time to be involved in funds management.

“My view is that over the next 20-25 years you are going to see a generational shift away from debt accumulation to investment accumulation. 

“That’s at least partly because I think there is a growing recognition that people will have to provide for themselves in retirement.

“I do think we are now well positioned in a global sense to have a sound regulatory structure that is beneficial to both investors and issuers and that will result in improving investor confidence over time.”

ANZ Wealth managing director John Body said Mr Botherway's involvement in the restructuring of the regulation of capital markets would benefit the bank.

“We will be looking to build off the opportunities of the new landscape.”