County name to disappear
The County Investment Management brand will cease to exist next month when it officially becomes an integrated part of Invesco Asset Management.
Under a deal, which was struck late December last year between INVESCO in Australia and the National Australia Bank (NAB), County will be re-branded Invesco Australia. Invesco forked out $110 million for County Investment Management late last year.
Invesco Australia chief executive Michael Parsons says the change in brand is a necessary move.
"Although we are relatively new in Australia, I believe that the one advantage we have in this business is our strong global brand strength," he says.
Parsons says although County's name and brand are known in the institutional area, the presence of Invesco in the global market and its beginnings in the retail market make it the brand to dominate.
"At the end of the day we hold a very strong global brand. We did not want to burn County's brand, but the Invesco brand will also give us leverage across the entire market."
Parsons says it is still too early to tell what shape the combined Invesco/ County business will take. He is still waiting final approval for the sale.
"Its really too early to say. At present I'm going through a process of reviewing in some the nature of the business in terms of strategy and sales and marketing," he says.
Parsons says Invesco will now have offices in both Sydney and Melbourne. The only staff changes to date are former County chief executive Nick Birrell who will become regional director of Invesco in the Asian region.
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