Australian Wealth Management (AWM) has announced the acquisition of the Finium and i.super master trusts from Zurich is expected to be completed by the end of June, while also signing a promotion agreement with the Genesys dealer group.
AWM announced that the sales should be completed by the end of the second quarter, 2007, now that the resolution of conditional transaction documents had taken place. Meanwhile, AWM has entered into an agreement with Challenger-owned dealer group Genesys Wealth Advisors, which owns a 25 per cent equity stake in Finium, that will encourage Genesys and Zurich-affiliated advisors to promote the AWM Spectrum Super Plan. “Our ambition is to be their approved corporate super offering,” AWM managing director Chris Kelaher said. AWM plans to fold Finium and i.super into Spectrum, a move that will add $1.25 billion in funds under management to the super plan. Kelaher would not confirm whether Watson Wyatt would remain Finium’s asset consultant. Van Eyk currently provides asset consulting for both i.super and Spectrum. “We’ll see what the groups have to contribute to performance…The consultant is liable to the scrutiny of members in the same way that funds managers are.” According to Kelaher, the acquisition of Finium marks the culmination of a three year pursuit. “We hoped to get it a bit sooner, but it gives us a good lead time for the transition. “With these things, we make sure everyone is on board. And there is a multi-national parent [in Zurich] on board.” He said the incidence of unit pricing errors within Finium during 2003-04 and September 2006 to January 2007, involving approximately $9 million and $1 million respectively, did not deter the super fund conglomerate from the master trust. “They were expressed up front. We bought with the knowledge of the problem and have taken the funds on the basis that they’ve been addressed. “Zurich and Finium have had extensive contact with us in regards to the issues.” AWM has more than $50 billion in funds under management, advice and administration.
The $34 billion Brighter Super is set to shift around $10 billion of assets from passive to active management. Chief investment officer Mark Rider says the move is possible because of scale created by mergers, and the fund will be looking to its newly appointed active managers to generate performance through the cycle by taking idiosyncratic risks.
Darcy SongJanuary 21, 2025
