Aaron Bowkett, Sovereign investment development manager, has resigned to take up a position at passive-flavoured financial planning support firm, Consilium.
Bowkett spearheaded sales for Sovereign’s $600 million Select Wealth Management discretionary investment management service (DIMS), which Auckland-based consulting and investment firm, JMIS, bought in May.
Along with a number of other Sovereign staff, Bowkett was due to shift across to JMIS later this year as the Select transition concluded.
Andrew Kelleher, JMIS director, said he was unsure how many Sovereign staff the company would eventually inherit.
“It depends on how the process goes,” Kelleher said. “But we should pick up any of the [Sovereign] staff related to Select.”
A Sovereign spokesperson confirmed Bowkett had resigned but was unable to disclose details about how many other Select staff would move to JMIS.
The ASB-owned insurer sold its Select business to JMIS in May for an undisclosed sum.
According to the Sovereign website, it stopped accepting applications for Select as at August 3 this year.
“This means that from 3 August 2015, all new applications must be for the new [JMIS] Select Wealth managed service,” the Sovereign site says.
“… Select will continue largely unchanged other than Select Wealth becoming the Manager. Aegis, Investment Custodial Services Limited and ASB Securities will continue to provide the same services for Select Wealth as they currently do for the Sovereign-managed service.”
Select, which offers investors access to a range of JMIS-curated investment products and model portfolios, has largely been distributed via Sovereign-affiliated financial advisers.
The JMIS-owned Select was awarded a DIMS licence a couple of months ago. As at publication date, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) lists 13 licensed DIMS providers, with planning firm Polson Higgs the latest to be granted a licence.
Consilium provides investment, reporting, administrative and business support to a number of underlying financial advisory firms. The group specialises in passive-fund investment solutions but it also offers a DIMS under the Synergy Investments brand.