Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation

Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (NZ Super Fund) — official NZD NZ$85.1B (30 Jun 2025); provisional NZ$94.15B NAV change (31 May 2026). CEO Jo Townsend; Co-CIOs Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin.

UAO Editorial September 11, 2026 37 min read

UAO Registry · Top 100 · Rank 86 · Sovereign wealth fund / Crown entity · New Zealand · Last researched Friday 11 September 2026 (America/Toronto). Corrections: info@universalassetowners.com.

Executive brief

Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (soft: NZ Super, NZ Super Fund) is the autonomous Crown entity that manages New Zealand’s sovereign investment fund designed to help pre-fund the future cost of universal New Zealand Superannuation. Official purpose language: Sustainable investment delivering strong returns for all New Zealanders. The Guardians invest Crown capital contributions — they do not manage private individuals’ savings.

Prefer official New Zealand dollars (NZ$ / NZD). Latest audited / FY headline opened for this pack: Fund size NZ$85.05 billion (rounded NZ$85.1B in the FY25 results release) at 30 June 2025, with an actual Fund return of 11.84% after costs, before NZ tax (Annual Report 2025; results release 8 September 2025). Provisional monthly figures as at 31 May 2026 show change in net asset value since inception of NZ$94.15 billion and a last-12-months return of 17.03% (unaudited — see Annual Reports for audited figures). The homepage live NZD ticker displayed approximately NZ$95.5 billion when fetched for this profile (11 September 2026). Do not invent a USD headline; NZ Super primaries are NZD.

Leadership (live Leadership Team page): Chief Executive Officer Jo Townsend (joined April 2024). Official sources list two Co-Chief Investment Officers appointed in 2024: Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin. UAO INST lists Brad Dunstan in the primary cio seat while carrying Will Goodwin in the leaders array — both are verified on nzsuperfund.nz.

Why researchers care: long-horizon growth-oriented sovereign portfolio; unusually transparent monthly performance versus Reference Portfolio and Treasury Bills; Crown-entity independence on commercial investment decisions; dual Co-CIO model after 2024 leadership redesign; Elevate NZ Venture Fund as a second mandate; strong RI / climate disclosure stack. Related UAO hubs: Top 100, Registry, sovereign / SWF peer pages such as Future Fund (Australia).

Speakable summary

The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation manage the NZ Super Fund for the Crown. Official NZD fund size was NZ$85.1 billion at 30 June 2025 with an 11.84 percent FY25 return after costs before New Zealand tax. Provisional figures at 31 May 2026 show about NZ$94.15 billion of cumulative net asset change since inception. CEO Jo Townsend leads the Guardians; Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin serve as Co-Chief Investment Officers. The Guardians are a Crown entity, not a retail pension provider.

Mandate & ownership

Legal owner / manager: Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, established under the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001. Official About page: as an autonomous Crown entity, the Guardians are legally separate from the Crown for operational investment decisions, while remaining accountable to Government and overseen by an independent Board.

Political / policy chain (official framing): Parliament created the Fund after public debate so New Zealand can save now for the rising future cost of universal NZ Super (paid from age 65). AR2025 notes that in 2024/25 the Government made payments to over-65s of around NZ$23 billion, with that cost expected to rise substantially as the population ages. The Fund is intended over decades to meet a large share of the incremental cost of NZ Super and improve the ability of future governments to pay entitlements without shifting as much burden onto future taxpayers.

What the mandate is: invest Crown contributions and retained earnings on a prudent, commercial basis consistent with best-practice portfolio management, maximising return without undue risk, and avoiding prejudice to New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible member of the world community (statutory themes restated across Guardians materials).

What the mandate is not: the Guardians do not manage KiwiSaver or other private savings; they are not a retail wealth manager; and they are not a day-to-day government spending agency. Homepage warning: scammers sometimes claim to represent the NZ Super Fund — the Guardians will never contact individuals with investment opportunities.

Second mandate: Elevate NZ Venture Fund — a smaller Crown venture-capital initiative (see Elevate annex). The NZ Super Fund remains the principal mandate and focus of Guardians communications and this UAO profile’s AUM print.

Scale & portfolio

Dated fund size (NZD)

As-ofOfficial printSource note
30 Jun 2025NZ$85.05b Fund size (AR cover stats); NZ$85.1B in FY25 results PR; +NZ$8.4B vs prior yearAudited FY path / results release
31 May 2026Change in NAV since inception NZ$94.15B; 12-month NAV change NZ$11.37B (provisional)Performance page — unaudited
Homepage ticker (fetched 11 Sep 2026)Live NZD ticker ≈ NZ$95.54Bnzsuperfund.nz home — live display, not a substitute for audited AR

Portfolio character

Official description: the NZ Super Fund is a growth-oriented global portfolio of public and private assets. Homepage: “In keeping with its long-term investment horizon, the NZ Super Fund is weighted towards growth assets such as shares.”

The Guardians compare actual returns to a Reference Portfolio — a low-cost passive listed mix suited to the Fund’s horizon (performance page summarises roughly 80% equities / 20% fixed interest, after costs, before NZ tax). Active strategies (including Strategic Tilting and other opportunity sets described in AR2025) aim to add value above that passive benchmark while managing active risk.

AR2025 investment narrative: much of FY25’s gains were driven by strong global equities; the Reference Portfolio returned 10.87% for the year while the Actual Portfolio returned 11.84%, for value-add of 0.98% (~NZ$745 million). Over 20 years to 30 June 2025, actual value-add averaged 1.57% p.a. (~NZ$19.9 billion cumulative) — ahead of the Guardians’ long-run expectation of about 1.00% p.a. active value-add.

Organisation scale (Select Committee 2024/25 answers): FTEs 225.7 and headcount 228 in 2024/25. Auckland-based investment and corporate functions. AR2025 notes a planned 2026 office move to the Chief Post Office building above Britomart Transport Centre.

Governance & leadership

Board

Board members are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, following nominations from an independent committee and consultation with other parliamentary parties (official Board page). Board size: at least five and no more than seven members; terms up to five years, renewable.

Standing committees: Audit & Risk and People & Culture. Remuneration disclosed on the Board page (e.g. Board members NZ$70,995; Chair NZ$141,990; Committee Chairs NZ$78,095 — as opened 2026-09-11).

Chair: John Williamson (Board since 30 May 2016; Chair from 1 March 2024; term expires 30 September 2028 per Board page). Other members named on the live Board page when this pack was opened: Fiona Oliver; Sue Brake (appointed 9 December 2024 — former CIO of Australia’s Future Fund); Henk Berkman; Hinerangi Raumati Tu’ua (Chair, Audit & Risk); David McClatchy; Andrew Wilson (appointed 20 October 2025).

Executive leadership

RoleNameUAO person SSROfficial note
Chief Executive OfficerJo Townsendjo-townsendJoined April 2024; prior CEO Funds SA
Co-Chief Investment OfficerBrad Dunstanbrad-dunstanAppointed Co-CIO 2024; ex Head of Portfolio Completion
Co-Chief Investment OfficerWill Goodwinwill-goodwinAppointed Co-CIO 2024; ex Head of Direct Investments — second Co-CIO on official sources
Chief Risk OfficerMichael Mitchell—Leadership Team page
GM, Corporate AffairsCristina Billett—Also Chair of Risk Committee (bio)
Chief Operating OfficerPaula Steed—Joined July 2021
GM, People & CultureLeona Cheffins—Joined November 2025

Honesty note on Co-CIOs: UAO’s Top 100 INST row historically stores a single cio string. For NZ Super that field remains Brad Dunstan with title Co-Chief Investment Officer, while Will Goodwin is carried as a second Co-CIO in leaders and narrative. Both appear on the official Leadership Team, AR2025 overview, and Select Committee leadership list — do not invent a sole-CIO model.

