New head of Oz equities at Pie

Pie Funds has appointed a new head of Australasian equities.

Sunday, February 12th 2023, 9:01PM

Michelle Lopez has started as Pie's head of Australasian equities and portfolio manager, based out of the firm's Sydney office.

She has spent the past 19 years as head of Australian equities at abrdn. She started at the firm as an analyst nearly 19 years ago and for the past four years has been head of equities.

Founder and chief investment officer, Mike Taylor, will continue to be New Zealand based, as Pie builds up a "world class investment team" with experts on the ground in its key regions – notably New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

"To get the full benefit and most value the team come together on a regular basis and NZ equities and fixed interest will continue to be run from New Zealand," chief executive Ana-Marie Lockyer says.

"It's great to have Mike’s expertise fully focussed on leading the investments side of the business and with strong results delivered in the start of the new year we hope to see this continue as we deliver value for our clients, after a turbulent time in the markets."

She says it is great to have attracted such a talented and respected leader in her field as Lopez.

“My focus will be on realising the full potential of the Australasian equity team, who have delivered solid long-term returns for clients, and a framework of strong collaboration within the organisation. There is a tremendous amount to look forward to, for staff and clients alike,” Lopez says.

Pie Funds has also added operations, business development and client servicing experts to support its business growth plans.

Grant Hodder joins the manager in late March to the newly established head of product and operations role to support excellence in operational delivery for clients and to support the focus of KiwiSaver business.

Pie's Sydney team is up to four on the ground now, founder Mike Taylor says.

Tags: pie funds