Mercer NZ will follow its Australian counterpart by handing the funds administration business to Apex.
In a release this afternoon, Apex confirmed earlier reports it would perform a “strategic lift out” of the Mercer NZ fund admin arm in a deal set to complete in the December quarter.
The move also sees the Apex Group technology partner in Australia, Novigi, debuting in NZ.
Novigi would support the Apex “evolving operating model as it integrates Mercer’s business”, the release says.
According to the statement, the Mercer admin team and operations would shift to Apex “ensuring continuity of service for clients while further complementing Apex Group’s fund administration and registry capability in the New Zealand market”.
Peter Hughes, Apex Group chief, said in the release: “We are bringing Mercer’s experienced administration team into Apex Group while continuing to invest in technology through the expansion of our partnership with Novigi”.
“Together, these investments strengthen our platform, create meaningful opportunities for our staff, and enable us to deliver consistent, market leading outcomes for clients as we deepen our presence across New Zealand.”
As well as administering its own KiwiSaver and other schemes, Mercer counts most of the key NZ legacy workplace savings funds as admin clients including those serving the police, university, dairy and fire industries that remain the largest in the sector: the police scheme is the largest with $2.7 billion under management followed by Unisaver ($1.8 billion), Dairy ($1 billion) and Firesuper ($585 million).
Mercer also provides admin for its own, and the NZ Defence Force, KiwiSaver and super schemes that hold about $3 billion between them.
Anna Scott, Mercer NZ chief, said the agreement would come into effect as of October 1 with the admin change to apply to external clients as well as the manager’s own schemes.
“This is about strengthening the experience we are providing for our clients and members,” Scott said in a release. “Along with the benefit of administration staff continuity, we have chosen this path because it integrates technology, service, delivery and outcomes for our members and clients. It allows us to focus on what we do best.”