Morningstar’s push into the area of investment consulting has drawn its first success with the Auswide master fund signing the managed funds research house to a three year deal.
Auswide is run byStatewide Superannuation Trustwhich currently has more than 135,000 members and offers personal superannuation and allocated pension services through its own financial planners.
The deal is effective immediately and Morningstar will assess the current investment menu of Auswide before making recommendations to the trustees of Auswide.
However any changes are expected to be finalised in time for new offer documents to be released by the end of 2004, with the investment recommendations using Morningstar’s Portfolio X-Ray and Style Box diagnostic tools.
Auswide chief executive Frances Magill says the master fund has plans to increase the number of advisers using the platform, adding that Morningstar was chosen based on the research house’s understanding of that market as well as access to a global research base.
The deal comes 15 months after Morningstar indicated it would move into the consulting space after signing up head of consulting Anthony Serhan, who joined from rival research houseAssirtin September 2002.
Last week Morningstar was chosen as the data supplier to f2 Network, which is the online arm of the John Fairfax Holdings publishing group which owns theSydney Morning Herald, The Ageand theAustralia Financial Review.
The agreement will result in Morningstar supplying data on more than 7,500 Australian and New Zealand managed funds to a number of Fairfax print titles as well as the Trading Room and Moneymanager websites.
