Ashley Siddall

Biography

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Ashley joined NZ Funds Management as a part time employee in 2004 while studying finance and economics at the University of Auckland, working in both the communications and investment departments during this time.  She became a full-time employee and member of the investment team upon her graduation in 2008. 

 

Approach

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It has been a steep learning curve beginning full time work at NZ Funds Management amidst the Global Financial Crisis.  While it has been extremely challenging, overall it has forced us as a firm to change and improve the way we operate.  It has also shaped my investment philosophy and encouraged me to set very high standards with regards to attention to detail in all aspects of my job.

 

My role at NZ Funds Management covers three main areas; Australasian equity analysis, external manager analysis and investment communications.

 

In my equity analysis I utilise both quantitative and qualitative forms of analysis in order to understand the key drivers or the essence of a business.  I take a long-term, value focused approach to investment, generally buying shares in companies that are understandable, fundamentally sound and efficiently run.  I believe that outperformance in investing is often achieved by locating hidden value or finding out of favour companies which forces me at times to think unconventionally and from different perspectives.  Additionally, I work hard to make sure that investments are made at the right price and at the right point in the business cycle in order to capture the greatest value for our clients.

 

Over the past few years I have worked with other members of the investment team to develop a rigorous and disciplined system for monitoring the performance of our external managers. My investment approach and the tools I apply to equity analysis are very much transferable to the analysis of our external managers.  I believe that the development of this monitoring process has helped to ensure that all of the components of our clients’ portfolios are examined and thoroughly reviewed in a timely manner.  In my opinion, it is this type of systematic approach that will likely yield the best results for our clients over the long-term.

 

An integral part of my role is also the clear communication of our investment ideas and processes to advisors and clients, whether it be information about our share investments or our external managers.

 

Above all else, I believe that teamwork is the most important element in achieving optimum results.  I think that this is the greatest strength of our investment department at NZ Funds Management, as well as the firm as a whole.