UP FRONT | PEOPLE
New CEO for Craigs
Craigs Investment Partners, has appointed a new chief executive.
Two additions at Rival Wealth
Rival’s latest growth phase sees well-known industry figure Barry Read make the move to the company. He will oversee its new Auckland operation from within the ANZ Centre on Albert St. “I have been lucky enough to work with Tim and Carissa in an advisory capacity over the last 10 years watching them successfully grow the business from their HQ in Masterton,” says Read. Fairbrother says as general manager of the Auckland office, Read will be an integral part of Rival’s business development strategy. A large chunk of Read’s time will be dedicated to acquiring and merging adviser practices, along with growing capability to provide advice to Auckland clients.
10 | ASSET 03 | 2021
Simon Tong has been appointed as the company’s new CEO. Tong was previously the chief executive at Paymark and Fairfax NZ and for the last three years has been ASB Bank’s digital, data and brand executive general manager. Tong is also a director at Payments NZ and a former director of The Instillery (formerly Origin IT) and Paymark. ong has a strong background in technology and strategy and is highly regarded as a leader who has driven
Rival Wealth has expanded its business and has appointed a general manager to head up its brand new Auckland office, along with an experienced financial adviser to help grow its operation in the country’s largest city.
Joining Read in Auckland as a financial adviser is Daryl Buckingham, who has worked for more than two decades in the private banking sector for both ANZ and BNZ. “I love the fact that Rival Wealth clients are not just a number,” says Buckingham. “I have found the philosophy and principles of Rival Wealth fit nicely with my own.” “Rival Wealth has a team approach to reviewing their portfolio mix, so Daryl will be a lot more hands-on than he was in his previous role,” says Fairbrother. “Daryl has the expertise and core values that make him a perfect fit with our team. It feels like the stars have aligned and the timing of Daryl joining couldn’t have been better.”
change, performance, and customercentricity at the companies he has worked with. “As Craigs embarks upon the next phase of its growth, the board determined that Simon’s track record and leadership attributes are those characteristics that fit our ambitious objectives,”. Craigs has 600 employees and 173 investment advisers across 19 branches and $25 billion of client funds under management.
Spokesman and co-founder Tim Fairbrother says since opening their doors in 2008, Rival has grown from just three staff to a team of 22, along with opening sister company – Rival Accounting – in 2018, which has six staff. Fairbrother says the introduction of the new financial advice regime on March 15 has highlighted how important it is to have compliant and consistent processes. Fairbrother says as general manager of the Auckland office, Read will be an integral part of Rival's business development strategy. A large chunk of Read's time will be dedicated to acquiring and merging adviser practices, along with growing capability to provide advice to Auckland clients. “With the new regulations that began in March transitional licensing is becoming testing for some,” Fairbrother says. “We have a very clear philosophy about how we give exceptional service to clients rather than seeing people get tipped into a large pot.” “As we offer Discretionary Investment Management Services (DIMS), our process had been thoroughly checked, giving our advisers the ability to focus on putting client relationships first,” he says.
