CFS announces revamp of its wrap business

A new Colonial First State (CFS) wrap platform is expected to open to business in late 2022, CFS announced in a statement on Thursday (3 February).

The wealth management group said it has appointed FNZ as the platform provider to replace its current solution under its unique platform-as-a-service model, in a bid to lift its competitiveness by creating a “market leading” proposition for financial advisers.

“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,” said Kelly Power, chief executive of Colonial First State Super.

“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.

“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.”

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.

According to CFS, the transformation is expected to 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.