Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS) has confirmed it is working with corporate advisory business Clare Capital to source a strategic partner for its subsidiary direct-to-consumer platform, InvestNow.
It is understood the Wellington-based niche investment banking firm is currently seeking expressions of interest from both local and offshore businesses to back the fast-growing investment platform.
As reported last year, IIS sold its stake in global fixed interest manager Hunter to Harbour Asset Management after exploring various capital-raising avenues.
Company founder, Anthony Edmonds, said IIS had narrowed its focus to spur growth in the core fund-hosting and InvestNow businesses.
“InvestNow is experiencing huge growth, and it’s the ideal time to accelerate this even further by introducing additional expertise and capital,” Edmonds said.
“We’ve built InvestNow up from being a start-up in 2017 to become the leading investment platform in NZ with more than $1.2 billion of assets spanning managed funds, term deposits, and KiwiSaver.
“From that solid footprint, we think now is a good time to take InvestNow to the next level. We’re looking for investors who have technology or distribution skills that complement the business – or even those who can bring a global perspective.”
In 2021 InvestNow reported assets under management growth of more than 60 per cent, he said, across its retail funds, term deposits and recently launched KiwiSaver scheme.
Client numbers have jumped to more than 25,000 with an average account balance of $50,000.
“The power of our platform was demonstrated through clients injecting more than $600 million of fresh cash into InvestNow over the last 12 months,” Edmonds said. “It was equally awesome to see our unique KiwiSaver scheme grow so significantly since launch last year – with rapidly increasing support from financial advisers, too.”
He said InvestNow was built to institutional investment grade standards including a strong emphasis on client security using measures such as independent third-party custody.
“InvestNow is for people who are serious about money and we take those obligations seriously,” Edmonds said. “And the serious opportunity for InvestNow is to jump on the gas to further accelerate our growth, which is exactly what we have told Clare Capital to help us do.”
Clare Capital, founded by Mark Clare, has previously advised on several NZ financial services transactions including the FundSource/Zenith deal in 2019 and the FNZ purchase of US share-trading platform, Hatch, from Kiwi Wealth.