Fiducian goes live with in-house admin

Financial services groupFiducianhas gone live with its own internally developed administration system in what the group is calling one of the most significant achievements in its one year history as a listed company.

Fiducian managing director Indy Singh says the switch to the new multi-million dollar system would allow the group to push ahead with dramatic expansion plans, marking it as a watershed moment in Fiducian’s corporate history.

"Having our own admin system is a quantum leap in Fiducian’s development. We can take our unique model of financial services to anywhere in the world without restrictions,” Singh says.

Until now, Fiducian has operated withAM Corporation’sadministration software and platforms under a formal agreement between the two companies.

Singh says the in-house admin system was developed in spite of doubters who said that a group like Fiducian, with just over $500 million under management in its investment and superannuation services divisions, was not large enough to achieve admin independence.

"The only problem with that theory is that we don’t intend to remain this size for very long. We have gone to all this trouble and expense to serve a lot more than just the Australian market. Our new system is capable of serving a global market when we are ready,” he says.

The inauguration of the admin system comes a week after Fiducian announced the launch of its first cash management trust.

The fund, to be called the Fiducian Cash Management Service, will be made available initially only on a wholesale basis, but will eventually be extended to retail clients.

"[The fund] is expected to offer a slightly higher return than from a corporate account with the banks.” Singh says.

"Our figures show that since 1995 the fund we are going to badge usually offers, on a monthly basis, from half to three-quarters of one per cent more than Macquarie, who seems to have one of the more popular [cash management] funds.”

Fiducian raised $22 million when it listed on the Australian Stock Exchange last September and immediately unveiled ambitious plans to build one of Australia’s biggest financial planning groups.

The expansion plan made Fiducian one of the fastest growing dealer group’s in the country over the last year, adding 150 planners to its books and coming in 28th in Money Management Top 100 Dealer Groups survey.