KEY POINTS:
Matt McCarten is the firebrand radical of the Left, who calls people "comrade", while Don Brash is the dark-suited darling of the conservative Right.
They could barely be further apart politically - and now they are working together.
Brash, Auckland Mayor John Banks and high-flying investment whizkid Peter Huljich are all directors of Huljich Wealth Management - favoured fund managers to the Remuera rich and famous.
Now, McCarten has begun selling Huljich's KiwiSaver investment fund to the low-income members of his union, Unite, and taking a $40 cut for the union each time one signs up.
Unite's support was helping his KiwiSaver fund grow by more than 1000 members a week, Huljich said. "It's a great coming together of the left and right."
McCarten said the union chose Huljich because it was New Zealand-owned, invested ethically, and delivered one of the best returns.
"If the world leader of the left, Barack Obama, can work to save capitalism, then I'm sure I can work with John Banks and Don Brash," he said. "I know where they live."
"Why would I get a left-wing mate to manage other people's money, when they don't have the skills?" '
Brash, a former Reserve Bank Governor and National Party leader, laughingly suggested right-wing money managers in America had not acquitted themselves well lately - but those at Huljich knew how to manage money.
McCarten will appear in TV ads next month with the chief executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association, an old adversary, urging people to claim tax refunds.