JBWere rides crest of tech wave

Craig Patrick says the intergenerational transfer of funds increases the importance of technology. Photo / Jason Dorday

Staying on the cusp of change a key focus for wealth management firm JBWere.

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in the finance industry as capital transfers from one generation to the next, says JBWere New Zealand head Craig Patrick.

He said staying on the cusp of technological change, particularly around how investment information is shared with clients, was a key focus for the wealth management firm, whose Australian parent is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.

Patrick said the intergenerational transfer of funds increased the importance of technology.

"You're going to have this period of time where clients and people who inherit the funds are going to have different expectations on how things are delivered ... you've got apps and other disruptive technologies," he said. "We can't sit still - we've got to keep adding value."

He said providing discretionary investment management services (DIMs) was another growth area for JBWere in New Zealand.

DIMs allow financial advisers to make investment decisions on behalf of clients.

"The DIMs area will continue to grow for us as well as the core private wealth management."

While managed funds are becoming increasingly popular, Patrick said many investors still preferred to take a more direct approach to investment through constructing their own portfolios.

"A lot of people like to be engaged and part of the process," Patrick said. "That's how we do things - we're very bespoke."

JBWere - which is 80.1 per cent owned by National Australia Bank, BNZ's parent, with the balance held by investment bank Goldman Sachs - was founded in Melbourne in 1840 by Jonathan Binns Were, an English stockbroker.

The company expanded to New Zealand in 1989 when it purchased a 50 per cent stake in local sharebroker Jordan Sandman Smythe.

JBWere New Zealand was created in 1994 when it bought the remaining shares in Jordan Sandman.

It now employs 85 staff across three offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Patrick said the firm was celebrating the 175th anniversary on this side of the Tasman by connecting with its clients.

"We regularly talk to our clients as part of the service but over the course of this year we're really looking to ramp that up with events both in Australia and New Zealand."