Assirt takeover gets mixed reviews

The widely anticipated acquisition of St George-owned Assirt Research by Standard and Poor’s was given a mixed reception by rivals last week, with opinions on the deal ranging from “absolutely irrelevant” to “good for the industry”.

Head of IWL Otto Buttula, whose group owns InvestorWeb Research, was the most dismissive of the research heads contacted by Money Management.

“S&P are an absolutely irrelevant player in the marketplace, they have a great brand but they do not know the financial planner space and they have picked up Assirt that only has tied distribution,” Buttula said.

Meanwhile, Morningstar chief executive Scott Cooley did not view the deal as an indication of greater consolidation in the research market.

“I don’t look at this as a big consolidation move because S&P’s footprint in the industry was so small before. It’s more evidence that after a few years of having a tentative strategy they want a major presence in the market,” Cooley said.

Elsewhere, van Eyk Research managing director Stephen van Eyk welcomed the news despite being in direct competition with S&P.

“It’s good for the industry that you’ve got a credible player in the market because it enhances it, and I just hope that they take the right approach and really build the business up,” van Eyk said.

As for dealer groups using Assirt, Professional Investment Services technical manager Mark Teale said his group was fine with the deal as long as it did not mean wholesale changes for Assirt.

“I hope S&P doesn’t change them [Assirt] too much. We were always comfortable with their bank ownership. I didn’t see any great bias toward [fellow St George subsidiary] Advance Asset Management,” Teale said.