Investment firm partners with Charles Stanley to set up DFM service

In a bid to attract more advice companies to its parent group

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Clifton Asset Management subsidiary Eden Park Investment Management (EPIM) has partnered with Charles Stanley and SS&C Hubwise to provide a discretionary fund management (DFM) service.

According to the firms, this is an industry first DFM whereby a tripartite agreement has been reached with an investment manager to run bespoke portfolios on a third-party platform on behalf of an advisory firm’s in-house DFM.

The underlying holdings on the EPIM platform (powered by SS&C’s B2B investment platform Hubwise) includes multi-jurisdictional and multi-currency direct equities, gilts, and bonds as well as a range of funds. Charles Stanley will manage the portfolios within four risk categories.

Clients and advisers will have direct access to an investment manager from Charles Stanley as and when required as well as having 24/7 valuation data via the Clifton client portal.

Dan James, head of asset management at Charles Stanley, said: “We are extremely proud to have partnered together with Eden Park and SS&C Hubwise to deliver their on-platform tailored discretionary management solution. Our aim is to deliver excellent client outcomes through a tried-and-tested centralised investment process that leverages the expertise of Charles Stanley’s wider investment and research team.

“Built to deliver consistent outcomes, our tailored service provides clients with portfolios constructed in line with central views on asset allocation and stock selection, whilst also accommodating certain client-specific requirements.”

Bolster offering

Clifton Asset Management launched EPIM in 2019, initially partnering with Charles Stanley & Brewin Dolphin, to provide discretionary fund management (DFM) to advisers.

After receiving first round funding from independent asset manager Boost & Co last year, Clifton acquired three financial management firms in a matter of months – including its most recent deal in October 2022.

Clifton wants to continue its ‘buy and build’ acquisition strategy in 2023. The DFM move by EPIM will provide firms looking to join the group with direct access to the service.

Anthony Carty, chief executive of EPIM, said: “This is a very exciting time for Eden Park and our partners, as we continue to innovate by becoming the first firm to be running a fully bespoke mandate on our own platform, where clients can own multi-jurisdictional and multi-currency direct equities, gilts and bonds as well as invest in the more conventional funds.”

“This is another important step in terms of having a complete suite of mainstream products that our clients and advisors can plug into. As the Clifton Group continues on its acquisition trail, we expect more firms to be showing interest in joining the group – not only because we lead the way with our technology-forward approach, but from today firms will also be able to gain access to a much wider DFM investment solution for their clients, via EPIM’s new discretionary service.”