FE fundinfo has acquired Zenith Group, a research, ratings, managed accounts and adviser technology provider in the APAC region.
The deal, which includes Zenith Investment Partners and Chant West, brings together two of the leading fund data and research providers in Europe and the APAC region with a complementary set of asset manager and adviser-focused services, FE fundinfo said in a statement on 6 October.
A well-established investment partner for financial advisers in Australia, Zenith Group was founded 20 years ago and, in that time, has grown to support financial advisers with research ratings on over 1,000 investment and superannuation products and more than 150 investment portfolio solutions.
As one of the first multi-asset managed account providers in Australia, Zenith now manages in excess of AUS $3bn in assets for advisers, on behalf of their clients.
With an office in Sydney since 2014, FE fundinfo has also acquired investor publications Money Management and its sister publication, Super Review, in 2017.
Globally, FE fundinfo has a headcount of 838 and operations in Australia, the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, India, Hong Kong and Singapore. Worldwide, it works with almost 1,000 leading asset managers, fund managers and fund distributors, including 60 of the top 100, and close to 4,000 financial advisers.
The acquisition follows deals with ESG specialists CSSP at the end of 2020 and in 2021, cashflow planning provider CashCalc and fund data technology company FundConnect.
David Wright, chief executive at Zenith Group, said: "The acquisition presents a really exciting opportunity for the broader Zenith Group and I am looking forward to working with FE fundinfo to expand our research, data and technology solutions offering to Australian clients, while also giving us the opportunity to explore a global reach.
Management are in agreement that there's excellent alignment of values and purpose across the two organisations, and a belief that together, we can create a really compelling premium service for advisers, fund managers, super funds and institutional clients."
Hamish Purdey, chief executive at FE fundinfo, said: "As factors such as increasing regulation, the growth in ESG investing and the development of new technology all continue to revolutionise the global funds industry, there is a greater need than ever for advisers and asset managers to have access to the very best data, ratings and research to allow their clients to make the most of the opportunities in this new landscape."
