EW appoints new investment advisor

Environment Waikato has appointed investment company Mercer to advise on the long-term strategy, strategic asset allocation and implementation of the council’s $54 million investment fund.

The three-year appointment follows a comprehensive process to identify firms with a proven track record in advising institutional investors on asset allocation and the implementation of their investment strategy.

A council sub-committee comprising finance and audit committee chairman John Fisher, deputy chairman Simon Friar, councillors Frank Healey and Jane Hennebry, along with chief financial officer Mike Garrett managed the process.

From an initial 18 expressions of interest, the sub-committee requested detailed proposals from eight companies. Russell Investments, Environment Waikato’s advisor since 1994, did not submit an expression of interest.

The eight were evaluated against key criteria covering the strength and stability of the business, the knowledge and skills of the people involved, experience in providing investment advice and the quality and sustainability of all aspects of the investment consulting and fund manager selection processes.

The council’s next steps will be to decide on the types of investments it will hold, the proportion of fixed interest to equities, and the fund managers through which the council will invest the fund.