About US

Puai Wichman has been involved in the asset protection business since 1993. He chose the name Ora for its meaning of new life and fresh beginnings. He founded Ora Fiduciary (Cook Islands) Limited to provide trustee services from the Cook Islands. His journey now continues with Ora Partners, pulling together multi-disciplinary professionals from around the world to provide first-class premium service to astute and discerning clients.

The focus remains the same: to provide clients with exemplary proactive service, always with a personal touch. It's fair to say that Ora takes the long walk with our clients; it's a close association, which often crosses into life-long friendships.

ora team

Our services and capabilities have grown over the years to match the complexities of our clients' needs.

Our work is further strengthened by modern technology platforms, allowing access to up-to-the-minute financial information and keeping our clients' data rigorously secure.

Ora Partners have teams that operate from the Cook Islands and New Zealand, but with a global vision and client base.

Management Team

Puai Whichman 3

Puai T Wichman

Founder Ora Partners
General Manager Ora Partners New Zealand

With nearly 30 years’ experience in the offshore financial services sector of the Cook Islands, Puai has played an integral part in the planning and implementation of estate and asset protection plans for many high net worth individuals and their families.

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Now based in Auckland, New Zealand he has established Ora Partners New Zealand, an advisory and consultancy services company, strategically placed to take advantage of the superior opportunities presented in a safe business haven such as New Zealand. To that end, Puai has pulled together a team of proven professionals who specialise in diverse areas, including law, investment, tax, and emerging and disruptive technologies.

Ora Partners New Zealand is well placed to assist high net worth families and their businesses navigate through today’s new world economy with a focus on finding strategic investments and a secure place to conduct business in New Zealand.

Scott Pearson

Scott Pearson

Corporate Governance
Ora Partners New Zealand
Bcom, GradDip(Infosys), FCPA, CA, CFE, CMinstD

Scott is a professional director and consultant, and a chartered member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand. He has experience in a range of industries including reproductive medicine, local and central government, food and general manufacturing, utilities, not-for-profit, arts and culture, education, coffee roasting, and hospitality. 

Current roles include the New Zealand Gambling Commission, the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Board, Selwyn College board of trustees, and Repromed Fertility Limited.

Scott is an experienced executive holding CFO and COO roles in a broad range of industries and organisation types. He is a Fellow of CPA Australia, and also a CA member of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand. His consulting work comprises strategy reviews, budgeting & forecasting, as well as interim executive cover. Notable projects include working on the Auckland Supercity Amalgamation, writing the customer contract for Watercare, and lobbying for gambling sector reform.

Advisory Board

Phil Creagh

Phil Creagh

Director, Anderson Creagh Lai

Phil is a founding partner of Anderson Creagh Lai, and senior partner and chairman of the firm. His practice areas are wide-ranging and include dispute resolution and civil litigation, corporate and commercial advice, and specialist commercial property work.

Phil’s main focus is on providing the strategic focus and oversight of significant commercial and contract related disputes, frequently working with the separate bar. He has had significant recent experience as instructing solicitor in large commercial property disputes, the local authority powers and regulatory area, a significant minority shareholder oppression action, the leading NZ property relationship/trust case and in many other corporate and commercial causes.

In addition to his litigation practice, Phil continues to advise corporate and commercial, and occasionally property, clients on their needs. Outside the law Phil has a number of private family business interests, and has had governance experience, serving on the managing board of a leading Australasian law firm for six years before co-establishing Anderson Creagh Lai, serving as a director for a number of valued personal clients, and serving as an officer and trustee of a number of voluntary organisations. Phil also provides pro-bono assistance and advice to a number of organisations.

Nick Williams

Nick Williams

Legal Counsel | Litigation Attorney

Nick is an experienced litigation lawyer specialising in regulatory and white collar crime, financial markets law, and trusts. He is admitted to practice in both New Zealand and the Cook Islands and has appeared in the Cook Islands High Court in several high profile cases.

