Rothschild defends independence

funds-management-business/westpac/financial-planners/chief-investment-officer/chief-executive/

2 May 2002
| By Fiona Moore |

RothschildAustralia Asset Management will operate as an independent entity under the deal announced last week to combine its funds management business with the Westpac Bank.

The move will secure the as yet to be named entity’s position as the fifth-largest retail funds manager in Australia with $17 billion of retail funds under management.

“We’re running the business. We’ve got to report into Westpac and perform well. They’re not telling us what to do,” Rothschild Australia Asset Management’s chief executive Peter Martin says.

“If we perform, there is never any risk of the parent coming in over the top. That is our best defence,” he says.

None of Rothschild Australia Asset Management’s products will be branded by Westpac and Rothschild will remain in its O’Connell Street offices in Sydney.

While key professionals from both organisations will lead the newly branded organisation, Martin says Rothschild’s senior management team will be unaffected by the deal.

“Retention arrangements are in place for our senior management team. There will be modest redundancies over here — we’re not guaranteeing anyone a spot, but the investment team will essentially remain the same,” he says.

Westpac’s head of equities Don Hamson will join Rothschild to take on the newly created role of general manager of investments, and will report to Rothschild’s chief investment officer Jonathon Pain.

Martin says financial planners should not be concerned about their relationship with Westpac as Rothschild will not be directly associated with the bank.

He says financial planners will continue to deal with the same professionals at Rothschild, and its new form will enhance its capabilities to help planners.

Over the next three months the Rothschild name will remain unchanged, with the new combined entity to be co-branded with Rothschild by the third quarter this year. After nine months, the Rothschild name will disappear altogether.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

So we are now underwriting criminal scams?...

2 months ago

Glad to see the back of you Steve. You made financial more expensive, not more affordable as you claim, and presided ...

2 months ago

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

4 months 1 week ago

A Sydney financial adviser has been permanently banned from providing any financial services, with the regulator deriding his “lack of integrity, trustworthiness and prof...

3 weeks 1 day ago

Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, has provided further information about the second tranche of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reforms....

2 weeks ago

One licensee has lost 27 advisers in the past week, now sitting at zero, according to the latest Wealth Data figures....

3 weeks 1 day ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS