KEY POINTS:
Markets and investors might remain jittery but Fisher Funds' chief investment officer Warren Couillault is steadfast in his belief that investing in growth businesses for the long term is the answer for good returns.
The 37-year-old father of three, who grew up in Auckland's Papatoetoe, admits he wasn't always keen on doing the numbers but has learnt to take them in his stride.
"I did maths and science at school but I never really did that well. It wasn't until it kicked in at university that economics gelled and I did as much as I could to understand it, like it and be good at it."
Despite starting university in 1987, the same year as the sharemarket crash, Couillault says he wasn't put off from entering a course that would lead into the finance sector and saw economics as an interesting history lesson.
"The thing I like about finance, economics and the markets is that you can learn a lot from history and apply it to what is happening now but it is a bit different every day."
His aptitude for economics was picked up while at university and he was awarded a scholarship by Westpac to go to London and work in their offices.
"It was basically a paid holiday job with Westpac's economics team."
But it gave him a foot up into the industry and after finishing university Couillault took a job with Westpac as a stock market analyst.
Although the industry took a big hit after 1987 with many stock brokers reducing staff numbers and shrinking down to the bare minimum, by the early 90s they were beginning to hire again and it wasn't long before Couillault got a job with ANZ McCaughan Securities, a firm which no longer exists, and then larger stock brokers Hendry Hay McIntosh.
Couillault describes it as an exciting time to be an analyst with many new initial public offerings coming on to the market following the quiet period after the crash.
The Brierleys, Fletchers and Carters were already big players while Skellerup, Progressive Enterprises and Telecom were making their debuts on the stock exchange.
Many have since come and gone, including TV3, which has since changed hands several times. Under the guiding hand of his then boss Rob Bode, Couillault specialised in retail companies and was named retail analyst of the year by FPG Research for three years in a row from 1994-96.
In 1996 he moved on to UBS and through the company went to work in Sydney first and then London again where he stayed for four years.
"It got me into the coalface doing New Zealand and Australian sale research. It was good experience because in a bigger market you learn what counts and what doesn't count and how companies evolve over time." Unlike the traditional Kiwi OE, Couillault says he did not spend all his time at the pub, although he did make the most of the travel opportunities. Couillault says having two children meant the call of home and family were never far from his mind.
On the hunt for job that would bring him back to New Zealand Couillault, was tipped off by a broker friend that Carmel Fisher was looking for an experienced analyst to join her one-woman band.
Fisher and Couillault had met before and Couillault knew they shared similar investment approaches. "We were both big supporters of Michael Hill and the Warehouse. I knew how she thought and invested and I knew it was a long-term approach."
In 2002 Couillault joined Fisher Funds as an analyst and within two years he had bought into the business and become Carmel's right hand man.
The growth of the company since then has been phenomenal. Couillault and Fisher started out in a wing of Fisher's house in Devonport on Auckland's North Shore and have since moved to offices in Takapuna overlooking the beach. In January last year the company took up only half of an office floor but has since grown further to take up the entire floor.
The strategy since Couillault joined has been to branch out and diversify the company's investment products away from having just the flagship New Zealand Growth fund.
The company also shifted from getting the majority of its business through financial advisers to selling directly to the public. Since Couillault joined its customer base has gone from 3,000 to 4,000 people to close to 30,000, boosted by the recent launch of KiwiSaver. "Our strategy was to maintain top notch performance over time while diversifying out."
Since 2002, Fisher Funds has secured a mandate to run a portion of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, launched three listed unit trusts - Kingfish, Barramundi and Marlin - and launched an unlisted Australian fund and International fund.
As chief investment officer, Couillault's job is to ensure all the funds maintain the Fisher philosophy to back high quality, small to medium sized growth companies which it can buy and hold. "The key to that is making sure the people we hire have the same strategy as us, that's why it has taken us so long to hire new people," he says. There are now seven in the team.
People are also a big part of the company's investment strategy. The firm follows a framework which analyses whether a company can continue to grow their business in different markets. They also look for companies which have shown good earnings growth and can continue to grow their earnings. "But the most important thing we look for is the people in the business, the executive team and their background history. People can make it succeed or fail."
It's a method which has worked well for the business so far, boosting its funds under management from the initial $17 million which was managed on behalf of Sovereign when Fisher Funds launched in 1998, to the more than $1.2 billion it currently manages.
As small to medium investors, Fisher Funds has always said there would be a limit to how much it can manage - and that is why Couillault says they decided to close the New Zealand Growth fund to new investors earlier this year.
"We figured out a couple of years ago there would be a limit. To make sure we have the highest returns possible we like to have only a few companies in our portfolio."
$700 million was the magic figure although Couillault says the Australian fund has a lot further to go because of the bigger market and the new International Growth fund has even more scope still.
But having the responsibility to manage other people's money is not something Couillault takes lightly.
"There is a lot of responsibility that comes with looking after people's money and savings. That's why we spend a lot of time and money on getting the right team that will live up to that responsibility. We think about it every day and know we have to act responsibly to give people the outcomes they want over time."
And like his investment bets, Couillault says he will be with Fisher Funds for the long haul.
"My plan is to just carry on doing more of the same. I am in a really good team of high quality people."
He says he gets the biggest buzz from backing firm with a strategy, seeing that come to fruition and then seeing that reflected in the stock price.
Warren Couillault
* Fisher Funds chief investment officer
* Born: Auckland.
* Age: 37.
* Education: Waikato University, honours degree in Management Studies.
* Career: Financial analyst and country economist for Westpac.
* Sharebroker for ANZ McCaughan Securities and Hendry Hay McIntosh (later Merrill Lynch).
* Six years with sharebroker UBS Warburg in sales and analytical roles in Auckland, Sydney and London.
* Joined Fisher Funds in 2002, bought into the company in 2004.
* Family: Married with three children
