ING funds 'on hold' following UBS announcement
ING Investment Management’s range of funds has been placed ‘on hold’ by ratings house Standard & Poor’s Fund Services following yesterday’s announcement that ING had reached an agreement to sell the Australian management business to UBS AG.
The ING IM Australia business has around $34 billion in assets under management, and the UBS deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter this year, ING stated.
“The uncertainty surrounding the ongoing management of the funds managed by ING IM has led to us to place these funds ‘on hold’,” said S&P Fund Services head of research Leanne Milton (pictured).
S&P would seek to resolve the ‘on hold’ status when it received greater clarity around the integration, she said.
There have been no ratings changes to any UBS GAM funds as a result of the announcement, S&P stated.
ANZ, which acquired ING Australia from ING in 2009 and has since rebranded it as OnePath, welcomed the deal.
ANZ will be working closely UBS as it transitions to ownership of ING IM Australia, and the relationship will benefit the bank as it looks to grow its wealth management business, ANZ stated.
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