IRESS expands into Asia

IRESS has formally expanded its wealth management presence into Asia with the acquisition of Singapore-based independent software provider SENTRYi.

The acquisition was founded through IRESS’ new Asian subsidiary, IRESS Market Technology, and was structured through upfront payments totalling SG$1.3 million, with the total cost to be assessed in three years based on future growth, the company said.

Similar to IRESS' controlled investment approach for Asian financial markets, the funding gap would be limited to A$1 million per annum until the appropriate cost base is in place and positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) could result, the company said.

This funding would be in addition to the funding limit of A$2 million per annum for financial markets investment in Asia, and would also be excluded from the long standing dividend policy to pay 80 per cent of underlying group profit.

“SENTRYi has made a solid start in Singapore and the region, and with IRESS providing financial confidence and capacity and with technology synergies, we are confident in the opportunity to grow our Asian wealth management business,” IRESS managing director Andrew Walsh said.

“Our initial focus is on fresh opportunities, such as extending our risk research and analytics capability for the Singapore market,” he added.

SENTRYi develops multi-lingual investment planning tools for the Asian marketplace and has a presence in Malaysia and Hong Kong, where it is used by both tied agency forces and independent planning groups, according to IRESS.