Another new asset management firm

Another group of former senior executives have established their own asset management business promising investors a better deal on fees, independence and service.

Wednesday, January 21st 2004, 6:25AM

The former head of Salomon Smith Barney, Neville Todd, heads up the group – Milford Asset Management. It also includes Graeme Thomas was until recently the head of advisory services at ANZ Private Bank and Alan Moore was investment manager at New Zealand Guardian Trust.

Richard Sommerville is a non-executive director of the company.

Milford Asset Management intends to offer asset management services to high net worth individuals and charitable trusts.

Todd says the firm doesn’t intend to be a fund manager, but nor is it a financial planning or advisory firm. Rather the firm is positioned between the wholesale manager and the retail adviser.

The establishment of Milford Asset Management follows hard on the heels of the launch of Select Asset Management (as reported here on Good Returns last week).

Both firms are made up of senior people from bigger firms in the financial services industry. Both say they will use direct investments over managed ones, mainly because it is more tax-effective for individual investors, and both have taken a stand on fees and commissions.

Todd says Milford is structured as an "independent, employee owned investment manager" so "will be free of the many conflicts of interest that exist in larger organisations."

"The way are going to run this business is that we are going to be very transparent and not to have have conflicts of interest with vested parties."

"He says this is becoming a bigger and bigger problem in the financial services industry as investors and regulators look more closely at how products and services are sold and how companies are paid. For evidence one only has to look at what has been happening in the United States market.

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