InvestmentLink has bought 50 per cent of commissions software firm Dealer Management Systems (DMS) with the option to purchase the remaining half in 2008 and has flagged more acquisitions to come.

Under the terms of the deal, announced yesterday, both companies will continue to operate separately but would work together to launch new products and services over the next year, according to Peter Philip, InvestmentLink managing director and noted hub enthusiast. “DMS’s core skills in commissions management, combined with InvestmentLink’s industry hub architecture will allow us to offer a centralised service for managing the flow of payments between providers, dealers and advisers on an industry-wide scale,” Philip said. He said the company is looking to strike similar deals with other firms like DMS “to expand the InvestmentLink value proposition”. “This partnership [with DMS], and others like it, will enable us to bring massive improvements in adviser efficiency to the industry through a shared industry-hub services model,” Philip said. In a statement issued yesterday DMS is described as a firm which manages “commission, compliance and complaints information on behalf of AFS licence holders”, and processes over $200 million in commissions each year.