Auckland-based investment consultancy and governance training firm, MyFiduciary, is looking to expand its regional footprint after striking a deal with a US S&P500 financial technology company.
Under the agreement with Broadridge Financial Solutions, MyFiduciary will offer investment governance training and quality certifications owned by the US group to the broader Asia-Pacific market.
Broadridge oversees the Fi360 designations (covering individual financial professionals including advisers and investment ‘stewards’) as well as the enterprise-level Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX) certification process for advisory and fund management firms.
Aaron Drew, MyFiduciary managing director, said the move marks a significant step forward for the group, opening up opportunities to grow in Australia, for example.
“Our firms have worked together since 2004 and our expanded alliance with Broadridge demonstrates our continued commitment to empower investment professionals and trustees with a practical and best-practice framework to manage investments under their care,” Drew said in a release.
“Our training and assessment services can assist advisers, platform providers, fund managers, trustees and other professionals improve investment processes, better serve their client or member’s best interests, and lessen potential reputational and liability risks.”
He said during the COVID pandemic, MyFiduciary also worked with Broadridge to create online Fi360 training courses and fund manager CEFEX assessment options.
“We would like to extend the external validation that CEFEX gives to advisory firms to fund managers,” Drew said. “For fund managers CEFEX offers a global best practice view of things like investment processes, governance, operations and cyber-security.”
To date, more than 20 advisory firms across Australia and NZ have achieved CEFEX status, including most recently the Shadforths group, part of the ASX-listed Insignia Financial business (previously known as IOOF).
Drew said the training and accredition processes had been “legally substantiated” as in line with current laws in Australia and the US.
“We haven’t done that yet in NZ as we’re holding off until the adviser licensing situation settles – but we’ll look at doing it next year,” he said.
Broadridge reported over US$5 billion in revenue last year, offering “technology-driven solutions that drive business transformation for banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers and public companies”, according to its website, with more than US$9 trillion of securities traded across its platforms every day.
The company bought the Fi360 business in 2019 to “enhance its existing retirement solutions by providing wealth and retirement advisors with fiduciary tools”, a release at the time said.