Leading investment expert educated here

Arti Prasad-Naidu is charged with building an asset for New Zealanders' retirement. Photo/Supplied

Wanganui-educated Arti Prasad-Naidu has been named one of the top 40 young investment experts in the world.

Ms Prasad, 33, lives in Auckland and works for the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. But she did her intermediate and secondary schooling in Wanganui, returns to visit parents Pushpa and Vijeshwar Prasad, and helps with the annual Diwali celebrations.

Asset International's Chief Investment Officer magazine chose the top 40 young investment experts in the world. Mrs Prasad-Naidu was the only one from New Zealand.

She said some of the credit had to go to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. It had a big profile in the world.

She's a senior investment analyst, with a special interest in investments that meet environmental, social and governance standards.

Her skills in the field have been borrowed by other national institutions and the Queensland Investment Corporation.

She likes long-term investments and wants to uphold New Zealand's reputation as a responsible member of the global community. Looking after money for the nation's future was a big responsibility, she said.

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world," is her favourite motto.

Ms Prasad was born in Fiji and her family moved to New Zealand when she was seven. She went to Wanganui Intermediate School and Wanganui Girls' College before receiving a scholarship to the International Pacific College in Palmerston North to study commerce and international business. She got post-graduate diplomas in the same subjects from Auckland and Massey universities.

She has been working for the New Zealand Superannuation Fund for more than five years.