27th January 2009
Financial services industry leaders Mark Bouris and Ray Miles have teamed up to select the best investment platform available in the Australian market to offer their customers and industry clients. Mr Bouris' wealth management firm, Yellow Brick Road, and Fortnum Financial Advisers, headed by Mr Miles, have issued a joint Request for Proposal document to investment platform providers, inviting them to submit bids by mid February 2010.
Mr Bouris and Mr Miles are specifically seeking a Universal Managed Account (UMA) investment platform, in order to provide both Individually Managed Account (IMA) and Separately Managed Account (SMA) solutions for clients. Both Mr Bouris and Mr Miles believe that managing all client assets and liabilities through a UMA, regardless of tax entity or asset type, will increase tax efficiency and make it easier to provide quality financial advice.
"We believe by working together in our search for an investment platform provider, we can attract a competitive bid and provide the best option for our clients. Overall, I think that Australian investors deserve a better deal, namely quality advice on a fee for service basis" said Mr Bouris.
"After discussing our goals with Ray and the Fortnum team we realised that we were searching for a very similar solution. We see that there are many new ideas being advanced by investment platform providers, and we wish to select a long-term partner to build the best possible UMA service for our clients."
Mr Miles said, "This includes a platform which allows for direct holding of assets by investors, model portfolios available from various investment managers, and compliance and tax reporting to support self managed super funds. We believe that this will attract a significant level of funds that currently do not find their way to wraps or master trusts."
Mr Bouris added, "Yellow Brick Road is rolling out its branch network and we want to be in a position to offer our clients the best investment platform. I see this alliance with Ray and his team as a way to build scale and volume quickly. I'm really excited by it."
Vendors wishing to respond to the Request for Proposal document will be required to submit by Friday 12 February and make a presentation to Mr Bouris and Mr Miles on Thursday 18 February.
Yellow Brick Road currently has 14 branches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, with 40 branches expected nationally by the end of 2010. A significant number of advisory firms have committed to work with Fortnum Financial Advisers.
For further information:
Natalie Helm on 0414 378 715 or nhelm@respublica.com.au
Yellow Brick Road is a financial services and advice company headed by Mark Bouris, one of Australia's most successful businessmen and former Chairman of Wizard Home Loans. Yellow Brick Road offers tailored advice and services to investors of all ages wanting to build financial security for the future.
Ray Miles was the founder and CEO of Associated Planners and the Genesys Wealth Management Business and is currently establishing a new and rapidly growing dealer group called Fortnum Financial Advisers.
With a Universal Managed Account (UMA) the investment menu is controlled by the dealer or distributer and is limited to those managers and asset classes that the dealer or distributor selects for its model portfolios. This provides the benefits of scale not available on a wrap, because funds under management are directed specifically to a small set of investment managers, allowing direct mandates to be set up with those managers, usually at a lower cost. The limited number of mandates reduces the administration burden as the administration effort is highly focused, offering scale benefits not available on wraps. UMAs also offer complete transparency of both assets and fees, something that is available only to a limited extent on wraps, and not available with master trusts or multi-manager offerings. These benefits allow superior and lower cost investment solutions to be delivered to clients.
Copyright © 2012 Yellow Brick Road
