CFS and Acadian cut 14-year partnership

The end of Acadian and CFS’ successful distribution partnership sees no impact on the range of Acadian funds offered to retail investors or to investors in those funds, with CFS to remain the trustee and administrator, according to a statement.

Acadian head of Asia-Pacific and chief executive of Australia Andrew Hair said the end of the partnership is a natural progression to bring all distribution in-house alongside what Acadian already does with its institutional strategies.

“With our focus on strong returns for risk, down-side protection and ESG, we believe that our strategies are well placed for advisers and other intermediaries," Mr Hair said.

CFS head of investment sales George Walker said it is continuing to evolve its alliance partnership model and wholesale and retail offering to improve member outcomes.

“Our partnerships with leading global investment specialists allow us to diversify our business and provide world-class investment options for our customers. The end of this partnership is a natural progression as Acadian has achieved sufficient growth and scale to assume responsibility over its distribution,” Mr Walker said.

“We remain committed to our alliance partner strategy, which accounts for around $2 billion in funds under management and we expect that figure to grow.

“Over time, we will look to expand our stable of alliance partners, which includes Baillie Gifford, Affirmative Investment Management, Aspect Capital, Generation and Milliman.”

Adrian Flores

Adrian Flores is a deputy editor at Momentum Media, focusing mainly on banking, wealth management and financial services. He has also written for Public Accountant, Accountants Daily and The CEO Magazine.

You can contact him on [email protected].