2021 New Zealand Capital Market Symposium

The 7th NZ Capital Market Symposium, this event brings together practitioners and academics to discuss issues around capital markets and finance in a changing world.

Registration and full programme

More about our speakers

Aaron Gilbert, Auckland University of technology

Aaron holds a PhD degree from Auckland University of Technology. He is the Head of the Finance Department and a Professor in Finance within the AUT Business School. He has produced a large number of internationally published studies in the fields of empirical finance, law and finance, corporate governance, market microstructure and personal finance.  His research interests include law and finance, financial capability, corporate governance and market microstructure.

Angus Watson, Sharesies

Gus is the Head of Investments at Sharesies, an online investment platform that lets people get started in the share market with just a few dollars. On completion of his degree at University of Canterbury, Gus began his career in the New Zealand energy sector and joined Sharesies early last year.  He leads a team tasked with finding new investment opportunities their rapidly growing customer base throughout New Zealand and Australia. They provide investors with the information they need to invest in the things that they value. Gus is passionate about the Sharesies mission to create the most financially empowered generation while ensuring that someone with $5 has the same investment opportunities as someone with $500,000.

Arti Prasad, NZ Super Fund

Arti Prasad is Senior Investment Strategist for the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation and works on the development and implementation of the Guardians’ Responsible Investment (RI) and corporate governance policies. Arti’s role includes integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investments, and portfolio monitoring of ESG breaches.  Her specialisation includes due diligence of ESG risks and opportunities on the Guardian’s direct investments.  She also leads on aspects of the Guardian’s climate strategy in particular carbon foot printing and working at reducing the Fund’s exposure to both fossil fuel reserves and carbon emissions.  Arti had been with the Guardians for 7 years, went overseas for 2 and half years and returned again in 2017.

Ben Marshall, Massey University

Ben's research has been published in internationally respected academic journals, such as the Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, Journal of Financial Markets, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of International Money and Finance, and Journal of Empirical Finance, and journals with a practitioner focus. Ben has also had his work accepted by each of the top three finance conferences: American Finance Association (AFA), Western Finance Association (WFA), and European Finance Association (EFA). His research has generated widespread interest. He is currently ranked in the top 1% of authors on the international working paper website SSRN (based on downloads of his papers) and his work has been discussed in numerous newspapers and investment blogs. Ben serves on the editorial board of a number of journals. He has also consulted to public and private companies in a range of different areas.

Jennifer Zhu, Head of Risk Management, NZX

Jennifer has a great interest in observing the evolution of the capital markets and how financial risk can be identified, measured, and managed proactively. Jennifer joined NZX in 2008 and has been a key player in launching the derivative market and setting up the Clearing and Settlement system for NZX listed products. She is currently the Head of Risk Management at NZX, mainly responsible for managing the financial risk arising from the post-trading clearing and settlement process. Decades of experience in the financial industry and time doing research at universities give Jennifer a rich perspective.

Teemu Tihonen, Team Leader - Risk Operations, NZX

Teemu joined NZX Clearing in 2018 as a Team Leader Risk Operations. His educational background is Bachelor of Science in Technology from Aalto University, Finland, and Master’s degree in Finance and Banking from Alcala University, Spain. Teemu has work experience from various analytical roles in Europe and in New Zealand in both banking and financial markets. He speaks three languages fluently that helps gaining a global perspective. Passion for financial markets, statistics and programming, Teemu considers risk management a fascinating career path for his range of skills.

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