People focus

Stuart Thomas

Director, Wealth Management Adviser

Christchurch

Stuart Thomas provides strategic investment and portfolio management advice to individuals, trusts, charities, and businesses across the South Island.

Joining Jarden’s Christchurch office in 2018, Stuart brought with him over 25 years of experience in financial services at BNZ, where he held a number of roles across retail, business and strategy. In 2004, he joined BNZ’s private banking team, providing highly personalised services to the bank’s leading personal clients, including lending advice, investment portfolio management and foreign exchange.

He has a BCom (Accounting and Business Administration) from the University of Canterbury, a Diploma in Banking from Massey University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Personal Financial Planning from the University of Waikato. He is a Financial Adviser and NZX Adviser.

Whether clients are seeking long term growth, income or wealth preservation, Stuart enjoys developing optimal, bespoke investment solutions. When his work is done, you’ll find him restoring his creative energy over a game of golf or tennis, or dancing with his wife, ballroom and Latin-style. 

After 25 years at BNZ, why did you choose to move to Jarden?

After 14 years as a private banker, I was ready for a change. Jarden was well known in the North Island and among corporate clients, but had only recently taken a foothold in the South Island, so I could see there was an opportunity to help develop the brand. It was a dynamic and growing business that offered both strong centralised support and flexibility in the way I run my wealth management practice. That was very appealing.

How does working at Jarden compare with working in a traditional bank?

The major difference is the level and sophistication of the advice we deliver. 

Jarden’s focus is around building New Zealand's capital markets, building wealth for people and fostering growth both economically and individually. That’s a much narrower operational focus than that of a traditional bank, which tends to have less flexibility, less appetite for risk, and may have constraints caused by legacy systems or centralised processes.

Our investment advice is backed up strong centralised support for the adviser network, including very good wealth management tools, access to live market information and specific company or sector research. People are always coming up with ideas to develop the tools even further, so there’s an endless process of improvement.

That enhanced access to data, systems and processes brings a responsibility too. You're empowered to truly understand what you’re advising and recommending to clients.

As a firm, Jarden is truly independent in its advice, so it doesn’t matter which investment clients choose. We are also able to offer wholesale-certified clients a range of interesting and non-traditional opportunities to help build their wealth, for example, through our Principal Investments business.

Tell us about your approach to wealth management

I have a strong belief in spreading your risk by investing across different classes of assets, and using quality research to support your decisions. Jarden’s wealth research team provides in-depth insights into both funds and individual companies, to support that decision-making process and the allocation of assets from one year to the next.  That empowers me to be more strategic in my approach.

What do you find most satisfying about your work?

When I see clients for a review meeting, we’ll often share a coffee or meal together. I love hearing about their families and what they have been up to since we last met.

The numbers on the screen are important, but even more important is what clients are able to do as a result. Many of my clients have children who live overseas, and a portfolio designed to generate income brings them a lot of freedom. Knowing that they can take that holiday every year, visit their grandchildren overseas (after Covid-19 restrictions ease) or even shout their children a holiday, is such a gratifying feeling.

A number of my BNZ clients have followed me to Jarden, and that’s a testament to the relationships you build over time. The relationship is the glue that holds it all together and goes a long way towards helping clients follow the inevitable ups and downs of the market. 

I also appreciate the close community partnerships we have at Jarden, including with financial literacy platform Banqer. They make a fantastic impact giving young people hands-on opportunities to learn about money. We’re encouraged to get involved where we can, and it’s been great to visit classrooms to discuss ideas around investing and markets with students.

Tell us about the culture at Jarden

The Christchurch office is a small team, so we work very closely in an open plan office, and the working environment couldn’t be better. The team is warm and welcoming, and everyone I’ve engaged with in the wider Jarden business has been only too happy to provide information and support, or offer guidance.

So much so, that when my cousin returned from New York to New Zealand, I told her there was only one financial services firm she should work for. Since then, she's been with Jarden for several years, based in Auckland. Even though Jarden is an established business, we have entrepreneurial mindsets and are constantly looking for ways to develop further – something I think is really valuable for both our team and our clients.