Nick has a strong interest in corporate governance and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

He teaches Financial Markets law and Trial Advocacy at the University of Auckland Law School.

Jeffrey Lai

Jeffrey Lai

Director, Anderson Creagh Lai

Jeffrey is a founding partner and the managing director of Anderson Creagh Lai. He provides sound, pragmatic legal and general commercial advice to a wide range of clients, particularly in mid-market and high growth New Zealand companies in various industries.

Jeffrey specialises in corporate structuring and restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, investment funding, domestic and international business expansion, and contractual arrangements. He also has a technology sector focus, particularly in major technology project development, implementation and integration, IT services outsourcing, and commercialisation of science and technology.

Jeffrey holds an LLB (Hons) and BCom from the University of Auckland.

Clayton Coplestone

Clayton Coplestone

Director, Heathcote Investment Partners

Clayton Coplestone has been working in the Financial Services industry since 1984, with a background in share broking, money markets, financial planning and asset management.

In 1995 Clayton left New Zealand to take up the position as Australasian Sales and Marketing Manager with a boutique asset management firm based in Sydney.

During his 10 years in Sydney, Clayton was responsible for co-authoring several books on the future of the financial advisory industry, and continues to write numerous articles for various media on global financial services & distribution trends. Clayton has spoken as a keynote speaker at most of the Australasian industry conferences throughout the past two decades, and remains a sought after speaker on all aspects of the financial services and investment industry.

Clayton was involved in the establishment of Credit Suisse Asset Management’s retail business in Australia which had a meteoric growth in assets under management to over AUD25 billion during his employment. In 2004 Clayton and his family moved with Credit Suisse to Hong Kong where he established and headed up development of their Asian Asset Management business – opening offices in Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China. During his 3 years in Asia Clayton was involved with identifying and completing China’s first asset management joint venture with China’s largest bank, and identifying and completing a similar endeavor to form one of Korea’s largest asset management joint ventures.

Clayton and his family returned to his home town of Auckland, where he set-up Heathcote Investment Partners – New Zealand’s leading third party distributor of boutique investment services to family offices, institutions and financial advisors.

Clayton has a Bachelor of Business Studies (major in Finance) and Diploma in Business Studies (Personal Financial Planning). Clayton has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (or AIF®) professional designation, awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, which is associated with the University of Pittsburgh.
Jonathan Eriksen

Jonathan Eriksen

Managing Director, EriksensGlobal Actuaries & Investment Strategists

Jonathan has over 40 years’ experience in superannuation and investment consulting and is one of the most experienced actuaries in New Zealand.

Some of Jonathan’s major assignments include: 

  • Conducting the first investment review of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation in 2004. The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has assets of $45 billion and is intended to fund part of the provision of New Zealand’s public superannuation benefits going forward. The report was well received by the Minister of Finance and Eriksens’ recommendations were adopted. 
  • Jonathan advised the New Zealand Earthquake Commission on investment and corporate governance matters surrounding the Disaster Recovery Fund. 
  • He is a past director of Tainui Group Holdings – a Maori Incorporation that has assets in excess of $1 billion. 
  • Provision of specialist advice to governments in pension reform and retirement funding issues; he has advised the Russian, Nauruan and New Zealand Governments on retirement savings policy. 
  • He is currently a director of several companies, is a member of the Institute of Directors (NZ) and Chair of the Trustees Executors Investment Committee and the Board of the BNZ Officer’s Provident Association. 

Jonathan advises corporate clients on a wide variety of actuarial matters including asset-liability analysis, life and general insurance, actuarial valuations and so on. He also advises clients on superannuation (pension) issues and investment matters including governance, preparing SIPO’s, asset allocation, investment manager search and selection and performance monitoring. Jonathan founded EriksensGlobal over 25 years ago. Funds under advice exceed $2 billion which includes several iwi and other Maori organisations as clients. 

Ora Partners, your Wealth Solutions Team.

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