Transparency & Structure
Who's Involved
Every firm involved in your wealth management — who they are, what they do, and why they are here.
Your Adviser
James Newbigin
James Newbigin is the Founder of Bespoke Wealth and an investment professional with international experience advising individuals and family offices across global financial markets.
His career has been built around helping clients navigate complex investment landscapes and construct well-structured portfolios designed to preserve and grow wealth over the long term. James has advised clients across a broad range of asset classes including equities, fixed income, private equity, and alternative investments.
James began his career at ANZ Bank, where he spent two years gaining foundational experience across banking and financial services before transitioning into investment management.
He then joined Craigs Investment Partners, where he spent more than six years progressing to Investment Adviser and Partner, working closely with clients to develop tailored investment strategies and oversee portfolios aligned with their long-term financial objectives.
He later relocated to London to join Saxo Bank, managing a diverse portfolio of private investors and family offices across the UK, Channel Islands, Europe, and Monaco. In this role, he specialized in trading global markets across multi-asset strategies, including equities, bonds, and derivatives.
James founded Bespoke Wealth to provide a more personalised and independent approach to wealth management — one built on transparent fees, unconflicted advice, and thoughtful portfolio construction. His focus is on global market insight and long-term client partnerships built on trust.
Bachelor of Commerce (Economics & Finance) | Victoria University of Wellington
Our Firm
Bespoke Wealth · Independent by Design
Bespoke Wealth is independently owned. There is no bank, insurer, or fund manager behind us. We are not paid commissions and we do not retain rebates — our only commercial obligation is to you.
James founded Bespoke Wealth to provide a genuinely alternative advice model — built on transparent fees, unconflicted recommendations, and thoughtful long-term portfolio construction. His career has been working with individuals, families, and family offices across global financial markets.
He holds a Financial Advice Provider licence under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FSP1011643). We operate with transparent fees — no product incentives, and no retained rebates. All fund rebates are passed back to the client.
Because Bespoke Wealth operates with transparent fees and no commissions, every recommendation we make is free from product conflicts. No incentive exists to recommend one fund over another. Your interests and ours are completely aligned.
Investment Selection
How investment decisions are made
Investment decisions flow through a structured, multi-layered process. Your adviser works with the Investment Committee, which draws on independent NZ-based investment expertise and institutional-grade global research before partnering with leading fund managers worldwide to execute your portfolio.
Bespoke Wealth's internal Investment Committee provides rigorous oversight of all investment decisions. Every holding in a client portfolio must meet the committee's selection criteria before inclusion — ensuring no single view or relationship drives decisions without independent review.
This separation of investment selection from investment execution is standard practice at the world's best-run wealth management firms. It is an institutional discipline applied at boutique scale.
The committee is supported by an external investment office: an independent, New Zealand-owned investment firm that provides asset allocation support and research across asset classes and risk profiles, including access to institutional global research. This gives our process a broader research base than a boutique firm would typically have on its own.
No unilateral decisions. Every investment is reviewed against clear criteria — informed by both NZ-based expertise and global institutional research — by a governance body that exists solely to protect your best interests.
Operations
Administration, reporting & compliance
Running a portfolio involves significant ongoing operational work — performance reporting, PIE tax calculations, transaction processing, regulatory filings, and identity verification. Bespoke Wealth uses best-in-class New Zealand-built platforms for this infrastructure.
New Zealand's leading wealth platform for fund managers and financial advisers, administering over $25 billion in client assets across 230+ funds. The platform delivers consolidated portfolio reporting, PIE tax compliance, and investor registry services.
Adminis also enables Bespoke Wealth to configure investment accounts as non-interest-bearing — a key feature for clients requiring Sharia-compliant portfolio structures.
Your reporting, performance data, and statements are generated by an independent, purpose-built NZ platform. Your data is yours — held securely, accessible on your terms.
A proudly New Zealand-owned business dedicated to supporting independent financial advisers with world-class technology, investment solutions, and operational services.
Consilium's platforms provide compliance support, investment research tools, document management, and operational frameworks that underpin how Bespoke Wealth manages its advisory practice.
A well-supported adviser is a better adviser. Consilium's infrastructure means James focuses his time on investment strategy and client relationships — not administration.
A leading AML, KYC, and KYB compliance platform used to verify investor identities at onboarding. APLYiD combines biometric identity verification, document scanning, and database cross-referencing to meet New Zealand's AML/CFT requirements — digitally, in minutes.
Onboarding is fast and paperless. Every Bespoke Wealth client is formally verified under the AML/CFT Act — protecting both individual clients and the integrity of the platform.
Oversight & Custody
Independent protection at every layer
Your assets are held by a global institution completely independent of Bespoke Wealth. The business itself is regulated by the FMA and governed by an advisory board. Three independent oversight structures protect your interests from the outside in.
The FMA is New Zealand's financial markets regulator. Bespoke Wealth holds a Financial Advice Provider (FAP) licence (FSP1011643), requiring professional standards, appropriate insurance, conflict management, and ongoing conduct obligations.
Bespoke Wealth is not self-regulated. The FMA can investigate, impose conditions, or revoke our licence if we fail to meet conduct standards. This external accountability protects you.
Bespoke Wealth's Advisory Board provides strategic oversight and governance of the business — distinct from the Investment Committee. The board brings together experienced professionals to guide long-term direction and hold the business to account.
Even as a boutique firm, Bespoke Wealth operates with the governance disciplines of a larger institution — overseen by experienced professionals with fiduciary responsibility.
Regulatory Credentials
James Newbigin is a Financial Adviser, registered on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR No. 1011644). Bespoke Wealth is registered as a financial service provider (FSP1011643) and is authorised by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).
Ready to Start a Conversation?
We would be delighted to discuss how we can help you achieve your financial goals.