Guardians appoints new Head of Private Equity & Alternatives

The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, manager of the $93 billion NZ Super Fund, has appointed William Fletcher to the role of Head of Private Equity & Alternative Investments. 

Fletcher joins the Guardians from Fisher Funds, where he managed the global private equity and alternatives portfolio. His previous roles include Goldman Sachs in New Zealand, J.P.Morgan in the UK and Carlyle AlpInvest in The Netherlands. 

Prior to that, he spent eight years as an Executive Director in Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs' Auckland office, having previously held a range of banking and investment roles in Europe and the UK. 

In his new role, Fletcher will have overall responsibility for the Super Fund’s direct private equity investments and its relationships with external investment managers who hold investment mandates covering a broad range of listed and unlisted securities. 

Fletcher said the Guardians had a well-deserved reputation for excellence, and he was very much looking forward to joining the investment team. 

“I am excited to be joining an organisation of the Super Fund’s calibre and helping to realise what is a really important objective for all New Zealanders,” Fletcher said. 

Fletcher’s appointment follows the Super Fund’s announcement last week that it would commit $35 million to local technology investor Movac’s latest fund. 

Investments in private equity and alternatives currently account for some 13 percent of the Super Fund’s total assets under management. 

Guardians co-Chief Investment Officer Will Goodwin said Fletcher’s international experience matched the Super Fund’s global investment focus and would help the Super Fund further develop its broad network of asset managers and investment partners. 

Earlier this year, Private Equity International magazine named the Super Fund its Asia-Pacific Limited Partner of the Year.