The release of the Guardians’ Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2025 is an opportunity to review the events of the past 12 months and to consider what we have done and continue to do to prepare for the years ahead. 

Future focused is one of the Guardians’ enduring organisational values. During the past 12 months, we have put a lot of work into assessing our structures, our policies, and our processes to ensure they are appropriate for our current requirements and well-suited to the challenges and opportunities that will come our way as the Fund continues to grow.  

Visible outcomes of this work include the appointment of Paula Steed as the Fund’s first Chief Operating Officer, and the appointment of two co-Chief Investment Officers, Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin. In the Investment section of this year’s report, Brad and Will talk about the reasons behind this change and how they see it benefiting the Fund’s future growth and development. 

It is a challenge to make the case for change in an organisation that is performing as well as the Guardians has been. 

For the year to 30 June, the Fund generated a pre-tax return of 11.84 percent after costs, beating our two key benchmarks, the 90-Day Treasury bill rate (a proxy for the government’s cost of capital) and the return for the Reference Portfolio (a notional portfolio of passive investments suited to the Fund’s risk profile). 

Over the past 20 years, the Fund has generated annualised returns of 9.92 percent per annum: in dollar terms, it has during that time earned $56.87 billion more than the return on 90-Day Treasury bills and $19.89 billion more than would have been generated by the Reference Portfolio. 

These are excellent results, and the Fund continues to be recognised by many as one of the world’s best. However, the world of investing is constantly changing: we need to anticipate what is coming our way and be willing to adapt accordingly, rather than waiting and reacting to change after the fact.  

Treasury currently forecasts that the Fund will double in size within the next 15 years: we need to ensure we can scale up our operations efficiently and effectively. 

Focusing on the future is part and parcel of being a long-term investor, and essential if we are to properly meet our mandate.  

Long-term sustainable investment also entails considering the impact of our activities on the environment and on society. A sustainable investment approach to managing the Fund aligns with our intergenerational mandate.  

For the first time, this year’s Annual Report includes the value of our impact investments – at 30 June, they made up approximately 3.2 percent of assets under management, or $2.7 billion. 

A lot of work has gone into developing the processes necessary for us to properly integrate impact investment across our opportunity set. As this work continues, we hope to grow the proportion of investments that satisfy our investment criteria and also deliver a positive, measurable, social or environmental impact. 

More information on our approach to sustainable investment can be found in our 2025 Climate Change  Report and 2025 Stewardship Report, both of which are now available on our website. 

This has been my first full year as Guardians CEO. I am very proud to be part of this highly successful organisation and confident we remain focused on achieving our purpose, Sustainable investment delivering strong returns to all New Zealanders. 

Jo Townsend
CEO, Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation

The Guardians' 2025 Annual Report, along with this year's Climate Change and Stewardship Reports, is available here

For more information, contact John Redwood on 0212 509 657