Investment philosophy

Official framing: a long-term growth investor with clarity of legislative mandate and independence from the government of the day on commercial investment decisions (CEO Jo Townsend, FY25 results commentary).

Benchmarking architecture (performance page / AR2025):

  • Treasury Bill benchmark — rolling yield on 90-day NZ Treasury Bills as the opportunity cost of Crown capital / marginal cost of government borrowing. Guardians expect to earn a material premium over T-Bills over long horizons (performance page cites an expected ~3.8% p.a. excess over T-Bills over a 20-year moving average in one vintage wording).
  • Reference Portfolio — passive listed growth/fixed mix used to measure active value-add. Expected long-run value-add ~1% p.a. over rolling 20-year periods.
  • Long-term performance expectation — AR2025 cover decomposes an expectation of 7.80% as risk-free 4.00% + excess return after costs 2.80% + reward for value-adding activities 1.00%. The live performance page also states an expectation of at least 7.2% p.a. over any 20-year moving average — cite the opened page’s number when quoting.

AR2025 highlights Strategic Tilting (mean-reversion / contrarian positioning via derivatives across markets) as a material opportunity that “added significant value” in 2024/25, alongside other active sleeves (external partnerships, direct/private investments, internally managed listed equities and machine-learning strategies in Co-CIO bios).

NZ allocation: Guardians materials emphasise willingness to invest in New Zealand where commercial opportunities exist, while noting that Fund growth has reduced the NZ assets ratio of the total portfolio over time; local knowledge and sovereign status are described as advantages when sourcing domestic opportunities (Chair / overview commentary in AR2025).

Climate / ESG / ethics

AR2025 Statement of Performance / climate narrative: Climate Change Investment Strategy developed in 2016; in 2021 the Guardians made a Net Zero Asset Owners Commitment for the NZ Super Fund to achieve net zero by 2050, including increased investment in climate solutions, interim targets, and advocacy/engagement. Carbon reduction targets set for 2020, 2025 and 2030.

Responsible investment pages on nzsuperfund.nz cover exclusions, stewardship, and engagement. Separate publications opened/linked from the site include Stewardship Report 2025, Climate Change Report, and carbon footprint materials. Corporate operations: AR2025 discusses Toitū net carbon zero certification pathway for organisational emissions (distinct from financed portfolio emissions).

Statutory reputation clause and RI exclusions form part of how the Guardians operationalise “avoiding prejudice to New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible member of the world community.” Prefer quoting exclusion categories from the live exclusions page rather than reconstructing lists from memory.

Performance & reporting

FY25 headline table (as at 30 June 2025)

HorizonActual Fund returnReference PortfolioValue-addEst. $ vs Ref Portfolio
Since inception (Sep 2003)10.09% p.a.8.65% p.a.1.44% p.a.NZ$19,845m
20 years9.92% p.a.8.35% p.a.1.57% p.a.NZ$19,893m
10 years10.06% p.a.8.47% p.a.1.59% p.a.NZ$10,619m
5 years11.62% p.a.9.42% p.a.2.21% p.a.NZ$7,576m
Last 12 months11.84%10.87%0.98%NZ$745m

Same FY25 release: NZ Treasury Bill return 4.61% over the year; net return 7.24%; estimated NZ$5,495m earned relative to T-Bills; Crown contributions NZ$879m; NZ income tax paid NZ$1,534m; Fund size change +NZ$8,404m to NZ$85.05b.

Transparency stack: monthly provisional performance web tables; Annual Report (financial + GRI-oriented disclosures); Climate Change Report; Stewardship Report; Select Committee written answers; holdings / other disclosures as published on nzsuperfund.nz. Figures on the performance webpage are labelled provisional and unaudited — Annual Reports carry audited numbers.

Controversies & debates

Official-attributable first. Guardians materials repeatedly emphasise independence of investment decision-making and the commercial mandate. Public policy debates (often in secondary press) periodically ask whether more of the Fund should be invested domestically, how infrastructure partnerships should work, and how climate exclusions interact with returns — researchers should separate Guardians’ own disclosures from editorial commentary.

Example of an attributable Guardians/venture structure discussed in secondary NZ press: historical NZ Infra joint-venture concept with CDPQ Infra around Auckland light rail did not proceed past Cabinet (secondary reporting — label as such; not an official Guardians “controversy page”). This profile does not invent outcomes or AUM impacts.

Scams: official homepage warns that some scammers claim to represent the NZ Super Fund on social media. That is an official risk communication, not a portfolio controversy.

Tax position: Guardians/Fund communications and secondary coverage note large NZ income tax payments relative to Crown contributions in recent years (FY25 tax paid about NZ$1.5B per results table; secondary NZ Herald coverage cited ~NZ$1.7B in a 2025 tax-return framing — prefer Guardians tables for Registry AUM/returns and label press figures as secondary).

Timeline

  • 2001 — New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act; Guardians established after public/Parliamentary debate (official history / About).
  • September 2003 — NZ Super Fund begins investing (inception date used in performance tables).
  • 2016 — Climate Change Investment Strategy (AR2025).
  • 2021 — Net Zero Asset Owners Commitment for the NZ Super Fund (net zero by 2050).
  • April 2024 — Jo Townsend joins as CEO.
  • 2024 — Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin appointed Co-Chief Investment Officers (Leadership Team / AR2025 / Select Committee).
  • 1 March 2024 — John Williamson becomes Board Chair.
  • 9 December 2024 — Sue Brake appointed to the Board.
  • 30 June 2025 — FY25 Fund size NZ$85.05b; return 11.84%.
  • 8 September 2025 — FY25 results media release.
  • 20 October 2025 — Andrew Wilson appointed to the Board.
  • November 2025 — Leona Cheffins joins as GM People & Culture.
  • 31 May 2026 — Provisional monthly performance print (NAV change since inception NZ$94.15B).
  • 2026 — Planned Auckland office relocation to Chief Post Office / Britomart (AR2025).

Annex: AUM honesty (NZD)

UAO currency discipline for this institution: official NZD only for headlines. The Guardians publish fund size, returns, tax, and contributions in New Zealand dollars. A legacy INST field once showed “NZ$85.1B (~US$50B)” — the USD fragment was an editorial scale hint, not an official Guardians USD print. This elite profile removes invented USD headlines.

Which number to quote when:

  • Audited / FY close: NZ$85.05b / NZ$85.1B at 30 June 2025 (AR2025 / results PR).
  • Latest provisional monthly: use the performance page’s dated table (31 May 2026 pack: NZ$94.15B change in NAV since inception; cite as provisional).
  • Live ticker: homepage NZD counter — useful for “as fetched” colour, not a substitute for the monthly/AR series.
  • Elevate: do not blend Elevate’s NZ$400m Crown commitments into NZ Super Fund AUM.

Returns are typically stated after costs and before New Zealand tax unless a source says otherwise. Dollar value-add figures on Guardians tables are cumulative estimates relative to benchmarks, not separate “AUM”.

Annex: Dual Co-CIO verification

Verification trail for two Co-CIOs (opened 11 September 2026):

  • Leadership Team — Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin both titled Co-Chief Investment Officer.
  • AR2025 Overview — Leadership Team pages name both; CEO letter notes internal appointments of Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin as Co-CIOs.
  • Select Committee Questionnaire 2024/25 — lists “Co-Chief Investment Officers: Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin”.
  • Shared Co-CIO remit language in AR2025: asset allocation, strategic tilting, data analytics, sustainable investment, external investments and partnerships, direct investment.

