‘Forward-thinking’ advisers drive mFunds growth

Speaking exclusively to ifa, ASX national distribution manager David Ho revealed the half-billion FUM figure for its unlisted managed funds settlement service, praising the role played by advisers.

“We’re extremely pleased with this result as we reached it far in advance of what we forecasted,” Mr Ho said.

“We attribute a lot of this growth to forward thinking financial planners who are at the leading edge of innovation and client-centricity. mFunds allow these financial planners to implement investment portfolios directly with the fund managers in an electronic and STP fashion with ‘name on title’ ownership.”

Mr Ho said he anticipates further demand for mFunds into 2018, growing not only in FUM and investor uptake but also the name of investment managers signing on to the project.

“ASX sees the needs and investment behaviours of investors changing with a strong focus on achieving better outcomes, with greater certainty and transparency and needing to diversify their portfolios across different asset classes and regions,” he said.