Craigs Investment Partners has scotched rumours reported by Australian press last week about a pending sale to fund distribution group, Ironbark Asset Management.
The Australian newspaper claimed Ironbark was to “buy into” Craigs, which runs the largest investment advisory network in NZ by assets under management.
“We are not in talks with Ironbank and we were not approached for comment as was stated in the article,” a Craigs spokesperson said.
The NZ national investment advisory and broking firm boasts almost $30 billion under management and 208 financial advisers across the country. Forsyth Barr hosts more than 220 investment advisers but has perhaps slightly less funds under management.
Founded in 2009 by Chris Larsen, Ironbark distributes more than 20 funds across a range of asset classes to both wholesale and advised retail markets. The business also offers corporate trustee services for funds and managed accounts (similar to discretionary investment management services, or DIMS, in NZ).
As at the end of September the business reported more than A$76 billion in assets under management. In 2022 the ASX-listed investment manager, Soul Pattinson, committed A$30 million to Ironbark to fund acquisitions, according to press reports.
Soul Pattinson owns about a third of Ironbark.
In September last year, Ironbark bought Australian independent financial advisory firm, Invest Blue.
Larsen said at the time that the Invest Blue deal “further enhances our commitment to creating Australia’s largest independent diversified financial services businesses”.
“We are creating a significant platform for future growth by combining professional advice, trustee and investment solutions,” he said in a release.
According to a source familiar with Ironbark, a tilt at Craigs was plausible given the group’s strategic growth plans.
Craigs has been through various offshore ownership changes this century, selling half of the business to ABN Amro in 2001 before a staff buy-back eight years later.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank took a minority stake in Craigs in 2010, which ended in 2020 with another management repurchase.
But the NZ advisory firm has continued to pursue international support, inking a deal with JP Morgan Asset Management this February to supply a range of research and product development services.
“Strategic partnerships continue to benefit clients, like the recently announced partnership with J.P Morgan Asset Management delivering the best in international insights combined with the reassurance of a Kiwi owned and grown firm,” an in-house Craigs article noted in April.
The NZ advisory sector has seen some ownership changes of late, notably the Forsyth Barr purchase of Hobson Wealth last December and the Jarden/JB Were hook-up announced soon after.
Jarden and JBWere NZ advice networks formed part of the FirstCape fusion that also houses BNZ investments under Harbour Asset Management.
As reported in July this year, Investment Services Group – a business including Devon Funds, Clarity, Select and the JMI advisory firm – was also potentially in play with the outcome of a review expected by year-end.