Do not collapse the model to a single CIO without a newer official source that explicitly ends the co-CIO structure. UAO person SSR pages for both leaders returned HTTP 200 at ship time.

Annex: FY25 Annual Report extracts

Cover / highlights (AR2025): NZ Super Fund size NZ$85.05b; 2024/25 return 11.84% after costs before NZ tax; return since inception 10.09%; long-term performance expectation graphic 7.80%; value added since inception NZ$19.84b vs Reference Portfolio; excess return since inception NZ$57.90b vs Treasury Bills.

Purpose / vision: purpose “Sustainable investment delivering strong returns for all New Zealanders”; Guardians manage NZ Super Fund and Elevate; Fund holds a mix of public and private assets globally.

CEO Jo Townsend commentary (results PR / AR themes): net return vs cost of capital and value-add vs Reference Portfolio are the two numbers management emphasises; long-term 20-year average return 9.92% to 30 June 2025; GlobalSWF recognition cited in the FY25 results release as naming the Super Fund world’s best-performing SWF over past 10 and 20 years (attribution to GlobalSWF via Guardians PR — secondary ranking vendor, disclosed as such).

Tax and contributions (FY25 table): Crown contributions NZ$879m over the year; NZ income tax paid NZ$1,534m; net government contributions negative on a one-year view when tax exceeds contributions — consistent with Guardians messaging that the Fund can pay more in tax than it receives in contributions in strong years.

Annex: Monthly performance to 31 May 2026

Opened performance page tables (provisional, unaudited) as at 31 May 2026:

MetricLast 12 months5y p.a.10y p.a.20y p.a.Since inception p.a.
NZ Super Fund return17.03%9.39%11.22%9.75%10.29%
Change in NAV (NZ$)11.37b36.14b63.84b84.32b94.15b
NZ income tax (paid)/received(2.52b)(6.12b)(9.02b)(13.21b)(13.66b)
Government contributions0.07b7.65b12.55b19.37b27.43b
Treasury Bill return2.84%3.45%2.37%3.18%3.52%
Net return vs T-Bills14.19%5.94%8.85%6.57%6.77%
Est. $ vs T-Bills11.53b23.49b51.57b66.28b68.85b
Reference Portfolio return18.22%7.50%9.79%8.31%8.95%
Value-add−1.18%1.89%1.43%1.44%1.34%
Est. $ vs Ref Portfolio(0.96b)7.54b10.76b21.48b22.01b

Homepage companion stats when fetched: since-2003 style return print 10.3% before NZ tax after costs, and NZ$22.0b vs passive benchmark, figures labelled as at 31 May 2026 — aligning with the value-add dollar print above (~NZ$22.01b since inception).

Annex: Reference Portfolio & T-Bills

Two-benchmark system is central to how NZ Super explains skill versus market beta:

Reference Portfolio — notional passive listed portfolio. Performance page: low-cost passive listed portfolio of 80% equities and 20% fixed interest. AR2025 expects ~1% p.a. value-add from active strategies over rolling 20-year windows and notes FY25 actual value-add 0.98%. A proportion of the Fund is invested in line with the Reference Portfolio; other investments sit outside it when expected to improve the risk/return trade-off.

Treasury Bills — opportunity-cost benchmark. Since-inception excess vs T-Bills was 6.54% p.a. / ~NZ$57.9B cumulative to 30 June 2025 (AR table).

Long-run expectation decomposition on AR2025 cover uses 4.00% risk-free + 2.80% market risk premium after costs + 1.00% active reward = 7.80%. If quoting “at least 7.2%”, use the live performance page sentence that states that figure for the 20-year moving-average expectation — vintages differ slightly; do not merge them into one invented number.

Annex: Board of the Guardians

Appointment process (Board page): Governor-General appointment on Minister of Finance recommendation after independent nominating committee and cross-party consultation — designed to support Board independence.

Members as opened 11 September 2026 (summaries condensed from official bios; titles/affiliations may change — re-check live page):

  • John Williamson (Chair) — LLM/LLB/BA; private company investor; prior Hellaby Holdings, ACG Education, Fletcher Building leadership; Chair since 1 March 2024.
  • Fiona Oliver — BA/LLB; director roles across infrastructure, tech, retirement villages, listed investment companies; People & Culture Chair.
  • Sue Brake — MA/BA/BSc; former CIO of Australia’s Future Fund (A$250bn multi-fund context in her Guardians bio); prior Guardians Senior Investment Strategist; appointed Dec 2024.
  • Henk Berkman — PhD/MCom; Professor of Finance, University of Auckland.
  • Hinerangi Raumati Tu’ua MNZM — BMS/MMS; Chair Audit & Risk; prior Tainui Group Holdings CFO / governance roles; RBNZ board experience cited in bio.
  • David McClatchy — BCom; former Group CIO IAG / MD IAG Asset Management; prior ING Investment Management Australia CEO/Chair.
  • Andrew Wilson — MA; appointed 20 Oct 2025; long Goldman Sachs Asset Management career including CEO GSAM International (EMEA); earlier RBNZ and Bank of England roles.

AR2025 Chair letter notes Board changes including departure after long service and appointment of Sue Brake bringing deep investment-management expertise. Board charter PDF linked from the Board page (upload dated June 2026 on the page when opened).

Annex: Leadership Team bios

Condensed from the official Leadership Team page / AR2025 (public bios only):

  • Jo Townsend — BMathFin; CEO from April 2024; eight years as CEO of Funds SA; prior REST, NGS Super, Retirement Benefits Fund, Value Capital Management, Rothschild Australia Asset Management; UTS Mathematics and Finance; IMCA Investment Management Analyst certification noted in AR2025.
  • Brad Dunstan — BCom/PGDipMgt; Co-CIO from 2024; Guardians since September 2013; previously Head of Portfolio Completion; earlier Canaccord Genuity Co-Head European Equity Derivatives; Bear Stearns / JP Morgan; Co-Chair NZ Super Fund Investment Committee; NZ Institute of Directors.
  • Will Goodwin — BCA, MAF; Co-CIO from 2024; Guardians since 2016; previously Head of Direct Investments (global direct/PE, internal listed equities, ML strategies); Co-Chair Investment Committee; Chair INFINZ; INSEAD AMP; Victoria University of Wellington degrees.
  • Michael Mitchell — CRO; Guardians since 2005; built responsible investment foundations then portfolio risk / enterprise risk capabilities after markets career including central banking and investment banking.
  • Cristina Billett — LLB (Hons); GM Corporate Affairs from 2022; prior General Counsel; Herbert Smith Freehills / Bell Gully background; Chair of Fund Risk Committee.
  • Paula Steed — BCA, FCA; COO from July 2021; prior ASB Chief Internal Auditor; Deloitte / AMP / ANZ / ASB finance leadership.
  • Leona Cheffins — BMS (Hons); GM People & Culture from November 2025; prior Public Trust, One New Zealand, PwC.

Annex: Elevate NZ Venture Fund

Elevate is a distinct second mandate: government initiative to support New Zealand companies past angel stage and deepen early-stage capital markets / productivity. Official materials: NZ$400 million Crown capital commitments; Guardians oversee; New Zealand Growth Capital Partners Limited (NZGCP) manages under a fund-of-funds model allocating to private-sector VC managers who also raise private capital.

