Flint Wealth is sounding out NZ fund managers and advisers as equity partners amid a business pivot for the platform provider.
The start-up investment administration service has been in “conversations” with several local firms over potential capital injections, according to ResearchIP chief, Darren Howlin.
“Flint has been capital-raising since inception,” Howlin said. “To date that has been from the three founding shareholders. But the market changes.”
He said the company had earmarked about a quarter of its equity for new investors from the get-go.
ResearchIP established Flint in 2020 along with Trustees Executors (TE) and Harbour Asset Management as a new direct-to-consumer funds platform.
However, Howlin said Flint was now focusing on the ‘white label’ market, enabling advisory firms and fund managers to badge the technology with two “foundation clients” signed up.
White-label clients might also be interested in taking equity stakes in Flint, he said.
Oliver Trusler, ResearchIP managing partner, said the white-label approach would allow fund managers or advisory businesses to efficiently manage clients across the wealth spectrum
Trusler said, for example, advisers could service lower-value investors who can’t afford full-service advice.
“It’s a highly scalable model,” Trusler said.
But Flint will likely need more capital to scale-up itself.
Howlin said the company is now operating more like a start-up again following a restructure last year that has left head of distribution, Stuart Auld, as the sole employee: Howlin and Trusler manage the show.
At the same time, majority shareholders – TE and Harbour – have other distractions. Harbour is gearing up for an expanded role in the soon-to-be-finalised Jarden-JBWere-BNZ Investments roll-up, FirstCape, while TE recently sold down its private wealth network.
Originally, ResearchIP was an equal shareholder in Flint (via holding company Formosa Wealth) but TE and Harbour have gradually upped their respective stakes over time.
At the latest count, Harbour owns almost 42 per cent of Formosa, TE just under 41 per cent with ResearchIP holding about 17 per cent.