/Investor DB

NZ Super Fund

Government fund

Auckland · Late Stage · 8 people tracked

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Investment thesis

NZ Super Fund is a long-term sovereign investor seeking to add value above a passive Reference Portfolio benchmark, which carries an 80:20 growth-to-fixed-income split fully hedged to the New Zealand dollar. As an active investor it leverages its long horizon and low liquidity needs to invest in illiquid assets such as infrastructure, private equity and timber, conducts extensive due diligence and manager selection, executes efficiently, and uses strategic tilting to exploit market volatility. Its approach focuses on underlying economic risk drivers—growth, inflation, liquidity and agency risks—rather than traditional asset-class allocation, aiming to improve diversification while delegating value-adding activities from the Board to internal management.

Invests inSector AgnosticAucklandGlobalNew Zealand

Source: firm website, verified Oct 25, 2026.

Stage
Late Stage
HQ
Auckland, NZ
Instruments
Equity
Founded
2001
AUM
$5.8B
Tracked investments
1

Team · 8 people

from the firm's website
Brad Dunstan· Co-Chief Investment Officerin

Co-Chief Investment Officer who joined the Guardians in 2013 and was previously Head of Portfolio Completion. He earlier worked at Canaccord Genuity, Bear Stearns and JP Morgan, and co-chairs the NZ Super Fund Investment Committee.

Cristina Billett· General Manager, Corporate Affairsin

General Manager, Corporate Affairs who joined the Guardians in 2009 and chairs its Risk Committee. She was previously General Counsel and Head of Legal and holds a law degree from the University of Auckland.

James Li· Portfolio Manager, NZ Equities

A portfolio manager for NZ Equities at the Guardians, featured discussing how diverse perspectives support the generation of strong investment ideas.

Jo Townsend· Chief Executive Officerin

Chief Executive Officer who joined the Guardians in April 2024 after eight years leading Funds SA in Australia, with over 30 years in investment management. She holds a Bachelor of Mathematics and Finance from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Leona Cheffins· General Manager, People & Culture

General Manager, People & Culture who joined the Guardians in November 2025, bringing a 20-year HR and management consulting career including roles at Public Trust, One New Zealand and PwC.

Michael Mitchell· Chief Risk Officer

Chief Risk Officer appointed in 2024, who joined the Guardians in 2005 after 25 years in financial markets and built out the firm's portfolio risk and enterprise risk functions.

Paula Steed· Chief Operating Officerin

Chief Operating Officer appointed in 2025, who joined the Guardians in 2021 as General Manager, Strategy and Shared Services. She previously held roles at ASB Bank, AMP, ANZ and Deloitte and is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Will Goodwin· Co-Chief Investment Officerin

Co-Chief Investment Officer who joined the Guardians in 2016 and was formerly Head of Direct Investments, with prior executive roles in finance and private equity. He co-chairs the NZ Super Fund Investment Committee and chairs INFINZ.

What they invest in

from 1 of 1 portfolio companies

Cleantech ×1Climate Tech ×1Energy ×1

HQs:New Zealand×1

Investments · 1 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path
Taranaki Offshore Windtaranakioffshorewind.co.nz

A proposed offshore wind energy project in New Zealand's Taranaki region, which runs public information sessions and operates an information hub in Hāwera to engage the local community on the project's progress.

CleantechClimate TechEnergyHāwera, NZ

Frequently asked questions

What stage does NZ Super Fund invest at?
NZ Super Fund invests at the Late Stage stage.
What sectors does NZ Super Fund focus on?
NZ Super Fund focuses on Sector Agnostic.
Where is NZ Super Fund located?
NZ Super Fund is headquartered in Auckland, NZ.

Images

NZ Super Fund photo

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