Do boards with more professional credentials deliver better returns and governance?
Comparing median 1-year returns for boards ranked by average qualifications per director
Note: This analysis is based on 50 issuers with both qualification and performance data. Correlation does not imply causation — many factors influence returns. Sample sizes are small, so differences may not be statistically significant.
Comparing boards that have at least one director with a specific credential vs those without
| Credential | With (n) | Without (n) | Median 1Y (With) | Median 1Y (Without) | Median GRS (With) | Median GRS (Without) | Median ROE (With) | Median ROE (Without) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chartered Accountant (CA) | 14 | 36 | +2.7% | +1.3% | 71.0 | 66.6 | 7.1% | 4.4% |
| IoD / AICD Governance (1+) | 82 | 39 | +4.8% | +3.3% | 67.6 | 64.8 |
Boards with 3+ IoD-designated directors show meaningfully better governance scores. Based on 183 directors with IoD/AICD designations across the NZX.
The data suggests a threshold effect: having 1-2 IoD members shows modest improvement, but boards with 3+ IoD-designated directors show a step-change in governance scores. This may indicate that governance training becomes effective when it reaches a critical mass on the board.
Do boards with more credentials tend to score higher on governance?
Top 30 issuers by credential density, with returns and governance scores
This page correlates board-level qualification density with company financial performance and governance scores. Qualification data is extracted from NZX AGM pre-meeting notices and annual reports. Performance metrics use 1-year and 3-year total returns. Governance scores use our proprietary GRS methodology.
Credential types: Governance (IoD NZ CFInstD/CMInstD, AICD GAICD/FAICD), Professional (CA, CPA, CFA, FCIS), Academic (BCom, MBA, LLB, PhD). Only issuers with 2+ current directors and at least one recorded qualification are included.
Limitations: Qualification coverage is incomplete (146 records across 54 directors). Correlation does not imply causation. Many confounding factors (sector, size, market conditions) affect returns. Results should be interpreted as exploratory, not prescriptive.
NZ Governance Power Index — top directors, board interlocks, auditor concentration, and multi-board analysis.
Interactive force-directed visualization of board interlocks across NZX, charities, iwi, and public sector.
Auditor market concentration, tenure analysis, and director-auditor independence.
Data sourced from NZX AGM notices, performance metrics, GRS scores. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@nzxplorer.co.nz.
For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.
| 4.6% |
| 4.4% |
| 3 |
| 8 |
| 2.7 |
| 2 |
| — |
| 6 |
| -8.0% |
| 59.3 |
| — |
BRM BRM Barramundi Limited | 5 | 9 | 1.8 | 3 | 2 | 4 | -5.3% | 73.8 | 8.7% |
KFL KFL Kingfish Limited | 5 | 9 | 1.8 | 3 | 2 | 4 | -4.8% | 75.2 | — |
KFL KFL Kingfish Limited | 7 | 9 | 1.3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | -19.9% | 75.2 | — |
MEE MEE Me Today Limited | 7 | 9 | 1.3 | — | 2 | 7 | -24.7% | 64.1 | — |
NZX NZX NZX Limited | 7 | 9 | 1.3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | -46.2% | 62.8 | — |
AFT AFT AFT Pharmaceuticals Limited | 6 | 7 | 1.2 | 2 | — | 5 | +22.4% | 73.1 | — |
PGW PGW PGG Wrightson Limited | 9 | 11 | 1.2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | +0.9% | 42.8 | — |
KFL KFL Kingfish Limited | 14 | 15 | 1.1 | 3 | 1 | 11 | -47.4% | 54.5 | 3.3% |
RYM RYM Ryman Healthcare Limited | 8 | 7 | 0.9 | 2 | 1 | 4 | +0.0% | 67.6 | — |
RBD RBD Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited | 10 | 9 | 0.9 | — | — | 9 | +42.3% | 70.3 | — |
TGG TGG T&G Global Limited | 9 | 8 | 0.9 | 2 | 1 | 5 | +33.2% | 69.0 | — |
NPH NPH Napier Port Holdings Limited | 12 | 10 | 0.8 | 3 | 1 | 6 | +7.9% | 71.7 | 7.2% |
SPN SPN South Port New Zealand Limited | 11 | 9 | 0.8 | 1 | 1 | 7 | +27.9% | 70.3 | — |
NTL NTL New Talisman Gold Mines Ltd | 9 | 6 | 0.7 | 1 | — | 5 | -75.4% | 71.0 | 25.9% |
SDL SDL Solution Dynamics Limited | 11 | 7 | 0.6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -7.3% | 76.5 | 7.0% |
MPG MPG Metro Performance Glass | 5 | 3 | 0.6 | — | — | 3 | -3.2% | 44.1 | — |
RUA RUA Rua Bioscience Limited | 8 | 5 | 0.6 | — | 2 | 3 | +102.1% | 84.1 | — |
FBU FBU Fletcher Building | 11 | 7 | 0.6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | +13.3% | 82.8 | — |
APL APL Asset Plus | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -5.1% | 51.7 | -4.8% |
CCC CCC Cooks Coffee Company Limited | 8 | 4 | 0.5 | — | 2 | 2 | -22.2% | 73.8 | 5.6% |
CVT CVT Comvita Limited | 13 | 6 | 0.5 | 2 | — | 4 | +42.6% | 42.8 | — |
EBO EBO EBOS Group Limited | 13 | 6 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -41.2% | 61.4 | — |
CVT CVT Comvita Limited | 8 | 4 | 0.5 | 1 | — | 3 | +142.6% | 41.4 | — |
BRW BRW Bremworth Limited | 9 | 4 | 0.4 | 1 | — | 3 | +9.5% | 70.3 | — |
DGL DGL Delegat Group Limited | 7 | 3 | 0.4 | — | 1 | 2 | +0.7% | 45.5 | 3.9% |
CMO CMO The Colonial Motor Company Limited | 13 | 5 | 0.4 | 1 | — | 4 | -11.9% | 65.5 | — |
ARG ARG Argosy Property Limited | 9 | 3 | 0.3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | +4.6% | 66.2 | — |
ANZ ANZ ANZ Group Holdings Limited | 10 | 3 | 0.3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | +42.5% | 67.6 | 8.2% |
