OFM in search for new admin provider

OFM Investment Group is conducting due diligence on a new administration outsource provider after mutually agreeing to part with incumbent provider, State Trustees, following the latter’s decision to exit the admin market.

KPMGhas been commissioned to assess the elements of the group’s operations to be outsourced and those to be managed internally.

The agreement with State Trustees and the Melbourne-based fund manager, which has outsourced its admin operations for a number of years, runs until the end of March next year.

According to OFM national business development manager Gordon Thirlwall, there was a push in the late 90s for fund managers to outsource their administration operations, however service provider margins were tight as they struggled to create economies of scale.

Thirlwall says despite KPMG’s appointment to assess those operations to be outsourced, marketing and product development will definitely remain in-house, while operations such as the group’s call centre will also probably move in-house.

“We want to provide a level of service that the market expects from us. This will mean we have to develop services to handle the new areas of business, such as property funds, that we will be moving into later this year,” he says.