Investment Data Technologies (IDT) has completed its first step toward financial recovery with the sale of its data business unit to a joint venture organisation formed by brilliant! and InvestmentLink.
IDT’s strategy to sell its non-core activities was announced when the financial planning software provider was placed into voluntary administration in February of this year.
The joint venture company that acquired the database business of IDT is called FundData and will be run by head of brilliant! Graham Rich. Its main purpose will be to provide product and performance information relating to in excess of 12,000 managed funds in the market.
“We do not intend to be a software company or a research or ratings business. FundData will be the only specialist fund data business in the market, and the only one that is independent of the research activities of its clients,” Rich explained.
“The aim is to further develop the FundData business so it is recognised as the best managed fund data utility in the industry,” he added.
Having completed the sale, IDT is now looking to form a strategic alliance with a business partner that will help the company gain more traction for its financial software product in the market.
“The $6 million investment in our software over the last two years has given us a world-class integrated planning workbench for investment and risk advisers. However, getting the message out in a market dominated by institutionally linked players has been difficult,” IDT managing director Danny Rodgers said.
IDT general manager Graeme Hopgood said the process to find an alliance partner had begun with several parties already expressing interest in the move.
He added any potential partner would need certain critical characteristics in order for the alliance to be a success.
“A strong balance sheet is essential, in other words financial weight. A strategic fit with us in financial services is also important. We’ve always valued independence of platforms as well, and by platforms I mean funds platforms. Some of our competitors have not been concerned about that but we’ve always thought it was valued by a big slice of the marketplace and we want to see that sustained,” Hopgood said.
