Jarden will be the junior partner in mooted tie-up with the FNZ-owned US trading platform, Hatch, aimed at competing in the direct-to-consumer market.
According to a spokesperson for the wealth management firm, Jarden will take a 25 per cent in the as-yet unformed entity with FNZ holding the remaining equity.
Under the partnership revealed last week, the former Kiwi Wealth-owned Hatch will merge with Jarden Direct, the firm’s established trading platform, in a bid to take on the likes of Sharesies, which has grown at pace since going live in 2017 to sign-up almost 600,000 members – including 50,000 in Australia.
“The platform will integrate Jarden Direct and Hatch, providing a wide variety of self-directed investors in New Zealand with the ability to grow their investments,” a joint statement says. “It will bring together the best of both worlds – with capital markets expertise, insight and leadership from Jarden, and the global scale and cutting-edge technology of FNZ alongside the investor-driven approach of Hatch.”
Hatch has accrued more than 120,000 users since launch in 2018 with Jarden Direct numbers not disclosed.
To date, Hatch – bought by FNZ last year for $40 million – has focused only on US-listed shares while the Jarden platform offers access to NZ, Australian, US and UK shares as well as certain bonds and currencies.
But the Jarden Direct pricing model follows a more traditional share-broking approach with per-trade fees of almost $30 for NZ and Australian equities, for example, and more than double that for US and UK stocks. By contrast, Hatch charges a flat fee of US$3 per trade for lots under 300 shares and US1 cent per stock traded for amounts over 300.
The now global investment administration heavyweight, FNZ, has strong historical links with Jarden, emerging as a start-up in the firm’s former guise as First NZ Capital in 2003. Under the leadership of founder, Adrian Durham, FNZ split from First NZ a couple of years later before finding outlandish success offshore.
FNZ continues to have a significant presence in its founding territory with boasting rights as the largest investment platform in NZ.
James McDonnell, FNZ chief, said in the release: “We are excited to partner with Jarden to further develop a digital-first, DIY investment platform centred around the needs of investors in New Zealand. This partnership marks the latest milestone in our ongoing mission of opening up wealth, empowering all New Zealanders to create wealth through personal investment, aligned with things they care about the most, on their own terms.”
Jarden chief, James Lee, said the two firms “share the same focus around pursuing bold ideas”.
The wealth management business raised about $60 million last year to help fund investment banking ambitions across the Tasman. Jarden – the majority owner of Harbour Asset Management – was also a bidder in the recent, still-unresolved, battle to acquire Kiwi Wealth, which is expected to go to Fisher Funds barring any last-minute complications.
In possibly related news, the firm has reserved the names Jarden Wealth and, Jarden Wealth and Asset Management, for future use.