The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, a sovereign wealth fund with around NZ$89.7 billion (US$52.72 billion) of assets, has promoted Brendon Jones to head of real assets.
Jones joined the Guardians in 2014 as an analyst in the New Zealand direct investment team. Last year, he was named as director of real assets.
NZ Super announced his promotion in a statement on March 3, saying that he has been key in some of the wealth fund’s most significant investments, including fruit and vegetable marketer NZ Gourmet and insurer Fidelity Life.
The fund owns a 27% stake in NZ Gourmet and 41% in Fidelity Life.
According to Will Goodwin, co-chief investment officer of the Guardians, real assets account for around 15% of the wealth fund’s total value and “presents significant opportunities for future growth”, citing domestic infrastructure as an example.
