Pacific Islands Fund Managers Look To Māori Economy For New Opportunities

Pacific Islands fund managers are keenly interested in the burgeoning Māori economy which will be centre stage at Ōhanga ki te Ao – the indigenous economic summit hosted by Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po, on Saturday 29 November 2025.

Cook Islands National Superannuation Fund (CINSF) Chief Investment Officer David Brown says there’s a lot of interest in the success of Māori-owned assets which have steadily increased in value over the past two decades.

“Māori and Pasifika share a common heritage and common values, and we take a long-term view to caring and growing wealth for future generations.

“There is good alignment between the objectives of superannuation funds and indigenous investment opportunities, which we’re keen to learn more about.”

Unit Trust of Samoa (UTOS) Chief Executive Malaeulu Aysha Rimoni says the Trust is interested in learning more about the Māori economy and opportunities for its unitholders to access large-scale investment opportunities in privately owned companies.

“We’re very privileged to be a part of Te Arikinui’s indigenous economic summit and learning more about a Te Ao Māori perspective to economic development.”

CINSF and UTOS are members of the Pacific Islands Investment Forum (PIIF) of 22 fund management schemes with over NZD$110 billion in assets under management.

Ōhanga ki te Ao is an invitation-only summit that will be hosted at the University of Waikato on Saturday 29 November.

Alongside the summit is a Māori business expo called Kohinga Koha which denotes the concept of exchange for mutual benefit. The Expo is designed to showcase the very best of Māori and other indigenous businesses and will include Business–to–Business and Business–to–Consumer enterprises.

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