Melbourne-based investment platform, OpenInvest, has transitioned the investment accounts and funds under administration (FUA) of the Partnervest investment platform from its previous platform provider, and now underpins three separate online investing solutions for Partnervest, titled SimpleInvest, UnionInvest and Partnervest Institutional.
Each solution offers a curated investment menu, and is targeted at addressing the specific investing needs of distinct customer segments. Franklin Templeton has been appointed as investment manager, providing a range of investment solutions to Partnervest clients through the Openlnvest platform.
Andrew Varlamos, co-founder and chief executive officer of OpenInvest, says account holders now have direct online access to their portfolio as well as more control over their account, powerful reporting and investment updates and explanations that are regularly posted by Partnervest. The SimpleInvest solution also comes with its own dedicated app.
“Without a platform, retail investors struggle to access underlying investments or obtain consolidated reporting,” says Varlamos. “OpenInvest handles a single sign-on; a unified application process; tax and performance reporting and fee collection; this allows entities like Partnervest to offer its clients professional investment management without having adviser teams.”
Serg Premier, managing director of Partnerinvest, says that the flexibility and configurability of the OpenInvest platform meant that Partnervest could now offer the right solution for each of its major client segments: SimpleInvest for the non-super investing needs of members of industry super funds and trade unions; Partnervest Institutional for family offices, charities and other wholesale and sophisticated clients; and UnionInvest for the investing needs of Australian trade unions.
“Our clients have very specific needs and obligations that meant we needed to design the right solution with the right investment menu and functionality for each cohort. After a robust market review, we concluded that OpenInvest’s flexible modern architecture meant that it could uniquely deliver this, as well as giving account-holders easier access to engage with their portfolio and directly control their account,” says Premier. “Having successfully completed the initial customer migration, we are now growing very rapidly via new accounts, which gives me great confidence in both our approach and the decision to select OpenInvest.”
Premier also commented on the importance of the Franklin Templeton relationship to the Partnervest value proposition. “Our strategic distribution partnership with Franklin Templeton, one of the world’s leading investment managers, means we can leverage its deep global expertise and insights in offering our clients access to an expanded range of their multi-asset and single-sector investment funds”, he adds.
Felicity Walsh (pictured), managing director of Franklin Templeton Australia/New Zealand and head of institutional Business, Asia-Pacific, welcomed the launch of the three investment solutions through OpenInvest. “Client needs continue to evolve, particularly with younger generations, and this presents opportunities for asset managers willing to meet investors where they are – which is, increasingly, online,” she says. “Accessing these different cohorts of investors via technology focused investment platforms will be crucial to success.”
Varlamos says OpenInvest “designed for exactly this sort of opportunity,” where its partners need a highly scalable, configurable and content-rich investment platform to reach and serve very specific market segments. “Each of Partnervest, Franklin Templeton and OpenInvest brings its own skills, expertise and experience to the relationship, empowering Partnervest to meet the needs of its diverse clients”, says Varlamos.
Premier says Partnervest has been a trusted partner for unions, associations and profit-for-member entities for more 20 years. Throughout its history, Partnervest has evolved through various ownerships: initially part of Industry Funds Services (IFS) and then Franklin Templeton Australia, following a management buyout Partnervest is now “proudly independent.”
“Partnervest’s focus has always been on providing quality investment solutions at a reasonable price, coupled with exceptional service and support, says Premier. “We are dedicated to helping our clients achieve their financial goals through innovative and tailored investment strategies. As we continue this journey, we are excited to expand our range of investment solutions to include Partnervest Institutional, UnionInvest and SimpleInvest.”
Varlamos says OpenInvest uses the same sort of technology and legal structure as a traditional adviser platform, but is designed in a very specific way so it can be used by people who are not advisers, but direct consumers. “We’re a B2B2C business. This is the first time we’ve done something so innovative, firstly because it involves a global asset manager of the size of Franklin Templeton, and second, because we’ve customised the platform for a partner for three different customer groups, each targeting a very specific part of the market, and each requiring its own investment proposition,” he says.
“Partnervest wanted three different and very discrete solutions for each customer category, and we were able to say, ‘don’t have one monolithic solution and try and squeeze a square peg into a round hole, because we’ve got the capability to configure it into three different solutions for your clients.’ That essentially summarises our entire business model, and all of the other 35 solutions we’ve got operating in the marketplace each allow an entity to reach a specific target customer cohort it has identified,” adds Varlamos.