Colonial First State (CFS) announces a major revamp of its wrap business, with a new wrap platform expected to open to new business in late 2022. CFS has appointed FNZ as the platform provider to replace its current solution under its unique platform-as-a-service model. As part of the new partnership, CFS and FNZ will use their combined strengths to significantly grow CFS’s business in the Australian wrap platform sector.
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The launch of the new wrap platform marks the next stage of the $430 million investment CFS is making across the business over the next four years. The replacement of technology underpinning the current wrap platform will increase CFS’s competitiveness and is expected to drive significant growth in coming years.
The agreement with FNZ will see CFS launch the new wrap platform combining FNZ’s state-of-the-art technology and a range of business services to create a market leading proposition for financial advisers using CFS’s wrap platform and underpinned by a scalable operating model. The transformation will deliver a significantly improved experience for advisers and their clients, providing the foundation for CFS’s future growth plans to be one of the best players in the platform market.
FNZ is a global wealth platform that provides many of the world’s leading financial institutions with a unique integrated end-to-end software, technology infrastructure, and investment operations platform in 18 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. Trusted by more than 150 major financial institutions, FNZ has over $A2.1 trillion in assets under administration, which represents the combined savings and investments of over 20 million customers. In Australia, FNZ has grown rapidly in recent years with over $A70 billion in assets on its wealth platform service.
The new wrap platform will offer market leading features in the areas of investment selection and managed account management, adviser services, advice tech integration and data management. More details will be announced closer to the platform’s launch.
CFS and FNZ are already working directly with a group of advisers to design the new platform to make it easier for advisers to deliver their guidance to clients.
Strategic partnership arrangements for new CFS wrap platform offer post launch
CFS and FNZ have also agreed a strategic partnership arrangement to distribute the wrap platform to new clients of CFS. This will include CFS actively pursuing M&A and client acquisition opportunities, by leveraging its scale, brand, depth of adviser relationships and technical expertise, supported by FNZ’s wealth management platform.
Kelly Power, Chief Executive Officer of Colonial First State Super said: “Colonial First State is excited to be building this market leading wrap platform, built on FNZ’s global wealth management platform with the backing of our shareholders KKR and CBA.
“While we already have a strong position in the master trust platform segment, this will greatly strengthen our competitiveness in the wrap platform sector, deliver substantial benefits for our members and their advisers, and allow us to become one of the major players.
“The partnership with FNZ will also allow us to pursue future growth opportunities in the Australian market with a new platform that provides greater choice of products and providers, competitive pricing to deliver a significantly improved service experience for advisers and their clients. A key focus for us will be to work with advisers on the new design to seamlessly integrate the platform into other systems that advisers use every day in their practices.”
Tim Neville, Chief Executive Officer, FNZ Asia Pacific said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Colonial First State to provide an unrivalled growth platform to accelerate its digital transformation and improve the adviser and client experience.
“FNZ is a leader in the global wealth management platform sector and is well established in Australia. Together with CFS, we look forward to delivering a market leading proposition, which will help to accelerate growth, drive innovation and enable personalised advice and wealth management solutions for advisers and their clients across Australia.