Select Wealth Management will remain on the platform formerly known as Aegis under a deal inked with MMC last week.
MMC bought Aegis from ASB last year, fully integrating the platform into its existing investment administration business earlier in 2020. Now rebranded as MMC Wealth Administration, the platform hosts “over 70 advisory groups across New Zealand”, the firm said in a release.
Vedran Babic, MMC chief, said in the statement that Select’s decision to renew the platform arrangements was “testimony of our team’s efforts in engaging with our Wealth Administration clients to deliver a clear roadmap, implement operational and system efficiencies and improve the investor experience”.
Part of the Investment Services Group (ISG) that also houses Devon Funds, Clarity Funds and JMI Wealth, Select holds over $800 million in its discretionary investment management services (DIMS) platform used by a range of financial advisory businesses. In November Select also launched a new KiwiSaver scheme hosted by the NZX-owned Smartshares.
Debbie Tuddenham, Select Wealth Management head, said: “It’s clear that MMC are investing in wealth administration services for the future and we’re excited about MMC’s vision and roadmap of future service enhancements and tools. It’s important to us that MMC supports our business growth and future success.”
Last week MMC revealed it would roll out a new set of analytical tools to clients, including wealth administration customers, next year in partnership with Auckland firm, Data Insight.
“As the wealth administration competitive landscape is intensifying, there is a growing demand from investors for a more accessible, information-rich investment experience,” Babic said. “We are excited to be delivering a competitive edge to our clients and creating a pathway for innovation.”
Prior to the MMC purchase, Aegis had seen a number of clients defect to other platforms with the most recent, Hobson Wealth, transitioning about $3.6 billion to the NZX Wealth Technologies non-custodial service early in December. Auckland-based boutique Saturn Advice is also scheduled to shift about $2 billion to Wealth Technologies after giving notice to Aegis in 2019.
Meanwhile, Forsyth Barr has hired former Fisher Funds senior analyst, Zoie Regan, to head its new small-cap research joint venture with Australian firm, MST Financial.
Regan will lead the Forsyth Barr MST Access Research unit to provide in-depth analyst coverage of the mid-to-micro-cap sectors in Australia and NZ.
In a statement, Neil Paviour-Smith, Forsyth Barr managing director, said: “Our focus in this partnership is not only ensuring that mid-sized and smaller entities get covered, but that the research and analysis is of the same very high-quality that our clients currently receive…
“It will provide smaller entities with access to potential investors across the full retail to institutional spectrum in NZ and Australia.”
Headquartered in Melbourne, MST Financial was founded in 2017 by former UBS head of securities for Australia and NZ, Gerard Satur, offering several research options spanning large- to micro-cap stocks
Satur said investors in smaller companies are currently under-served with quality research.
“Investment skews to larger companies due to the commercial models of brokers,” he said. “The extensive research coverage the large companies receives provides greater investor confidence. This means valuable opportunities in smaller companies are often over-looked affecting the company and potential investors.”
The new Forsyth Barr/MST partnership will begin providing research reports in the March quarter of next year.