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Effective risk management and excellent customer outcomes aren’t mutually exclusive—they depend on each other. That’s the approach Vivian Valbuena has refined over 25 years working across the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, and now New Zealand as General Manager of Risk at Fisher Funds.
In a recent conversation with Hamish Shaw, General Manager at ThirdEye, Valbuena shared her thoughts on fraud prevention, customer experience, and leading a risk function at one of New Zealand’s largest wealth managers, serving more than half a million customers.
The fraud numbers are hard to ignore
In 2024, one in three New Zealanders fell victim to fraud. 66% experience attempted fraud every month. And those are just the reported incidents.
“That’s reported,” Valbuena emphasises. “There are so many that are unreported. I know a couple of people who have gone ahead and paid tolls that it turned out they didn’t have to pay. And because it’s such a small amount, nobody reports it. But if you think about the thousands of people that do, it’s quite a good payday for the fraudster.”
Deep fakes, sophisticated scams, and cyber attacks aren’t theoretical risks anymore. They’re daily realities that require constant adaptation.
Risk appetite as a practical framework
Valbuena’s approach centres on understanding which risks to accept and which to avoid—particularly when customer outcomes are at stake.
This shapes how Fisher Funds thinks about customer experience. Valbuena admits she hates “filling out form after form after form and then getting asked for the same information again a year later.” So her team has worked to simplify customer due diligence without compromising compliance. If something frustrates her as a customer, it probably frustrates theirs, too.
New Zealand’s geographic position helps with horizon scanning. Trends typically hit one to two years after they emerge overseas, which creates time to learn from mistakes made elsewhere.
“What it means is that oftentimes we get the benefit of identifying emerging trends by seeing what’s happening overseas, because it happens overseas first, typically,” Valbuena explains.
Where risk work has real impact
When Valbuena discusses the impact of risk work, she cites specific examples rather than metrics. Over the course of her overseas career, her teams identified a potential domestic terrorist and notified the Financial Intelligence Unit. Another time, late-night calls with US counterparts revealed that major companies were challenging an impactful regulatory ruling in court, informing her that an AUD $1 million planned infrastructure investment in the US branch was unnecessary.
These aren’t abstract compliance wins. They’re examples of risk management protecting people and enabling smarter decisions.
Right now, she’s focused on the intersection of fraud prevention and New Zealand’s ageing population. With rising health costs and more New Zealanders approaching retirement, protecting KiwiSaver funds has become urgent.
“Right now there’s a lot of fear, and not just fear, but actual financial hardship,” she notes. “However, if you’re going ahead and withdrawing money now out of your KiwiSaver, what does that mean for you at a later date? So you really have to be thinking about these things. And what that means is that means communication and engagement.”
AI with eyes open
Fisher Funds is using AI to improve internal processes and efficiency. The logic is straightforward: simplify back-office work, free up time for customer engagement.
But Valbuena is deliberate about governance. “It’s very important, I think, for good governance around AI, so that every step of that AI journey there is that understanding and value-weighted conversation as to, okay, it can provide this opportunity, but at what potential risk? And are we willing to accept that?”
What partnership actually means
Valbuena prefers “partner” to “vendor” or “third party service provider”—and the distinction matters to her.
“I think part of partnership is, first of all, there’s a level of trust both in the ability to perform to a high quality standard as well as the ability to challenge each other, engage,” she explains. “Whether it be a third party, it’s also important to remember that at the end of the day, even if we are outsourcing a particular function, the accountability is ours.”
Advice for emerging leaders
Valbuena recommends getting involved with industry organisations like Risk New Zealand, where professionals can network, ask questions, and learn from peers. More valuable than googling for answers.
Beyond that, her advice centres on listening—genuinely listening—to your team, your business, your customers, and what’s happening in the world beyond your immediate responsibilities.
“Making sure that you’re aware of what is going on in the world, not just your little pocket of the world.”
