Avanteos gets access to CFS wholesale

Wholesale wrap platform Avanteos has signed a deal with Colonial First State to access its FirstChoice wholesale multi-manager funds.

The deal will make the full range of FirstChoice funds available on the Avanteos platform, including Symetry Portfolio Service, Access121 Wrap Service and Beacon Investment Services.

It is the first time the Colonial funds have been made available to platform customers other than FirstChoice, according to Avanteos chief executive Chris Stevens.

“Colonial First State products are available on the investment list already but the wholesale multi-manager funds from FirstChoice haven’t been available to anyone other than FirstChoice customers up to now, he said.

Stevens said the First State multi-manager funds “suit a broad range of investment profiles, so the deal is consistent with the flexibility of our offer across the range of clients.

“We certainly expect the deal will enhance the inflows onto the platform and in doing so facilitate our platform growth and that of our customers.”

“FirstChoice, after all, is one of the fastest growing platforms in the market and that is as much as anything as a result of the multi-manager funds they have on offer,” he said.

The wholly owned subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia has over $3 billion in funds under administration on behalf of ten wholesale clients (as at August 2005).

The deal follows Avanteos selection earlier this year as the platform and portfolio services strategic partner of Goldman Sachs JBWere.

The platform now features a number of Australia’s leading stockbrokers, including JBWere, UBS, Smith Barney, ABN AMRO, Macquarie Equities and Bell Potter.