Sovereign finally confirms intention to sell Select

Sovereign has finally officially confirmed that it is planning to sell its Select Investment Services business to JMIS.

In a statement Sovereign has confirmed "its intention to transition its Select Wealth Management service to JMIS Limited" as first reported by Good Returns.

JMIS is the independent investment consultant to the service and has been involved since Select since it launched in 1998.

Rebecca Russell, Chief Officer Customer Management & Product for Sovereign said that changes to regulation are always a good time to review areas of the business that will be affected and that over the past nine months Sovereign carried out an in-depth assessment of what it would mean for Sovereign to apply for and maintain a DIMS licence.

“As a result of this review, we determined the best course of action for Sovereign would be to transition the service to a third party and are very pleased now to be working with JMIS and the FMA through the proposed transition.

“Select is a success story for Sovereign. We believe that there is further opportunity for Select to grow, but would benefit from a specialist in the area to make this happen.

“JMIS is a natural choice to transition the Select service to. As a specialist investment provider to institutions and high net worth individuals, JMIS is perfectly positioned to not only maintain the service, but to continue to grow Select.”

Russell said Sovereign had worked closely with the Financial Markets Authority on its application for an exemption from applying for a DIMS, which has been granted, allowing Select to continue to operate as a DIMS through the transition period.

“Working through the intended transition with the FMA has been a very positive experience and we acknowledge the time and effort afforded us by the FMA throughout.”

Andrew Kelleher, JMIS director says the intended transition of Select to its business creates an opportunity to expand its service offering to clients and also to continue to grow the service.
“We have always viewed Select as a well-run, professional investment management service and we have been pleased to see its healthy growth over the past 17 years. We have identified opportunities for growth – but at the moment our focus is to work with Sovereign, the Select team and the FMA to affect a smooth transition process.
“Our clients’ interests are always the highest priority for us and this naturally will extend to Select customers.”

Tags: JMIS Select Investments Sovereign