Advice fragmentation to benefit boutiques



Fragmentation of the advice sector will create more opportunities for boutique fund managers to prosper, experts believe.
While many believe starting up a boutique fund is getting harder and harder, those at the coalface have reported that opportunities are opening up as advice practices take up their own Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).
Ellerston Capital and Realm Investment House head of distribution and investor relations, Andrew Seddon, said many of the country's leading aligned planning businesses have started to break away from their institutional owners.
Seddon said the fragmentation of the sector was likely to have a positive impact on boutiques, because "when it comes to distribution of boutique funds manager now, if anything my view [is] it might actually become a bit easier".
WaveStone Capital principal, Catherine Allfrey, also reported seeing "quite a lot of change with advisers moving for different shop", which has provided opportunities for boutiques to get their feet in the door of practices they had not been exposed to before.
Recommended for you
Retailisation of private markets such as evergreen funds may seem like appealing options for wholesale and retail investors, but providers risk undermining trust if their products are unclear.
Ethical investment manager Australian Ethical has seen its funds under management rise by a third over FY25 to close out the year at $13.9 billion.
BlackRock Australia’s head of intermediary distribution James Waterworth has taken up a new distribution role at an alternative asset manager, while Antipodes has hired a distribution director.
BlackRock’s iShares ETFs have reported a record first half for inflows, gaining US$192 billion in the past six months, to see overall ETF assets under management rise to US$4.7 trillion as it launches its first active ETF in Australia.