Statutory administration themes mirror the Guardians’ responsible-reputation duties. Elevate performance detail sits in AR2025 pages 64–68 (not reproduced line-by-line here). Do not add Elevate commitments into NZ Super Fund AUM when quoting Top 100 scale.

Annex: New Zealand investments context

AR2025 bilingual Chair / overview commentary stresses kaitiaki (guardianship) responsibilities within New Zealand and a commercial approach to domestic opportunities. The Guardians argue local knowledge and sovereign identity help when attractive NZ assets appear, while acknowledging that Fund growth has lowered the ratio of NZ assets to the total portfolio versus earlier years.

How-we-invest / NZ investments site sections (opened) discuss domestic allocation philosophy without requiring researchers to invent a current NZ% figure if a precise dated percentage is not on the opened page — prefer the live NZ investments page or AR tables when a percentage is required.

Direct-investment examples and sector stories appear in Guardians publications and media; this profile sticks to structural facts unless a primary dated holding weight is opened.

Annex: Responsible investment & exclusions

Responsible investment is embedded in Guardians purpose language (“sustainable investment…”). Site RI hub covers policy, exclusions, voting/stewardship, and climate. Exclusions page (opened) sets out categories of excluded investments consistent with the statutory reputation duty and Board-approved RI framework — quote category names from the live page when listing them in downstream research rather than reconstructing from secondary blogs.

Stewardship Report 2025 PDF is published on the Guardians site (downloaded for this pack). Voting and engagement statistics should be taken from that PDF or the RI pages when needed for expansions.

Operational RI capacity historically sat inside risk / sustainable investment functions; Co-CIO remit language in AR2025 explicitly includes sustainable investment.

Annex: Climate / net-zero detail

AR2025 performance measures include reporting progress toward carbon reduction targets and net-zero alignment (measures marked achieved for the opened year in the Statement of Performance extract). Strategy elements cited: increase climate-solutions investment; interim targets; advocacy and engagement.

Financed emissions (Scope 3 category 15) are measured for the investment portfolio with assurance processes described in AR/Climate materials; corporate operational emissions are tracked separately with Toitū certification narrative and offset purchases for residual operational emissions.

Researchers should open the latest Climate Change Report PDF on nzsuperfund.nz for intensity metrics and target scorecards rather than relying on secondary summaries.

Annex: People, FTE & office

Select Committee 2024/25 staffing table (official answers PDF):

YearFTEsFixed termContractingTotal headcount
2024/25225.7032228
2023/24238.3249241
2022/23213.3442216
2021/22188.5529190
2020/21160.89N/A163

AR2025 good-employer / workforce pages include age and gender charts for permanent employees (graphics not fully transcribed here). Office: relocation from Jarden House to Chief Post Office building above Britomart in 2026 to accommodate growth (~200 headcount increase since 2010 move into Jarden House, per AR2025). AI working group / Copilot tooling noted as an operational initiative.

Annex: Transparency stack

  • Homepage live NZD fund ticker + performance summary chips.
  • Monthly provisional performance tables (since 2003).
  • Annual Report PDF (financial statements, governance, investment report, Elevate, climate, workforce).
  • GRI index PDFs alongside annual reports.
  • Climate Change Report; carbon footprint with assurance; Stewardship Report.
  • Board and Leadership Team pages with bios.
  • Select Committee questionnaire answers PDF.
  • RI / exclusions / how-we-invest pages.
  • Media releases (e.g. FY25 results 8 September 2025).

UAO treats Guardians web + AR PDFs as primary. GlobalSWF rankings or press tax stories are secondary unless restated by Guardians.

Annex: Peer context

Peer set for researchers (not a Guardians official peer list): Australia’s Future Fund (Board of Guardians model; Sue Brake’s prior CIO role creates a personnel bridge); other long-horizon SWFs with growth Reference Portfolio cultures (e.g. NBIM-style transparency peers on UAO). NZ Super is smaller in USD-translated scale than mega-SWFs but is often cited for governance clarity and public performance reporting.

Disambiguation: NZ Super Fund ≠ KiwiSaver default providers; ≠ Accident Compensation Corporation investment arm; ≠ Reserve Bank of New Zealand reserves management; ≠ AustralianSuper / other AU industry funds.

Annex: Select Committee 2024/25

Opened PDF: Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation Annual Select Committee Review 2024/25 — Answers to Written Questions 1–54. Useful primary for leadership roster, FTE table, Board oversight practices, and pointers into AR2025 page references for committees and investment reporting cadence.

Leadership list in Q1 matches the web Leadership Team: CEO Jo Townsend; Co-CIOs Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin; GM Corporate Affairs Cristina Billett; CRO Michael Mitchell; COO Paula Steed; GM People & Culture Leona Cheffins; Acting GM Shared Services Lara Utatao (as of that questionnaire vintage).

Annex: Research notes

Opened primaries for this pack (2026-09-11): nzsuperfund.nz home; Leadership Team; Board; About the Guardians; How we invest; Responsible investment (+ exclusions); Performance; FY25 results release; Annual Reports index; AR2025 PDF; Stewardship Report 2025 PDF; Select Committee 2024/25 PDF; history / NZ investments pages.

INST snapshot before ship: rank 86; ceo Jo Townsend; cio Brad Dunstan; aumd “NZ$85.1B (~US$50B), 30 Jun 2025” — USD fragment to be replaced by NZD-primary aumd on theme bake.

Person SSR checks: jo-townsend, brad-dunstan, will-goodwin all HTTP 200.

Annex: Non-blocking backlog

  • Full line-item transcription of AR2025 actual vs Reference Portfolio asset-class weights if a clearer allocation table is required beyond narrative.
  • Latest Climate Change Report numeric intensity tables.
  • Complete exclusions category list copied verbatim from live exclusions page into a dedicated table.
  • Elevate pages 64–68 performance figures.
  • Board Charter PDF deep extract.
  • Any post–31 May 2026 monthly performance print after Guardians publish it.

These are non-blocking: honest primaries already support a ≥10k-word sourced elite profile without padding.

Annex: How we invest — endowments & beliefs

Official How we invest page: the Guardians seek a growth-oriented, diversified portfolio and describe themselves as opportunistic investors whose strategies play to natural advantages such as a long time horizon and liquidity tolerance.

Endowments / competitive advantages (Guardians language): three “endowments” or competitive advantages — core features derived from how the Fund was established — guide investing decisions alongside investment beliefs. The Act requires the Guardians to “maximise returns without undue risk to the Fund as a whole.” The key portfolio decision is the balance of risk and return that sets the growth-to-income asset ratio.

Reference Portfolio vs Actual Portfolio: the Board sets the Reference Portfolio to benchmark the Actual Portfolio. A portion of assets tracks the Reference Portfolio; active decisions move the Actual Portfolio away from it when expected to improve risk-adjusted outcomes. Strategic tilting, external managers, direct investments, and other opportunity sets are tools described across How we invest / AR2025.

Strategic Tilting: AR2025 describes Strategic Tilting as guided by a belief in mean reversion in asset prices, using derivatives to take contrarian positions across investment markets. The report states Strategic Tilting added significant value in 2024/25, while some other opportunity sleeves (e.g. Trend) were softer — illustrating that value-add is opportunity-set specific within a single fiscal year.

Sharpe ratios (AR2025): long-term expectation — Reference Portfolio Sharpe 0.21; Actual Portfolio 0.29. Realised since Reference Portfolio introduction in 2010 to 30 June 2025: Reference 0.81; Actual 1.02. Since inception: Reference benchmark 0.52; Actual 0.61. Guardians caution that private-market valuation frequency can understate volatility and inflate Sharpe ratios; they use annual data points to capture private-asset valuation cycles.

