This year brings new strength and a sharpened focus for New Zealand’s longest-standing trustee company, Trustees Executors Limited, which is a specialist provider of corporate trustee and statutory supervision services.

In February this year, Trustees Executors Limited (TEL) became part of Perpetual Guardian Group, ensuring it is well resourced under an expert long-term institutional mandate.

Under Perpetual Guardian Group ownership, TEL oversees supervision of client investment assets in excess of $200 billion, across managed investment schemes, KiwiSaver, debt capital markets, securitisation programmes, non-bank deposit takers, retirement villages, and corporate trust arrangements, placing it among a small number of licensed supervisors operating in the country.  

An independent board, built on expertise

Factors that set TEL apart, according to its board, include a combination of local ownership, specialist focus, and direct access to senior management operating within the business. Rather than spreading itself across a broad range of financial services, TEL concentrates solely on corporate trustee and statutory supervision work, an area that rewards depth of experience over breadth of offering. That focus is paired with a commercial, pragmatic approach to regulatory obligations, aimed at reducing friction for clients without compromising on compliance.

TEL's board is now fully independent. Chair James Douglas was joined in June this year by two handpicked non-executive directors, Dennis Church and Murray King, who were chosen for their standing and their deep, broad expertise in the sector. Their skills will bolster TEL as it competes at the top of New Zealand's corporate trustee and supervision market.

Murray King was a partner in the banking and financial services department of Bell Gully for 24 years and remained as a consultant for a further two years. He has broad experience across all aspects of debt capital markets and is a recognised expert in the securitisation field. During his legal career, Mr King advised leading statutory supervisors on both wholesale and retail debt issues and securitisation transactions.

Dennis Church is an experienced senior executive in the financial services industry with more than 30 years’ experience, including as General Manager for two corporate trustee businesses. His expertise includes the supervision of a wide range of securities and financial products, from KiwiSaver and superannuation schemes to debt securities, securitised assets, covered bonds, retirement villages, and marinas. He has worked as a share broker and as a management consultant with an international consultancy.

"Dennis has spent more than three decades at the heart of corporate trustee businesses and has hands-on experience supervising the full range of products and structures our clients rely on," says James Douglas. "Murray is a nationally recognised authority in debt capital markets and securitisation, a strategically important area for us as we look to grow our presence in that market. Together, they give us a board that is highly current in skills and capability."

                   James Douglas, Dennis Church, Matthew Band and Murray King

Backed by an industry leader

In welcoming TEL into the fold, Perpetual Guardian Group, the country’s largest and most comprehensive fiduciary services group, sees its job as increasing visibility in the wider market of TEL’s disciplined operation and strong supervisory and governance practices.

Murray King recognises the benefits of consolidation. Observing that TEL has an experienced team with genuine expertise across all aspects of corporate trustee services, he says the change in ownership means “the TEL team will benefit from a highly engaged ownership group largely based in New Zealand. This can only enhance the service proposition in terms of decision making, agility and in-depth knowledge of the local market.”

Mr King notes that TEL has a re-energised team that already carries sector expertise; now that it is paired with an owner that is highly engaged and close to the market, clients can expect to find an even more responsive service. Day-to-day, the company is headed by General Manager Matthew Band, who oversees the corporate supervision business and its work with leading financial institutions, fund managers, banks, and iwi.

"Clients want a direct line to the people actually managing their supervision," Mr Band says. "That's been the case throughout my time in this business, and it's exactly what we're set up to deliver, across everything from KiwiSaver schemes to debt issues, and securitisation."

                                   James Douglas, Patrick Gamble Dennis Church and Murray King

Scale, speciality and stability – relationships that run deep

TEL's newly independent board sits alongside a service model built on relationships. Dennis Church's career ran through other corporate trustee entities before he joined TEL's board, so he has had a view of the corporate trustee market from almost every angle.

"I don't think it's an industry you can compete in on price," Mr Church says. "You compete on relationships, trust and on scale, specialty and stability. That's what clients are buying into."

Those relationships run deep across the banks and originators active in New Zealand's securitisation market, built up over years of direct involvement. Combined with Murray King's experience advising from the banking and legal side, it gives the board two distinct yet complementary perspectives on the same market.

Mr Church also points to the growing weight of regulatory expectation in the sector. The Financial Markets Authority is the regulator of supervised entities and supervisors are the frontline of the sector. The requirements placed on those supervisors have increased steadily as a result.

Closing the gap in securitisation

New Zealand's securitisation market is active and growing, served by what Murray King describes as a fairly small club of bankers, lawyers, accountants, and trustees. To belong to the ‘club’ takes years of direct experience.

TEL has acted as trustee on securitisation programmes for over 25 years, and while other providers have carried a higher public profile in recent years, Mr King says TEL retains the expertise to perform the role. "Establishing a securitisation programme can be an expensive and time-consuming process, especially for first-time issuers. Our goal is to leverage the experience within TEL to make that process easier.

“By sharing the burden of the documentation and reporting process, and the administration of the programme generally, we will simplify life for our clients so they can focus on their business activities."

TEL was originally the leading provider of trustee services to New Zealand's securitisation market, and Mr King is firm in his outlook that the business is on track to reaffirm its market leadership in this space.

The future promise of a supervisor for life

TEL enters this next phase of its 145-year history buoyed by a fully independent board and the uplift of a well-resourced Group behind the company – critical for clients assessing counterparty stability in supervision and corporate trust.

In fact, Mr Douglas says, signs are pointing to the increasing dominance of supervision. “The Government’s proposal to automatically enrol all babies in KiwiSaver at birth, with a four-figure kickstart, would effectively mean a supervisor is with you for life. This would further validate our relationship-led service and showcase the value of specialist expertise.”

Imagine a financial future for Kiwis in which they have been investors for nearly two decades by the time they reach adulthood. Whatever the policy, TEL will be there, serving its clients and strengthening its own storied legacy.

About Trustees Executors Limited

Trustees Executors, part of Perpetual Guardian Group, is New Zealand’s oldest trustee company, established in 1881. A specialist corporate trustee and statutory supervisor, Trustees Executors provides services for complex, regulated structures including managed investment schemes, debt capital markets, securitisation programmes, and corporate trust arrangements. The business oversees supervision of client investment assets in excess of $200 billion. Its board is independent, and it is backed by the resources and institutional knowledge of Perpetual Guardian Group.

About Perpetual Guardian Group

Perpetual Guardian Group is New Zealand’s leading and premier provider of the full suite of estate planning services including Wills, Trusts, Enduring Powers of Attorney, Investment Advisory, Investment Management, and Philanthropic ventures.

Our origins date back more than 140 years, and today we have offices nationwide, with over 125,000 client relationships, $2.8 billion in funds under management, and $8 billion in total assets under management. Innovation, fiduciary expertise and a rich history go hand-in-hand at Perpetual Guardian Group and we also stand as New Zealand’s largest Trustee for Charitable Trusts – supporting clients in their familial, financial, and philanthropic goals.

Perpetual Guardian Group comprises organisations offering complementary specialist services to support clients at all stages of life, including Perpetual Guardian, PG Investments, New Zealand Trustee Services, and Givealittle.