Britannia Financial Services rebrands - expands investment offering

Britannia Financial Services has refreshed its branding, added to its list of investment partners and shifted its focus to more sustainable investment in a major overhaul of its operations.

Tuesday, June 15th 2021, 6:00AM

by Matthew Martin

From now on, Britannia Financial Services will be known as NZBritannia – Retire Better, says chief executive Gavin Dixon.

Dixon says since acquiring the management rights of the Integral Master Trust last year, New Zealand’s leading provider of UK pension transfer services continues to move from strength to strength and is pleased to announce a range of improvements to the schemes it manages.

“We have taken this opportunity to refresh our branding from Britannia Financial Services to NZBritannia – Retire Better.

"Britannia has been around for a long time now and we are proud to have helped transfer over 20,000 pensions to New Zealand," says Dixon.

"We are now embarking on the next part of our journey where we will work closely with our advisers and staff to ensure that they are able to help our investors achieve their best possible retirement."

Dixon says NZBritannia is adding a new investment manager to complement its existing providers with ANZ New Zealand Investments Limited providing a range of investment solutions for domestic and international equities, along with global infrastructure and property.

ANZ's involvement with the NZBritannia schemes will be integrated alongside existing investment managers IOOF, Dimensional Fund Advisors and Harbour Asset Management.

“After a sharply focussed review of providers, in conjunction with Melville Jessup Weaver, we are pleased to provide our advisers and investors access to both local and global investment providers who are market leaders in their respective areas."

He says investors will benefit from global investment managers such as Northern Trust, Franklin Templeton and Dimensional Fund Advisors, who will help deliver strong, consistent returns.

When it comes to fees, Dixon says NZBritannia’s simplified fee structure provides investors with certainty about fees and there are still no performance fees, "...as NZBritannia believes such fee structures do not encourage underlying investment managers to act in the interests of scheme members".

He says the company is also making sure its investments focus on sustainability, with particular concern regarding climate change.

“As a society, we are becoming increasingly aware of the impact we have on the planet and how the organisations we invest in impact our communities."

And after listening to client feedback, NZBritannia is increasing its focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters across its schemes.

"NZBritannia’s investment activities will become more focussed on reducing the impact that their investments have on the world, benefiting investors and the communities they live within," says Dixon.

Tags: ANZ ESG Gavin Dixon NZBritannia pension transfers Sustainability