Iwi investment fund gets $100 mln in indicative commitments

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund says it has received indicative commitments up to $100 million for a proposed iwi and Māori direct investment fund.

The fund would see groups pooling capital to make collective investments with a 15-to-20-year investment horizon. Commitments have been made by more than 35 iwi, pan-tribal organisations, Māori land trusts and Māori incorporations, including various Tūwharetoa organisations aggregating together as a single investor, Te Tumu Paeroa, and various Taranaki iwi entities, the Super Fund said in a statement.

The fund is scheduled to close in late December, with legal documentation and internal governance still being finalised. It has been developed as a partnership project by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, He kai kei aku ringa (the crown-Māori economic partnership), Ngāti Awa Group, and the Super Fund.

"Reaching this milestone shows real commitment amongst iwi/Māori organisations to work together for the long-term economic wellbeing of our people and New Zealand more broadly,” said Paul Quinn from Ngāti Awa Group, which has made an indicative commitment of $5 million to the fund. "It is pleasing to see significant levels of interest in the fund, especially from the Central North Island and Taranaki-based organisations."

The Super Fund's chief investment officer Matt Whineray said the fund would help foster new co-investment opportunities for iwi and Māori organisations as well as other investors with similar investment values and endowments.

The fund "has established a relationship with the NZ Super Fund and will aim to build similar relationships with other institutional investors, with a view to creating and participating in co-investment opportunities," it said.