Foundry Asset Management

Foundry Asset Management

Rogers established Foundry Asset Management in May 2009, drawing on a quarter-century of experience in New Zealand’s wealth management and fund management sectors. The firm was built on a specific critique: that the standard advisory model — where brokers receive commissions for product recommendations — is inherently misaligned with client outcomes. Foundry’s primary objective is capital preservation, and its investment philosophy emphasizes a margin of safety and direct security in underlying ownership. The manager constructs global investment portfolios for New Zealand investors, targeting medium- to long-term absolute or positive returns. Asset allocation spans asset classes such as equities, fixed income, and alternative investments, accessed through a network of global investment specialists that Foundry claims are often new to New Zealand investors. The firm deliberately avoids a house-fund structure; instead, it selects external global managers for its clients’ portfolios and binds its own advisers to invest personally in exactly the same strategies, at the same fees, as their clients. Foundry also favors external managers whose principals have co-invested a substantial portion of their own wealth. Geographic coverage extends beyond New Zealand to developed and emerging markets across North America, Europe, and Asia. The firm operates with a lean team led by Rogers and supported by a three-member Investment Committee: Dr. Roger Su, Norman Stacey, and Chairman Chris Douglas, whose prior role was Director of Research for Morningstar’s Asia-Pacific efforts in Sydney. No specific AUM or deployment figures are publicly disclosed, and the firm does not operate additional satellite offices. The deliberate co-investment covenant — advisers invest alongside clients on precisely the same terms — is foundational, ensuring that fee structures and investment selection align the team’s financial interests directly with clients. The most meaningful structural differentiator at Foundry is its enforced co-investment pact. Unlike a standard wealth management practice, Foundry’s officers are required to place their own capital into the same global managers and under the same conditions as their clients, eliminating the disclosure gap between what is recommended and what the adviser personally owns. This flat architecture is paired with an external-manager selection model rather than a proprietary fund lineup, meaning the firm’s fiduciary posture is reinforced by a sourcing model that treats its own principals as anchor investors.