Colonial First State (CFS) has added several new international managed accounts to its Edge platform.
The firm confirmed that financial advisers and their clients now have access to an international managed account from global equity investment specialist Walter Scott.
The CFS Edge menu also includes new international managed accounts from Franklin Templeton and Watershed, following the additions of global equity managers T. Rowe Price, CBRE Investment Management, ClearBridge, and Lazard Asset Management last November.
As a result of the additions, the total number of managed accounts on CFS Edge has grown to more than 170, with over $160 billion invested in CFS managed accounts across the Edge and FirstChoice platforms.
“The addition of these leading international managers is in response to the growing demand we have from advisers and licensees seeking international investing opportunities,” described Bryce Quirk, CFS group executive for distribution.
Meanwhile, CFS Edge’s Accelerate Series menu has expanded with new portfolios from CFS Investments and Innova Asset Management, as well as portfolios from BondAdviser and Ausbil.
“We are seeing a growing number of advisers and investment managers choosing CFS for managed account solutions due to our unique position in the market, offering options on both the FirstChoice and Edge platforms,” said Frances Taylor, executive director of managed accounts at CFS.
“The expansion of our menu provides advisers with even more choices to present to their clients.”
According to the latest annual State Street Global Advisors SPDR/Investment Trends Managed Accounts report, managed accounts are used by 59 per cent of advisers, typically allocating close to three-quarters of total client assets into the accounts.
Almost half (48 per cent) of new client inflows are being directed to the products, up from 41 per cent in 2024. As a result, total assets under management have risen to $232.7 billion.
Most advisers cited the time savings brought on by their usage as the main benefit, saying they could save 23.9 hours per week. This subsequently allowed them to serve more clients, strengthen client relationships, and focus on client goals.
Other benefits cited include the effectiveness of implementing model portfolios, lower compliance burden, reduced business operational risk, and lower level of fees.
While off-the-shelf models remain the dominant type of usage at over 70 per cent, just over a third said they were using models which were custom-built for the licensee or practice.
