Juno KiwiSaver Scheme, a KiwiSaver fund provider owned by Pie Funds, has recently slimmed down its staff and operations.
This comes after Pie Funds cut seven staff across the group and reshuffled several more after a review. The review started in December last year, with COVID-19 adding some complications to the process. The new Chief Operating Officer, Paul Gregory, says the restructure would see Pie’s investment, wealth and KiwiSaver units working more closely together.
News timeline
Launched in 2018, Juno has seen multiple management changes such as co-founder Jacqueline Taylor leaving the business last March.
In January of 2019, Pie Funds failed to secure a suitable buyer in its plans to sell off a 25% to 75% stake of the firm (including Juno). “The partnership search was motivated by the potential for new capabilities to add value to Pie and Juno’s growth, not a need for additional capital,” said founder Mike Taylor.
At the end of May, Juno’s managed funds were reported to be close to $150 million.
In June, Juno’s investment magazine was purchased by property investment advisory firm, Opes Partners. Juno magazine is a New Zealand investment magazine aiming to improve the financial literacy of New Zealanders. The magazine had a revenue of about $240,000 over the 2019 financial year, and a book value of $35,000.
With instability in the market due to recent events such as Covid-19, KiwiSaver returns have felt the impact. However, according to Juno, its active management approach has helped it to perform well in volatile times. In the year ending 31 March 2020, Juno’s annual Growth Fund return of 10.3% outperformed the industry average return of -4.06% (Source: Juno).
More about Juno
- Juno offers three KiwiSaver Funds: conservative, balanced, and growth funds.
- Juno has one flat annual fee in dollar terms and no performance fees
- Juno focuses on financial education and making it simple for its contributors to understand where their money is invested