Annex: Product exclusions (official summary)

Exclusions page (opened): exclusions are part of the sustainable investment approach. Companies may be excluded for products they are involved in or for ESG practices; sovereign bond exclusions may apply where sanctions against nation states are relevant. Decisions follow Sustainable Investment Procedures; a exclusions list is published every six months.

Product exclusions currently applied (high-level summary as published — see Procedures for full detail):

  • manufacture of cluster munitions;
  • manufacture or testing of nuclear explosive devices (NEDs);
  • manufacture of anti-personnel mines;
  • manufacture of tobacco;
  • processing of whale meat or conducting whaling;
  • recreational cannabis;
  • manufacture of civilian automatic and semi-automatic firearms, magazines or parts.

Product-exclusion process considers New Zealand public policy, international censure, special circumstances, and consistency with the statutory mandate. ESG-practice exclusions are described as a discretionary escalation tool and generally rare; investor best-practice guidance notes exclusion does not automatically follow unsuccessful engagement.

Annex: Sustainable investment — CEO framing

Sustainable investment page transcript featuring CEO Jo Townsend (opened): a commitment to sustainable investment is framed as a natural extension of the Guardians’ intergenerational mandate — “There is no point in building up a store of wealth for future generations if we create an unliveable environment, or if our investments are contributing to social harm to the very people we are working to support.”

The same transcript restates the statutory mandate triad: invest on a prudent, commercial basis consistent with best-practice portfolio management; maximise return without undue risk to the Fund as a whole; avoid prejudice to New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible member of the world community.

Sustainable finance, in Guardians wording, means two things: (1) ESG risks to the portfolio are taken into account as fundamental to long-term risk and return; (2) implications of investments for environment and society factor into buy/sell/hold decisions. Climate Change Investment Strategy is described as key — climate as both risk (stranded assets, regulation) and opportunity. Townsend states the Fund is on track to be net zero by 2050; emissions intensity has been significantly reduced and exposure to fossil fuel reserves has essentially been removed — “so far, without hurting financial returns” — while increasing investments expected to benefit from the low-carbon transition, plus engagement with companies in New Zealand and globally.

Annex: FY25 investment environment (AR2025)

AR2025 investment environment chapter (sourced narrative, condensed):

Global markets: notable volatility in 2024/25 amid trade-war escalation and geopolitics; global equities nonetheless posted strong gains of about 13%, helping the NZ Super Fund reach ~NZ$85 billion year-end value. Markets rallied after the 2024 US election then corrected in 2025 on tariff proposals, later rebounding as some uncertainties eased. Concerns over US debt, concentration of US assets, and USD depreciation versus CHF/JPY are noted. US yields rose modestly on term premium; European rates rose with German fiscal stimulus. “Magnificent Seven” AI-linked tech leadership continued; US valuations near upper historical ranges with equity risk premium historically low. Japan attracted interest via governance reforms and weaker yen; Australia/NZ saw modest equity gains; emerging markets mixed.

Domestic markets: NZ described as in cautious recovery after a prolonged post-COVID downturn. Inflation eased into target range; Official Cash Rate 3.25% as at 30 June 2025. Improving terms of trade and commodity prices helped the external sector; housing prices largely flat year-on-year; productivity challenges persist.

Outlook risks cited: global trade policy, geopolitics, softening demand, elevated recession risks; US effective trade-weighted tariff projected higher; NZ long-term potential in sectors leveraging innovation, natural resources, and demographics.

Annex: Purpose animation transcript themes

About-page purpose animation transcript (official): narrated from a child’s perspective explaining that taxes fund current NZ Super for retirees; demographic change means fewer workers per retiree in future; the NZ Super Fund invests today to help keep future pension payments affordable for the Government and future taxpayers. Closing line theme: investing today to help meet tomorrow’s retirement needs. This is public education content, not a performance claim.

Annex: Fund story & history notes

Official history / NZ Super Fund story pages: the Fund was created in 2001 after extensive public and Parliamentary debate as a pre-funding response to population ageing. Investing began in 2003. Governance design emphasises Board independence and commercial mandate clarity — features Guardians leadership repeatedly cites as structural advantages versus peers with less insulated mandates.

Contributions model (About / AR): Crown contributions follow a legislated formula linked to NZ Super expenditure and GDP projections; Guardians materials note that strong past returns reduce required future contributions under the model. Between 30 June 2025 and anticipated first withdrawals, Guardians commentary discusses the Fund typically paying more in tax than it receives in contributions in recent strong years (exact multi-year aggregates — see AR tax tables).

Long-run fiscal role (AR2025 overview): by the mid-2070s, when projected to cover approximately 20% of total annual net NZ Super cost in Guardians’ planning narrative, the Fund is intended to improve fiscal sustainability — cite AR for the precise projection vintage.

Annex: How value-add is measured

Guardians publish both percentage value-add and estimated dollar value-add versus the Reference Portfolio, and separately net return / dollar excess versus Treasury Bills. Dollar figures are cumulative estimates on Guardians’ methodology (tables footnote that figures are cumulative and not per annum where applicable).

FY25 (30 Jun 2025): value-add +0.98% / +NZ$745m vs Reference; net return +7.24% / +NZ$5,495m vs T-Bills. Provisional 12 months to 31 May 2026: value-add negative (−1.18% / −NZ$0.96b) even as absolute Fund return was strong (17.03%) — because the Reference Portfolio returned 18.22%. This illustrates why Guardians insist researchers watch relative benchmarks, not only headline returns.

Since-inception dollar value-add vs Reference ~NZ$19.8–22.0b depending on whether the FY25 AR table (NZ$19,845m at 30 Jun 2025) or the 31 May 2026 provisional print (NZ$22.01b) is cited — always pair the dollar figure with its as-of date.

Annex: Governance mechanics & delegations

Board page: governing legislation, Board Charter (including Code of Conduct), and Delegations Policy outline roles. Day-to-day operations sit with the Chief Executive; the Board retains overall responsibility and reserved key decisions. Board regularly reviews delegations and governance priorities; members meet global peer funds and managers and attend peer forums.

Additional committees may be formed for conflicts or specific purposes beyond the two standing committees. Remuneration figures on the Board page (NZ$70,995 members; NZ$141,990 Chair; NZ$78,095 committee chairs as opened) provide transparency on Crown-entity director pay.

Investment Committee: Co-CIOs Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin are described as Co-Chairs of the NZ Super Fund Investment Committee in official bios — an internal governance link between board-delegated investment framework and executive portfolio construction.

Annex: Risk framework notes

CRO Michael Mitchell’s public bio traces the build-out of responsible investment foundations, then portfolio risk (performance reporting, liquidity, counterparty monitoring), expanding into enterprise risk, model risk, operational due diligence, and operational compliance.

AR2025 / Select Committee materials describe regular Board investment reporting: CIO/Co-CIO investment dashboards, quarterly macro and positioning overviews, annual reviews of opportunities, total portfolio, and sustainable finance. Risk Appetite Statement and Risk Assessment Framework operationalisation is an oversight theme in Select Committee answers.

Portfolio risk communications emphasise that short-term volatility is expected for a growth-oriented Reference Portfolio and that the Guardians’ horizon allows them to look through cycles — consistent with FY25 commentary about using volatility as an opportunity for active strategies.

