Following Apex Group's entry into the New Zealand market with the recent addition of MMC, the acquisitions of IIS and InvestNow further expand Apex Group’s presence in New Zealand and Australia to over 500 employees.
IIS provides investment services to large global fund managers, enabling them to establish and distribute New Zealand domiciled funds to their investors. IIS is the issuer and manager of 22 investment schemes with approximately NZ$5 billion of assets under management and will further extend the geographic reach of Apex Group’s existing third-party management company and distribution solutions currently delivered via FundRock and LRI subsidiaries.
The acquisition of InvestNow adds a leading digital retail investment platform enabling over 25,000 clients to invest approximately NZ$1.3 billion of assets, online in over 150 different managed funds from New Zealand and global fund managers.
Through these acquisitions, clients in the New Zealand investment industry will further benefit from access to Apex Group’s cross-jurisdictional single-source solution, including solutions such as ESG Rating, Reporting & Advisory and Digital Banking, offered via a network of over 80 offices globally and delivered locally by 10,000 professionals.
As part of Apex Group, IIS and InvestNow will continue to serve the New Zealand market, alongside the former MMC business. Anthony Edmonds, Founder and CEO of the IIS Group, and Gareth Fleming, CFO and Executive Director continue to hold senior management roles in the combined business, driving continued growth and providing continuity for clients.
Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group comments: “We are pleased to welcome IIS and InvestNow to Apex Group as we continue to strengthen our presence and single source offering in the New Zealand market. Our disciplined acquisition strategy is driven by a commitment to continuously enhance our client experience – by providing all the services they need, wherever they need them, under one single partnership. As we integrate recent acquisitions and mature operationally, we will continue to extend the depth and reach of our solutions, while ensuring their delivery is underpinned by the highest levels of client service.”
Anthony Edmonds, Founder and CEO of IIS and InvestNow adds: “We would like to thank our colleagues whose hard work has driven the success and significant achievements of the IIS and InvestNow businesses to date. This next chapter creates new opportunities for both our employees and clients as part of an institutional scale, independent and agile global business such as Apex Group. As the New Zealand investment industry continues to thrive, Apex Group’s global reach and depth of product will enable us - and our clients - to continue to grow and capture the significant opportunity that exists, both domestically and globally.”
Clare Capital served as financial advisors to Implemented Investment Holdings Limited, with DLA Piper providing legal advice. Terms of the transaction are undisclosed. Bell Gully provided legal advice to Apex Group.
About Apex Group
Apex Group Ltd., established in Bermuda in 2003, is a global financial services provider. With over 80 offices in 40 countries worldwide and over 10,000 employees upon the close of announced acquisitions, Apex Group delivers an expansive range of services to asset managers, financial institutions, private clients and family offices. The Group has continually improved and evolved its capabilities to offer a single-source solution through establishing the broadest range of services in the industry; including fund services, digital onboarding and bank accounts, depositary, custody, super ManCo services, corporate services including HR and Payroll and a pioneering ESG Ratings and Advisory solution. Apex Group’s purpose is to be more than just a financial services provider and is committed to driving positive change to address three core areas; the Environment and Climate Change, Women’s Empowerment and Economic Independence, Education and Social Mobility.
About Implemented Investment Solutions Group (IIS)
Implemented Investment Solutions Group comprises of both Fund Hosting services and InvestNow.
IIS’s Fund Hosting services are similar to the third-party responsible entity services offered within the Australian market, and ManCo services offered in Europe. This enables global investment managers to offer their investment expertise and solutions to New Zealand clients as Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) funds by “outsourcing” the issuing and managing of these funds to IIS. IIS is licenced as a “manager of a registered scheme” under New Zealand’s Financial Market Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act).
The IIS Group also owns InvestNow which is a leading digital retail investment platform enabling investors to invest online in over 150 different managed funds from leading investment managers, as well as a range of different leading banks’ term deposits. InvestNow’s clients manage approximately NZ$1.3 billion of assets, including the multi-manager InvestNow KiwiSaver Scheme.
