Apex Group has finalised its takeover of the Trustees Executors (TE) unit-pricing, custody and fund accounting arm after clearing competition hurdles.
TE announced the sale of the investment administration components to Apex NZ in July, pending any objection from the Commerce Commission.
In a statement, a Commerce Commission spokesperson said: “We have engaged with the parties and considered the potential competition impacts of the acquisition, and the parties have been advised that we do not intend to consider the acquisition further at this stage.
“… The Commission operates a voluntary clearance regime, and we do not give informal clearances to parties.”
The deal sparked some concerns in the local funds management sector about a lack of alternative options for the outsourced administration services.
A handful of other firms including Adminis, Appello and GenCap also offer fund unit-pricing capabilities but Apex (formerly MMC) and TE were the main players in the third-party market.
It is understood all of the former TE staff involved in the sold business units have shifted across to Apex.
Peter Hughes, Apex Group global chief, said in a July release that the “addition of Trustee Executors’ solutions and people, provides further capability, efficiency and investment into the investment Group administration market in New Zealand”.
TE offloaded its wealth advisory arm to Perpetual Guardian earlier this year.
However, the Wellington-headquartered firm, established in 1881, retains its registry and licensed supervisor operations.
TE is ultimately owned by Sterling Grace, a vehicle controlled by the Switzerland-based, John Grace.
The Bermuda-based Apex entered NZ in 2021 with a pre-Christmas buyout of MMC before adding the fund-hosting and investment platform business, Implemented Investment Services (IIS), the following year.
Post-purchase, MMC was rebranded as Apex Investment Administration NZ. The IIS fund-hosting business took on the FundRock name – a brand used offshore by the parent company – while retaining the InvestNow platform label.
Founded in 2003, Apex is now a large global concern with about 13,000 staff servicing clients in about 50 jurisdictions.