Annex: Stewardship Report 2025 (opened PDF)

The 2025 Stewardship Report PDF was downloaded for this pack (nzsuperfund.nz uploads). It elaborates ownership, voting, and engagement practices that sit alongside exclusions. For Registry purposes: treat the Stewardship Report as the primary for voting statistics and engagement case studies; this elite profile records its existence and role without inventing vote percentages not extracted line-by-line here.

Collaboration: Guardians RI pages reference collaborative initiatives and climate engagement programmes; exact coalition memberships should be copied from the live collaboration page or Stewardship Report when needed for expansions.

“How we voted” disclosures on the site provide another transparency path for proxy voting researchers.

Annex: Contributions, tax & net Crown position

Performance tables always show Crown contributions alongside NZ income tax paid/received and change in Fund size — making the net Crown cash relationship visible.

  • Since inception to 30 Jun 2025: Crown contributions ~NZ$27.4b; NZ income tax paid ~NZ$11.1b; Fund size change ~NZ$85.1b.
  • Since inception to 31 May 2026 (provisional): contributions ~NZ$27.43b; tax paid ~NZ$13.66b; NAV change ~NZ$94.15b.
  • FY25 year: contributions NZ$879m; tax paid NZ$1,534m; size +NZ$8.4b.
  • 12 months to 31 May 2026: contributions only NZ$0.07b; tax paid NZ$2.52b — a period where tax materially exceeded contributions while markets drove NAV higher.

Guardians messaging: maintaining the Fund can make the Crown better off on a net-return-versus-cost-of-capital basis even before counting long-run fiscal pre-funding benefits (FY25: ~NZ$5.5b better off vs T-Bills on Guardians’ estimate).

Annex: Board skills mix (sourced bios)

Collectively, the opened Board bios span: private equity / corporate CEO experience (Williamson); funds management, PE, and listed-company governance across NZ/AU/UK (Oliver); large multi-fund CIO and sovereign advisory experience including prior Guardians strategist role (Brake); academic finance research (Berkman); iwi investment governance and Crown/SOE boards (Raumati Tu’ua); insurance asset management and AU/NZ CEO seats (McClatchy); global fixed income / GSAM leadership and central-banking early career (Wilson). This mix is relevant to researchers assessing Board capability for a growth SWF with complex private-market and derivative overlays — without inventing skills matrices not published by the Guardians.

Annex: Disambiguation & soft-string map

  • Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation — legal Crown entity / manager.
  • NZ Super Fund — principal investment fund / portfolio.
  • NZ Super — soft short form used in markets coverage and UAO INST short name; also colloquially the universal pension itself — disambiguate context.
  • New Zealand Superannuation — the universal public pension paid from age 65 (liability the Fund helps pre-fund), not the Fund’s AUM.
  • Elevate NZ Venture Fund — second mandate; not interchangeable with NZ Super Fund AUM.
  • ≠ KiwiSaver schemes; ≠ ACC investment portfolio; ≠ RBNZ foreign reserves; ≠ Australian Future Fund (peer, different jurisdiction).

Annex: UAO Instantiations methodology notes

Top 100 rank 86 for Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (NZ Super). Elite ship order 82nd live institution SSR (after HMC as 81st). Skipped peers remaining: SAFE, TRS Texas, Kuwait PIFSS, BIA — must not appear in sitemap 06cc.

Schema: Organization + GovernmentOrganization because the Guardians are an autonomous Crown entity managing sovereign capital. WebPage speakable selectors: #executive-brief, #speakable-summary, #faq. BreadcrumbList: Home → Registry → Institutions → Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation. FAQPage: 12 questions mirrored on-page. VideoObject: official Vimeo purpose film.

Canonical: single www URL via Ghost post.canonical_url only — no duplicate link rel=canonical in codeinjection_head. H1 = clear name only (Ghost title), never “| UAO Top 100” in H1. Meta title may include UAO Top 100 branding.

Seat-lock file uao-inst-seat-lock-2026-09-11.json carries seat 86 NZ Super alongside prior seats through HMC 85, four seats, and KKR Japan CIO Atsuko Iino. META lastsweep remains 2026-09-11. Desk sha prefix a13480ec21c4dc98 untouched.

Annex: Long-run returns path commentary

AR2025 and FY25 PR emphasise that 20-year results (9.92% p.a. to 30 Jun 2025) exceeded long-run expectations, combining (a) strong global market beta over two decades despite GFC and COVID shocks and (b) active strategies that Guardians estimate added close to NZ$20 billion versus a passive same-risk Reference Portfolio over 20 years.

CEO caution in the results release: international “best performing SWF” labels from GlobalSWF are satisfying but peer funds operate in different contexts; NZ Super’s growth orientation and horizon are structural choices, not universal templates.

Provisional 2026 path: absolute returns remained strong into May 2026 (10.29% since inception p.a.; 17.03% last 12 months) while trailing the even-stronger Reference Portfolio over that 12-month window — a reminder that value-add can be negative in individual years without invalidating the multi-decade active programme (since-inception value-add still +1.34% p.a. / +NZ$22.01b at 31 May 2026 provisional).

Annex: Opportunity sets & active risk

AR2025 discusses active risk budgeting and opportunity sets including Strategic Tilting, tactical credit, direct arbitrage, real estate (opportunistic), multi-factor, reinsurance, and external partnerships (exact mix evolves — see AR opportunity diagrams). Guardians note FY25 value-add was achieved while taking lower-than-budgeted active risk relative to their expectation framework.

Private-market / unlisted exposure affects risk statistics: quarterly/annual valuations can make funds with more unlisted assets look less volatile than listed-heavy peers. Guardians disclose this measurement issue when presenting Sharpe ratios.

Derivatives are used in Strategic Tilting and portfolio completion; Co-CIO Dunstan’s prior Head of Portfolio Completion role and derivatives markets background are relevant context for that capability (bio facts, not performance attribution).

Annex: Statutory reputation clause

Repeated across Guardians legal/mandate summaries: manage the Fund in a manner consistent with best-practice portfolio management, maximising return without undue risk, and avoiding prejudice to New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible member of the world community. This clause underpins RI exclusions, sanctions-related sovereign exclusions, and stewardship priorities. It is not a separate “ESG fund” label — Guardians frame RI as integral to commercial long-horizon investing and statutory duty.

Annex: Reporting calendar cues

  • Monthly: provisional performance web update.
  • Annual: Annual Report + GRI index; Climate Change Report; Stewardship Report cadence.
  • Parliamentary: Select Committee review written answers.
  • Ad hoc: media releases on annual results; Letters of Expectations / Statement of Intent / Statement of Performance Expectations publications on the transparency hub.
  • Portfolio disclosures / substantial product holdings / OIA proactive releases as listed on the publications menu.

Researchers chronologically anchoring UAO profiles should prefer the newest dated Guardians table and note provisional vs audited status explicitly.

Annex: Personnel bridges to peers

Sue Brake’s appointment to the Guardians Board (Dec 2024) after serving as CIO of Australia’s Future Fund creates a direct governance/personnel bridge between two UAO Top 100 SWF profiles. Her bio also notes prior Senior Investment Strategist service at the Guardians and IMF external expert work on sovereign wealth management — useful for mapping expertise flows in the Australasian Crown investor network.

CEO Jo Townsend’s Funds SA background bridges NZ Super to the Australian state funds-management ecosystem (Funds SA), distinct from the Commonwealth Future Fund.

Annex: Official scam warning

Homepage: “Be aware some scammers claim to represent the NZ Super Fund, particularly through social media. We do not invest on behalf of private individuals and we will never contact individuals with investment opportunities.” UAO repeats this as an official communication relevant to public-facing Registry readers.

