PIS, Mulligan align to manage funds

funds management PIS chief executive

24 November 2006
| By Mike Taylor |
image
image
expand image

Kate Mulligan

A significant new player is about to enter the funds management arena, with Australia’s fastest growing dealer group PIS joining with the former head of Advance Asset Management, Kate Mulligan.

The new funds management company will leverage off the extensive PIS network as well as the newly established Associated Advisory Practices.

Chief Executive of PIS Robbie Bennetts said the move into funds management was something that had been on the agenda for some time, but had been made possible by the capabilities and experience of Mulligan.

“We’ve always had it on our table but been reluctant to go this way without the right person to run it,” he said.

PIS managing director Graham Evans said the PIS distribution channel represented a major opportunity in the funds management area, but that, in addition, there was the recently formed Associated Advisory Practices.

“We’ve got about 70 practices signed now and another 30 at paperwork stage — there’ll be an opportunity for us there with quite a number of boutique dealers in play,” he said. “I think we’ll be accepted quite well by the platform dealers as well.”

He said the new company would follow a “manage the manager” business model by bringing to market a select range of established and new asset managers on an exclusive basis.

Commenting on how the new funds manager would operate, Mulligan acknowledged that the experience she gained in growing Advance to more than $7 billion in funds under management would prove invaluable.

“I know the market extremely well, I am already in discussion with boutiques and some international managers as well,” she said.

“There are a huge number of opportunities to bring to advisers some really unique offerings in terms of high alpha performing funds in the boutique space and a lot of new international entrants coming to Australia,” Mulligan said.

She emphasised that it was the PIS distribution network that would prove the main attraction for fund managers and international entrants.

“I think what asset manufacturers really look for is distribution and we have Australia’s largest distribution group — I think that says it all,” Mulligan said. “Their main game is asset manufacturing, so this model allows them to focus on that and for us to do what we do best, which is take the product to market.

“This will give the advisers a really good opportunity to access something that would only be available in the institutional space.”

Bennetts said he believed there were strong opportunities for growth from the new business.

“One of our unique talents in this group is [an ability] to grow the market — we will actually grow various areas of the business that have not been grown before,” he said.

Mulligan said the new business would have a very finite, very high conviction offering, starting with five funds and ultimately growing to 10 or 15, but always with a focus on high-performing managers.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

Completely agree Peter. The definition of 'significant change is circumstances relevant to the scope of the advice' is s...

4 weeks ago

This verdict highlights something deeply wrong and rotten at the heart of the FSCP. We are witnessing a heavy-handed, op...

1 month ago

Interesting. Would be good to know the details of the StrategyOne deal....

1 month 1 week ago

Insignia Financial has confirmed it is considering a preliminary non-binding proposal received from a US private equity giant to acquire the firm. ...

1 week 5 days ago

Six of the seven listed financial advice licensees have reported positive share price growth in 2024, with AMP and Insignia successfully reversing earlier losses. ...

1 week 1 day ago

Specialist wealth platform provider Mason Stevens has become the latest target of an acquisition as it enters a binding agreement with a leading Sydney-based private equi...

1 week ago