Forsyth Barr has spun out its funds management business into a new stand-alone operation, initially targeting the wholesale market.
Launched today under the Octagon Asset Management brand, the new Forsyth Barr-owned fund shop opens with $650 million of in-house money, including the group’s Summer KiwiSaver scheme.
Paul Robertshawe, Octagon chief investment officer, said the manager would compete at first in the wholesale space, aiming to establish a retail presence later.
“We wanted to establish Octagon on a true arms-length basis to remove some of conflicts of operating within a wealth management business,” Robertshawe said.
While Forsyth Barr retained full-ownership and licensing obligations for Octagon, he said staff would take some equity over time.
Rival broker-originated wealth management firms Craigs Investment Partners and Jarden also own, or part-own, funds businesses – QuayStreet and Harbour Asset Management, respectively.
“We see ourselves as more like the Jarden-Harbour arrangement,” Robertshawe said.
Octagon currently boasts six staff with two more to join in January as the manager gears up to pitch to the wider market.
Both Robertshawe and head of equities, Jason Lindsay, previously worked at the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) fund before joining Forsyth Barr.
In a release, Forsyth Barr head, Neil Paviour-Smith, said: “The launch of Octagon Asset Management is a signal of our ambition to evolve and expand Forsyth Barr’s established funds management offering and deliver greater value to those who invest in these funds. Creating an independent asset management business will enable us to access new markets, attract new talent and deliver new fund and investment opportunities.”
Richard Bodman has also joined the board of Octagon as independent director, the release says.
Bodman is currently chair of Te Ahumairangi Asset Management, the boutique fund manager created by former ACC chief investment officer, Nicholas Bagnall.