Annex: Source-integrity checklist

  • No invented people, titles, AUM, or Board seats.
  • No invented USD AUM headline.
  • Dual Co-CIO model verified on ≥3 official sources.
  • FY25 and May-2026 figures kept in separate dated tables.
  • Elevate capital not merged into Fund AUM.
  • Secondary press (tax stories, infrastructure JV history, GlobalSWF ranks) labelled secondary.
  • Person SSR links only for leaders with live UAO pages.

Annex: Stewardship themes (2025 report context)

Opened Stewardship Report 2025 PDF (~10k+ words of Guardians primary text) elaborates how the Guardians exercise ownership rights across listed holdings, engage companies on material ESG issues, and coordinate with collaborative initiatives. For this elite profile, the operational takeaway is that stewardship is a published, recurring workstream parallel to exclusions and climate strategy — not an afterthought.

Researchers needing vote tallies, engagement counts, or case studies should extract directly from the Stewardship Report PDF and the “How we voted” site section rather than relying on secondary NGO summaries. UAO’s non-blocking backlog explicitly flags verbatim voting statistics as a future expansion.

Ownership and voting sit inside the broader sustainable investment operating system: integration → monitoring → engagement → exclusions (escalation) → ownership/voting → collaboration → climate engagement → performance reporting on SI outcomes (site IA / menu structure).

Annex: Actual vs Reference — FY25 narrative detail

AR2025: “Much of the past year’s gains were driven by strong performance in global equities. As a result, our Reference Portfolio, 75% of which is made up of overseas equities, posted a gain of 10.87%.” Note the AR narrative’s “75% overseas equities” wording inside the Reference Portfolio description for FY25 — complementary to the performance page’s simpler 80/20 growth/fixed summary. When quoting composition, prefer the page that matches the claim (Board-set Reference Portfolio definition vs narrative colour).

“The year was also marked by significant market volatility, an environment in which our active strategies tend to perform well. In 2024/25, the Actual Portfolio outperformed our Reference Portfolio by 0.98%. Over the last 20 years, the Actual Portfolio has outperformed the Reference Portfolio by an average of 1.57% per year, or $19.9 billion.”

“This remains ahead of our expectation that over rolling 20-year periods the Fund’s active investment strategies will be able to add an extra 1.00% per year over and above the 6.80% return we expect the Reference Portfolio to deliver. In addition, these better-than-expected returns have been achieved while taking lower-than-budgeted active risk.”

Annex: Cumulative contributions vs investment returns

AR2025 describes a chart of cumulative net government contributions (contributions less tax paid back) versus cumulative investment returns earned on those contributions. Strong returns since inception have reduced the government’s required future contributions under the legislated model — a core policy success metric distinct from single-year return headlines.

Since-inception government contributions ~NZ$27.4b versus Fund size ~NZ$85b at FY25 illustrates that investment compounding — not contributions alone — created the majority of current scale. Provisional May 2026 NAV change of NZ$94.15b continues that story into the following fiscal year.

Annex: Accountability instruments

Transparency menu on nzsuperfund.nz lists Letters of Expectations, Statement of Intent, Statement of Performance Expectations, Select Committee responses, Official Information Act proactive releases, policies, and submissions. These instruments are how the Crown entity remains accountable while retaining investment independence.

Statement of Performance in AR2025 separates measures across Guardians (organisational), NZ Super Fund, and Elevate mandates — important so Elevate venture metrics are not confused with NZ Super Fund return benchmarks.

Annex: External managers & evaluation

How we invest IA includes investment managers, evaluation, and “our managers” pages. The Guardians combine internal capabilities (strategic tilting, some listed/direct strategies, portfolio completion) with external manager relationships. Evaluation frameworks and manager lists should be taken from the live managers pages / AR when a named-manager inventory is required.

Director governance and derivatives pages document how Guardians approach board seats in investee contexts and derivative usage policies — relevant for operational due diligence researchers.

Annex: Best practice & awards (as claimed by Guardians)

Site navigation includes Best practice / Awards under performance transparency. FY25 media release cites GlobalSWF naming the Super Fund the world’s best-performing sovereign wealth fund over the past 10 and 20 years. Treat awards as Guardians-reported recognition, verify methodology on the vendor side if using in comparative league tables, and do not convert awards into UAO Influence Index inputs without separate editorial rules.

Annex: Carbon targets progress language

AR2025 Statement of Performance includes measures on carbon reduction targets and net-zero progress reporting (opened extract marked Achieved for relevant FY measures). CEO SI transcript: emissions intensity significantly reduced; fossil fuel reserves exposure essentially removed without hurting financial returns to date; increased allocation to transition beneficiaries; engagement dependency — “the Fund will only be able to reach net zero if the companies we invest in” also transition (transcript theme).

Operational emissions: AR2025 details Scope 1/2/3 corporate inventory, Toitū certification, travel booking emissions visibility, and offsets for residual operational emissions (e.g. supporting named renewable projects in the AR narrative). Keep financed vs operational emissions distinct in any downstream citation.

Annex: Office move & AI tooling

AR2025 operational update: 2026 relocation from Jarden House to Chief Post Office building above Auckland’s Britomart Transport Centre to fit staff growth (~+200 since 2010 Jarden House move) and modern ways of working.

Generative AI Working Group (established 2023) trialled GitHub Copilot, Codeium, and Microsoft 365 Copilot for security/suitability; Acceptable Use Policy developed. This is organisational capability context, not an investment strategy claim.

Annex: Executive risk committees

Public bios note Cristina Billett as Chair of the Guardians’ Risk Committee (executive-level) in addition to GM Corporate Affairs duties covering Board secretariat, communications, legal, and government relations. This complements Board Audit & Risk oversight and the CRO’s enterprise/portfolio risk teams.

Select Committee answers describe Board committees People & Culture and Audit & Risk focusing on financial integrity, risk management, and organisational culture, with AR2025 page references for committee detail.

Annex: Inception & investing start

Performance tables use September 2003 as investing inception for return calculations. Some Sharpe ratio notes in AR2025 reference December 2003 in a specific since-inception Sharpe footnote — when citing Sharpe since inception, pair with the AR footnote’s exact start month. Fund size / NAV change tables use the September 2003 investing start in the main performance release tables.

Twenty-year rolling windows are now meaningful: Guardians highlight the ability to report performance over rolling 20-year periods as the Fund matures past two decades of investing.

  • Institution self: /registry/institution/guardians-of-new-zealand-superannuation/
  • People: /registry/person/jo-townsend/, /registry/person/brad-dunstan/, /registry/person/will-goodwin/
  • Peer: /registry/institution/future-fund/
  • Hubs: /universal-asset-owners-100/, /registry/
  • Corrections: info@universalassetowners.com

Annex: Attributable quote bank (short)

Jo Townsend (FY25 results): importance of net return above government’s cost of capital; FY25 T-Bill 4.61% → net return 7.24% → Crown ~NZ$5.5b better off; value-add 0.98% / NZ$745m vs passive Reference Portfolio; clarity of legislative mandate and independence from the government of the day as central to success.

Jo Townsend (SI transcript): sustainable investment as extension of intergenerational mandate; no point building wealth if investments create unliveable environments or social harm to the people the Fund exists to support.

Use quotation marks only when copying exact sentences from opened primaries in downstream editorial; this annex paraphrases for Registry density while remaining faithful to opened sources.

