More departures at IOOF but listing still a goer

STAFF rationalisation at bothIOOFandAMcontinued last week with another 50 staff retrenched, however, IOOF managing director Rob Turner says the group’s long awaited listing is still on the cards.

Turner would not be drawn on the final job count in the merged company after the departures, but staff numbers currently sit at 465 and are expected to fall further.

Recent claims that all the senior management of AM have left is dismissed by Turner, who says former AM people now head areas such as marketing, corporate superannuation and platforms.

Turner says the merger of the IOOF and AM operations is on track and staff are accepting the structure of the bigger company.

“Key people have seen the opportunities for them in the merged operation. We were both of similar style and size and our cultures were similar,” Turner says.

“We are very keen for this to be seen as a merger rather than a takeover and if we get the people integration bedded down, then we have the kernel of a good business.”

As evidence of this business, Turner points to the fact the manager now has $11.2 billion of funds under management and is the third-largest manager, excluding the banks and insurance companies.

Fund inflows are expected to top $3.5 billion by the end of the financial year. In the 2002 financial year, organic fund inflows were $1.5 billion.

“Perennial is also getting onto more platforms and our figures are up on last year, although they are not as high as we would have liked,” he says.

Turner is bullish about IOOF’s future, citing retail fund inflows up 10 per cent on the same time last year. He says the company is expected to be floated in the last quarter of this year, however, he adds this is dependent on market conditions.