Zenith signs industry fund advice arm to research service
Zenith Investment Partners will provide research to ESI Financial Services, the financial planning arm of 49,000-member industry superannuation fund Energy Super, replacing Standard and Poor’s, who withdrew from the Australian market late last year.
In one of the few deals of its kind, Zenith national sales manager John Nicoll said the agreement was to provide research to the advice arm and not the institutional investment business of Energy Super.
ESI Financial Service manager for advisory services Neil Purcell said the advice group had five planners and a broad approved product list. It operates as a boutique advice business, providing advice on Energy Super as well as superannuation and investments outside the fund.
“Our clients have investments in outside entities and funds, and under the Future of Financial Advice and Stronger Super reforms we require more rigour in how we examine and select what we can offer to them,” Purcell said.
Zenith’s research will be used to examine Australian-based managed funds alongside Mercer research, which will be used to examine global investments, while Chant West and Super Ratings will be used to examine superannuation vehicles at the macro-level, according to Purcell.
While Zenith supplies model portfolios to its clients, Purcell said it had not yet decided to pick up this service from Zenith, but might consider it at a future date. The main purpose of Zenith’s research is to strengthen ESI’s sector reports and provide a broader view on managed funds available to its clients.
The agreement comes as Zenith has also signed a deal to provide managed funds research for credit union Newcastle Permanent, which is the second credit union to sign with Zenith after South Australian-based People’s Choice credit union.
Nicoll said the researcher had also signed with a large broking house. Each of these agreements came about as clients were looking to offer or expand financial advisory services.
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Jason Spits
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