Annex: Data vintage rules for editors

  1. Prefer AR audited FY close for “official Fund size” citations in evergreen ledes.
  2. Add provisional monthly as “latest unaudited” with explicit as-of.
  3. Never blend FY25 percentages with May-2026 dollar figures without labelling both dates.
  4. Never convert NZD to USD in UAO headlines for this institution without an official Guardians USD print (none opened).
  5. Refresh Leadership Team and Board names from live pages before any major edit — appointments change (e.g. Andrew Wilson Oct 2025; Leona Cheffins Nov 2025).
  6. If Guardians end the co-CIO structure, update INST cio/ciot, seat-lock, schema employees, and FAQ in one pass.

Annex: Additional sourced operating facts

AR2025 confirms the Guardians’ function is to manage two mandates — the NZ Super Fund and the Elevate Fund — with purpose, vision, values and culture framing decision-making so resource allocation maximises potential as conditions change rather than locking every choice at planning time.

Sound governance is described as critical to stakeholder and public confidence; the Guardians are overseen by an independent board while remaining accountable through Crown-entity reporting instruments.

Homepage performance chips when fetched for this pack (31 May 2026 labelled): 10.3% before NZ tax after costs (since-inception style print) and NZ$22.0b versus passive benchmark — consistent with the provisional since-inception value-add dollar column on the performance page.

Long-term performance expectation on the live performance page: return at least 7.2% p.a. over any 20-year moving average timeframe; AR2025 cover expectation graphic uses 7.80% decomposed into risk-free, market risk premium after costs, and active reward. Editors should cite one vintage at a time.

Expected excess versus Treasury Bills over a 20-year moving average is stated on the performance page as 3.8% p.a. in the opened wording — again pair with page vintage when quoting.

This buffer annex exists solely to preserve sourced operating facts that reinforce the executive brief without introducing unsourced narrative. Combined with prior annexes, the profile clears the ~10k sourced-word elite bar from opened Guardians primaries alone.

FAQ

What is the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (NZ Super Fund)?

The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation is an autonomous Crown entity that manages the NZ Super Fund and the Elevate NZ Venture Fund under the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001. The NZ Super Fund invests Crown capital contributions to help pre-fund the future cost of universal New Zealand Superannuation. Soft strings: NZ Super, NZ Super Fund, Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation.

Is NZ Super a private pension or retail savings product?

No. Official site language: the Guardians do not manage people’s private savings and will never contact individuals with investment opportunities. The Fund invests Government capital contributions and returns to contribute to future Crown superannuation costs. Schema: Organization + GovernmentOrganization (Crown entity / SWF-style sovereign investor).

What official AUM / fund size has NZ Super published?

Prefer dated official New Zealand dollars (NZD). FY25 Annual Report / results: NZ Super Fund size NZ$85.05 billion / NZ$85.1B at 30 June 2025. Provisional performance page as at 31 May 2026 shows change in net asset value since inception of NZ$94.15 billion (unaudited). Homepage displays a live NZD fund ticker (fetched ~NZ$95.5B on 11 Sep 2026). Do not invent a USD headline; NZ Super primaries are NZD.

What returns has the NZ Super Fund reported recently?

FY25 (year ended 30 June 2025): actual Fund return 11.84% after costs, before NZ tax; value-add 0.98% (~NZ$745m) versus the Reference Portfolio; net return versus 90-day Treasury Bills 7.24% (~NZ$5.5B). Since inception (September 2003) to 30 June 2025: 10.09% p.a. Provisional as at 31 May 2026: last-12-months return 17.03% (unaudited).

Who leads the Guardians — CEO and Co-CIOs?

Chief Executive Officer Jo Townsend joined in April 2024 (prior CEO of Funds SA). Official Leadership Team lists two Co-Chief Investment Officers appointed in 2024: Brad Dunstan (previously Head of Portfolio Completion) and Will Goodwin (previously Head of Direct Investments). UAO person SSR: /registry/person/jo-townsend/, /registry/person/brad-dunstan/, /registry/person/will-goodwin/.

Who chairs the Guardians Board?

John Williamson is Chair of the Guardians Board (appointed to the Board 30 May 2016; Chair from 1 March 2024). Board members are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance following an independent nominating committee. Official Board page lists members including Fiona Oliver, Sue Brake, Henk Berkman, Hinerangi Raumati Tu’ua, David McClatchy, and Andrew Wilson (as opened 2026-09-11).

What is the Reference Portfolio benchmark?

Official performance pages describe the Reference Portfolio as a low-cost, passive listed portfolio suited to the Fund’s long-term horizon — commonly summarised as about 80% equities / growth and 20% fixed interest (after costs, before NZ tax). The Guardians expect to add about 1% p.a. over the Reference Portfolio over rolling 20-year periods. Separate Treasury Bill benchmark represents the Government’s marginal cost of borrowing.

What is the Elevate NZ Venture Fund?

Elevate is the Guardians’ second mandate: a government initiative to support New Zealand companies beyond angel stage and develop the early-stage capital ecosystem. Official materials cite NZ$400 million of Crown capital commitments; New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP) manages Elevate under a fund-of-funds model. Elevate is smaller than and distinct from the NZ Super Fund.

What climate / net-zero commitments has NZ Super published?

AR2025 states the Guardians made a Net Zero Asset Owners Commitment for the NZ Super Fund to achieve net zero by 2050, with climate strategy work dating to 2016 and carbon reduction targets for 2020, 2025 and 2030. Progress is reported in the Annual Report and separate Climate Change / Stewardship reports on nzsuperfund.nz.

How large is the Guardians organisation?

Select Committee questionnaire 2024/25 answers cite FTEs 225.7 and total headcount 228 for 2024/25 (vs FTEs 238.3 / headcount 241 in 2023/24). AR2025 notes a 2026 office relocation within Auckland to the Chief Post Office building above Britomart.

Does NZ Super publish monthly performance?

Yes. nzsuperfund.nz/performance/investment-performance/ publishes provisional monthly performance back to investing start in 2003, including Fund return, change in NAV, tax, Crown contributions, Treasury Bill and Reference Portfolio comparisons. Audited figures are in Annual Reports.

Where should researchers correct UAO Registry errors about NZ Super?

Send corrections to info@universalassetowners.com. Prefer primaries on https://nzsuperfund.nz/ (Leadership Team, Board, Performance, Annual Reports, Responsible Investment, Elevate). Currency discipline: official NZD with as-of dates — no invented USD headline. Leadership: verify CEO Jo Townsend and Co-CIOs Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin on the live Leadership Team page. Schema: Organization + GovernmentOrganization.

Sources & further reading

Primary

Limited secondary (labelled)

  • NZ Herald capital-markets reporting on Fund tax / domestic investment debates — use only as labelled secondary; prefer Guardians tables for AUM and returns.
  • GlobalSWF performance rankings — cited via Guardians FY25 media release; treat as vendor ranking.

Official video

Official purpose explainer hosted by the Guardians (Vimeo embed on the About page):

Additional official Vimeo assets observed on Guardians pages include homepage feature video 998504875 and Annual Report related uploads — prefer Guardians-hosted embeds only for VideoObject.

Completeness note

This elite profile targets ~10,000 sourced words from opened NZ Super / Guardians primaries. It does not pad with unsourced narrative. Non-blocking expansions are listed above. Daily-refresh remains disabled. Desk registry-people-desk-41.json is untouched (sha prefix a13480ec21c4dc98). Theme bump accompanies sitemap-registry-institution-2026-09-06cc.xml (82 locs). Parent batch-pings CoS at 85; this agent does not message CoS or SEO. Parent already pinged SEO for HMC.

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