Superannuation group SMF Funds Management has taken over management of the $45 million NSW funds management arm of chartered accountants Pannell Kerr Forster (PKF).
Superannuation group SMF Funds Management has taken over management of the $45 million NSW funds management arm of chartered accountants Pannell Kerr Forster (PKF).
The purchase of the fund, previously managed by York Funds Manage-ment, opens the doors for SMK to the Sydney market where it will pro-vide superannuation services to the financial planning industry and the mid-sized corporate market.
SMF managing director Chris Kelaher says: “As one of the few remain-ing independent master funds, we had the opportunity to buy a tidy business with a good distribution network and we jumped at it. We see it as a step towards becoming a truly national company.”
He says SMF has experienced rapid growth over the past 12 months.
“After passing the $500 million mark midway through 1998, we are now managing funds of $600 million representing in excess of 30,000 mem-bers,” he says.
The thrust into Sydney follows the establishment of an SMF office in Perth last year and further expansion moves are likely.
“We are looking at a number of other opportunities around the country at the moment,” Kelaher says.
Potential acquisitions look set to be smaller groups that “are finding that compli-ance is becoming more difficult and administration is becoming more onerous”.
