1A: Transparent disclosure & reporting - how do we help investors compare product fees, investing costs & investment performance? Whose responsibility is it?

Bryan Chapple
Manager, Investment Law, Ministry of Economic Development

Bryan Chapple is currently Manager of the Investment Law team at the Ministry of Economic Development. Prior to that role he managed the secretariat for the Capital Market Development Taskforce and was in the Ministry's Economic Strategy Branch. Bryan trained as an economist and worked at central banks here and in Europe.

Peter Verhaart
AXA Global Investors

Peter Verhaart is responsible for overall investment activities of AXA Global Investors. He chairs the NZ Investment Strategy Committee and also sits on the AXA Australia Investment Management Committee and the ipac Australia Investment Management Committee.

Peter moved to AXA Global Investors having spent eight years with Mercer Investment Consulting where he was most recently Head of Investment Consulting and a member of the senior leadership team.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Science degree in pure mathematics, a Post Graduate Diploma in financial mathematics and a Diploma of Financial Planning. He is a founding member of the New Zealand chapter of the CFA Society. 

1B: Trans-tasman portability & what's new in Case Law

Stephen Ward
Partner, Simpson Grierson

Stephen is head of the firm's corporate and commercial department and a member of the firm's board of management.

He advises corporations and crown entities on all aspects of corporate governance, statutory compliance, companies law, mergers and acquisitions, overseas investment in New Zealand, and related issues. He regularly works with many of the firm's clients on strategic issues and business development initiatives.

Stephen also has more than 20 years' experience establishing, managing, amalgamating, and winding up life and general insurance companies, superannuation schemes, KiwiSaver schemes, and other investment vehicles.

Mike Woodbury
Partner, Chapman Tripp

Mike acts for the trustees and promoters of numerous superannuation and KiwiSaver schemes throughout New Zealand. He has advised on the establishment of a number of KiwiSaver schemes and assisted employer and trustee clients with ongoing KiwiSaver transition issues.

Mike has experience, and a very active interest, in superannuation-related policy development and lobbying and has developed excellent relationships with officials in that capacity. Mike was instrumental in obtaining a prospectus exemption notice for employer-based superannuation schemes in 2004, and in recently obtaining various improvements to the KiwiSaver legislation such as the complying superannuation funds facility.

Mike is a past Chairman of the Association of Superannuation Funds of New Zealand (ASFONZ). He was a member of the government-appointed Savings Products Working Group, which reported to the Minister of Finance in 2004 and whose recommendations led to the KiwiSaver legislation.

1C: Current thoughts on portfolio deisgn - have the rules changed post GFC?  Plus - Inflation & Hedging exposed

Danica Hampton
Director, Currency Overlay, Wholesale Banking, BNZ

As a director in the Currency Overlay Solutions Group at BNZ, Danica is responsible for developing and marketing passive currency hedging services across New Zealand and Australia.

Danica's research background adds specialist insight on managing currency risk in the context of portfolio management. She was BNZ's currency strategist for four years and prior to this spent time at both the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. She holds a Master of Business in Economics and Bachelor in Commerce in Economics and Management.

David Iverson
Head of Portfolio Design, NZ Superannuation Fund

David Iverson is Head of Portfolio Design with New Zealand Superannuation Fund. In this role he is responsible for the team that supports the Fund's strategic asset allocation and various issues concerning the design and building of the Fund's portfolio.

Prior to this David was Director of Institutional Investment Services & Quantitative Research at Goldman Sachs JB Were, responsible for advising equity fund managers and sales of institutional pension products to NZ based institutional funds.

Before that Head of Consulting with Russell Investment Group's Institutional Investment Services division in New Zealand where he was responsible for the investment consulting practice and the provision of consulting services to key public and private sector institutional clients, such as Crown financial institutions, superannuation funds, local councils and charitable trusts.

David was also the Regional Risk Manager with ING Investment Management (Asia-Pacific). In this role he developed and implemented a firm wide risk management framework in several Asia-Pacific offices.

Prior to this David was the Equity and Quantitative Strategist at ABN Amro New Zealand responsible for financial valuation and modelling, equity market analysis, portfolio construction and financial market research.

2A: The changing face of "Retirement? What does retirement mean in 2020 and what does that mean for your super/KiwiSaver scheme, your members & your business model?

Dr. Judith Davey
Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University

Dr. Judith Davey is a Senior Research Associate of the Institute of Policy Studies at Victoria University.  From 2002 to early 2007 Judith was Director of the NZ Institute for Research on Ageing (NZiRA).

Judith is a graduate of London University and did her PhD at Durham University. Before coming to New Zealand, she was also a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge.

Judith's personal focus for research is the ageing of the population and its policy implications. She has researched income, transport and housing issues for older people and has published several papers and reports on home equity release and intergenerational issues. She has an extensive publication record, including academic papers, books and book chapters and commissioned reports and has provided advice to numerous policy-making bodies in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Ian Miller
Head of Wholesale Investments, Tower Institutional Investments

Ian has been involved in financial services since 1987 in New Zealand and heads the institutional investments team at TOWER.  His key accountabilities are asset growth, distribution and client management.

Ian has been a Workplace Saving Councillor for 2 years and has finance and banking qualifications. Ian is married with 2 boys and enjoys boating, diving and cricket coaching.

2B: A practical guide to the Financial Service Providers Act and the Financial Advisers Act.  What do trustees need to know and what must they do to comply?

Mel Hewitson
Senior Manager, FAA Implementation
Securities Commission

Mel joined the Securities Commission in February 2010. She leads a growing team including guidance, operational policy, licensing, monitoring, intelligence and enforcement people who are responsible for building the regulatory regime for financial advisers. Mel joined the Commission from AllianceBernstein where she was their head of NZ institutional relationships for 2.5 years. At AllianceBernstein Mel led the firm's initiative to communicate its responsible investment (ESG) research to Australasian clients.

