OFM to tap post-retirement market

By Craig Phillips

OFM Investment Group is set to increase its product manufacturing capabilities with plans to launch a number of offerings specifically focusing on post-retirement products in a new group strategy announced last week.

The move will see OFM, which made a $4.1 million net profit for the six months ending December 2003, aim to concentrate solely on manufacture of product — something it will seek to achieve through developing alliances and identifying co-branding opportunities.

“We won’t be owning distribution. It’s not our intention to be the fund manager, manufacturer and distributor of product,” OFM general manager product and distribution Gordon Thirlwall says.

According to Thirlwall, the group is in discussion with a collection of dealer groups which are interested in badging some of its offerings. OFM is also developing a series of bond products for those groups.

“We’re looking at rolling out some retirement stream products, in particular the area of reverse mortgages — an area we’ve been doing some work on,” Thirlwall says.

Additional growth strategies OFM will seek to deploy include consideration of potential acquisitions of complementary businesses, continuing to develop specialist products and building brand image while maintaining an aura of conservatism.

The group anticipates a full year profit of $9.12 million — a 28 per cent increase on the corresponding period last year.