Fisher Funds is now the biggest New Zealand-owned and managed KiwiSaver provider, after the acquisition of TOWER investments.
The $79 million deal settled today, leaving Fisher Funds with 269,000 customers and $5.5 billion under management.
Managing director Carmel Fisher said: “We are proud of Fisher Funds’ journey to date, one that has seen us attract a large and loyal client base as a result of excellent investment returns and our commitment to servicing our clients. We look forward to extending this high quality customer service to all TOWER Investments clients.”
She said TOWER clients would not notice many differences over the short term.
“Over the next 12 months, we will select the superior elements from both the TOWER and Fisher Funds offerings to provide a range of best in class Fisher Funds branded products and services for current and future clients to choose from. As we go through the process we will keep our clients fully informed, explaining the impact and benefit of any changes.”
TOWER Investments is the fourth KiwiSaver provider acquired by Fisher Funds in the last three years taking its market share to about 10%.
The acquisition of TOWER Investments was fully funded by bank debt, Fisher Funds’ existing shareholders and the addition of TSB Bank as a 26%shareholder. No client funds were used to fund the purchase.