Prior to AllianceBernstein, Mel was Head of Institutional Distribution at Tower Asset Management and managed the firm's Auckland office. Her earlier career was in London, also in investment management.

Mel is a former Board member and Chair of charitable trust United Way NZ, NZ representative of UNEP Finance Initiatives Australasian SRI Advisory Committee and a current management committee member of Women in Super Inc.

Alasdair McBeth
Partner, DLA Phillips Fox

Alasdair has been a partner at DLA Phillips Fox for 29 years. He leads the Australasian Funds Management and Superannuation team. Alasdair is one of New Zealand's leading funds management and superannuation lawyers, with over 20 years experience practicing in this sector. Alasdair has special expertise in the prudential governance of financial assets, in particular Crown financial assets.

2C: Session for KiwiSaver Providers - offered by the Government Actuary

David Benison
Government Actuary

David Benison qualified as an actuary in England. His actuarial career has covered both life insurance and superannuation experience in UK, France and New Zealand. He became Government Actuary in 2003.

Gavin Quigan
Government Actuary's Office

Gavin Quigan currently works for the Government Actuary, and is the Manager of the Insurance and Superannuation Unit currently located within the Ministry of Economic Development.  Gavin has worked for the Government Actuary since 1994 and his principal responsibilities have been the prudential supervision of superannuation schemes registered under the Superannuation Schemes Act 1989 and more recently KiwiSaver schemes compliance.

Prior to joining the Government Actuary's Office Gavin worked for 13 years in the corporate superannuation administration division of a large Australian based insurance company.  Gavin has experienced first hand the impact of two distinctly different compliance regimes that have applied to corporate superannuation schemes over the last three decades.  Gavin has a BCA in public administration from Victoria University.

3A: Communicating with your staff about workplace savings - where do employers get good quality information and investment advice/assistance for their employees? And, what can/can't an employer (and their employee representatives) do?

Lyn McMorran
President, Institute of Financial Advisers

Lyn is the current President of the IFA and Chair of IFA's Audit Committee, immediate past Chair of the College of Financial Planners, and in 2005/06 was Chair of the Organising Committee for Success Forum 2006.

Lyn has been involved in financial services and the financial advice profession for over 20 years. Her current position is Area Manager Southern for Westpac's Private Bank which involves leading the Private Bank team in the Lower North and South Islands.

Helping to raise the professional standards of financial advice in New Zealand is a particular concern of Lyn's and, in addition to her work with the IFA, she is heavily involved in mentoring and training people who are keen to progress as financial planners and relationship managers. 

Mark Todd
Partner, Bell Gully

Mark's extensive experience includes documenting unit trusts, superannuation schemes and insurance policies and producing disclosure documents for investment products. He advises on all aspects of government and employer-sponsored superannuation schemes, including KiwiSaver, and employee share schemes. He is also experienced in advising on corporate transactions involving the financial services industry.

He is a member of the Legislation Committee of the Investment Savings and Insurance Association.

3B: Superannuation Governance. The proposed changes in KiwiSaver governance and their flow-on effects for other workplace savings trustees

Catriona Grover
Partner, Kensington Swan

Catriona's managed funds expertise includes the design of collective investment vehicles, superannuation schemes and KiwiSaver advising on securities disclosure compliance and related prospectus, investment statement and advertising issues.

She also specialises in life and disability insurance including insurance policy and marketing documentation, adviser arrangements and claims.

Catriona has acted for a number of New Zealand's leading financial services companies, niche providers and new entrants to the market. She has previously spent 6 months seconded to a leading financial services provider where she worked with the in-house legal team providing investment, insurance and distribution advice to the business.

Clynton Hardy
Chairman, Trustee Corporations Association

Clynton has had over thirty years in the trustee industry in both Australia and New Zealand including over fifteen years as a professional Corporate Trustee.

He joined the Trustees Executors Corporate Trust team at the end of 1991 and is responsible for the management of Corporate Trust appointments in the northern region. 

Clynton was appointed Chairman of the Trustee Corporations Association in 2007.

3C: KiwiSaver Assets in 2020 - where will the money be invested and what impacts will there be for NZ economy?

Philip Houghton-Brown
Chief Investment Officer, ING (NZ) Ltd

Philip is responsible for the management and performance of the ING investment team. He is also a member of ING's Senior Management Team. Philip joined ING in 1996 and was responsible for asset allocation, currency and multi-manager research.

Prior to joining ING, he had a background of nine years' experience in the investment industry. From 1991 to 1995, Philip worked at AMP Asset Management in London, where he established the performance analysis team and then became an international equity fund manager. In this role, he shared responsibility for tactical asset allocation, programme trading and derivatives. Philip also spent four years with FPG Research, from 1987 to 1991, where he was responsible for investment manager research.

Philip is a CFA charterholder and a Fellow of the Securities and Investment Institute in the UK. He has completed the UK Securities and Investment Institute, IMRO and NZ Society of Investment Analysts examinations.

Bevan Graham
Chief Economist & Head of Client Relations, AXA Global Investors

Bevan Graham joined AXA Global Investors in June 2008. Bevan has held a number of senior economist positions across both the private and public sectors. He began his career in financial markets at the ANZ Bank before a move to Westpac where be was Chief Economist from 1994 to 2000. In 2000 he became Chief Economic Advisor to the Leader of the Opposition, a position he held until the 2002 election.

Following a period back in financial markets, Bevan became Chief Executive at the Economic Development Association of New Zealand (EDANZ), a position he held until his recent move to AXA Global Investors.