Despite being a growing reservoir of funds under management, this critically important pool of capital is confronting mounting problems collating and disseminating key data in a timely manner.
The ratings house is pinning its growth strategy on a revamped methodology that increases the emphasis on governance to 25 per cent – a timely move considering APRA’s proposed reforms.
Fundhost recruits joint chief executive
Drew Wilson
Funds manager servicing company Fundhost Ltd has recruited Drew Wilson back to the firm as joint chief executive, alongside founder Anne Ridgway. He had previously spent about three years with Fundhost as a business development manager.
Wilson, an experienced marketer, who came to Australia from Canada with Toronto Dominion Bank in 2000, said Fundhost was investing considerably to assist its funds management clients to improve their digital distribution and investor access. He launched the former TD Waterhouse direct-to-investor capability in 2000 which did not gain traction then because of the dominance of financial planners.
“The market has changed enormously since then, with the rise of SMSFs and the readiness of investors to make their own investment decisions,” Wilson said. “Some of our clients, such as the Montgomery funds and Forager funds, are really good communicators with that market.”
Wilson did some work with SMSF administrator Super IQ recently which demonstrated to him that the managed fund sector was still very healthy. “There’s been a lot of talk about the death of managed funds,” he said, “But that is certainly not the case. SMSF trustees are investing in retail unit trusts because they are simple, easily understood and fit well inside an SMSF portfolio.”
Ridgway, who now lives in the US and spends about three months a year in Australia, launched Fundhost as an RE service and investment administration business in 1999. She and non-executive director and shareholder Paul Dortkamp have been active in the funds management compliance space for many years, having set up the Compliance Forum for compliance committee members to discuss regulatory issues on a regular basis.
Fundhost offers an integrated service for fund managers, with the RE for retail firms and a trustee service for institutional managers. It has a relationship with NAB Asset Servicing for custody, which allows smaller clients access to this service when they would normally not be able to.
“We’re not a little business but we’re not too big either,” Wilson said. “We work hard to provide the best service for our clients.”
