Two new moves drive growth
Non-bank lender First Mortgage Trust has appointed Gareth Brown as its new head of treasury and Matthew Laing as wholesale investment manager.
Brown (pictured above left) is highly experienced in treasury management having previously been the head of financial markets and treasury risk at a major bank. He also spent two years in treasury and risk management with an accountancy and advisory business.
More recently, Brown has been operating his own advisory company providing financial market and treasury advice to banks, which included advising on ESG processes.
“I have been working in banking and specifically financial markets for over 20 years, both in London and Auckland,” Brown said. “In that time, I have performed a number of senior business and risk-related roles in financial markets and treasury functions. Responsibilities in that time included financial markets risk, business development and treasury risk, funding, liquidity and balance sheet management responsibilities.”
Brown said at FMT he would be focusing on increasing the quality and value of its funding in a way that reinforced the robustness of its balance sheet.
“At the same time, this secures the growth of our business in a sustainable manner,” he said.
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FMT CEO Paull Bendall said the non-bank lender was delighted to appoint Brown to the newly created role as its new head of treasury.
“Gareth will be a key member of the leadership team with responsibility for overseeing and implementing the treasury strategy which will sustainably grow the fund,” Bendall said. “Gareth will also be involved in our technology project that will provide an improved client experience for our investors and will support the business' continued growth and further advance operational efficiency.”
Bendall said First Mortgage Trust had been providing investments and property finance to Kiwis for over 26 years.
“We are committed to investing in the business and the introduction of the head of treasury role reflects the changing needs of the business and will strengthen the strategic focus of the business,” he said.
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Speaking on his new appointment, Laing (pictured above right) said he has extensive experience helping clients to evolve their investment portfolios into new sectors and offers that ensures they were future ready.
“This has included ethical investing, infrastructure portfolios, the role of artificial intelligence in investment and the green economy,” Laing said. “I have also engaged with clients in New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia and China and have represented funds from across the globe.”
Bendall said FMT was also very pleased to have Laing joining the investment team in Auckland as wholesale investment manager.
“Matthew has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the investment and financial industry,” he said. “These appointments reflect our desire to expand our funding footprint on a national basis. As an active fund manager, First Mortgage Trust is constantly reviewing the NZ market to ensure we optimise our investors’ returns on their investments.”
Bendall said the introduction of these two roles would ensure FMT continued to provide its investors a great customer experience and good outcomes.
“These all remain at the heart for what First Mortgage Trust has done for the last 26 years,” he said.
