The NZX confirmed last week it had secured Macquarie Equities NZ as a lynchpin client for its recently-acquired investment platform.
As reported earlier in August, the Macquarie move to NZX Wealth Technologies came at the expense of the ASB-owned Aegis, which will lose funds under administration of about $1.7 billion (or up to $3 billion, according to some industry sources) as a result of the deal.
Last week Aegis picked up a new client with Bank of China, which is in the throes of building a private wealth business in NZ – including a $150 million fund launched in August for Chinese immigrants accessing the investor visa system.
However, the loss of Macquarie would come as a major blow for Aegis, which is understood to be facing an internal review at the bank with a decision looming on a technical upgrade.
Following the deal NZX Wealth Technologies (formerly known as Apteryx) would see funds under administration shoot above the $3 billion mark, triggering bonus payments to the platform’s former owners.
Macquarie also joins fellow broking firm, Craigs Investment Partners, on the NZX-owned platform. Craigs moved its previously in-house fund administration function – mostly linked to the group’s fully-owned QuayStreet Funds – to NZX Wealth Technologies last month, adding about $600 million to the platform.
In a statement, Tim Bennett, NZX chief, said the Macquarie deal represented “another key milestone” for the platform business it acquired in July 2015.
“We’ve made a substantial investment into NZX’s funds services business to gain exposure to a higher growth sector of the industry than our traditional markets business,” Bennett said. “The signing of Macquarie Equities New Zealand is another key plank in our strategy as we successfully move into this sector.”
A spokesperson for the NZX said the group was in talks with a number of other potential investment platform clients.
NZX Wealth Technologies is headed by Paul Baldwin, who as ASB general manager wealth projects developed the Aegis platform.
In March this year, ASB dumped long-serving head of Aegis, Peter Dine, replacing him with Angela Busby, who doubles as head of ASB Securities.