Cofunds, the UK fund supermarket owned by Jupiter, Gartmore, M&G and Threadneedle, announced today that International Financial Data Services (‘IFDS’), the State Street-DST joint venture in UK retail fund administration, will be taking a stake in the company.
The plan is for both IFDS and Boston Financial Data Services (‘BFDS’), the American arm of the State Street-DST alliance, to become shareholders in Cofunds. The proposed transaction is subject to due diligence and regulatory consents, but the two parties aim to complete the deal by the end of the year.
“This development offers not only capital investment, but also access to the very considerable intellectual and technological resources of IFDS, the UK’s leading fund administrator,” explains Clive Boothman, CEO of Cofunds. “Importantly, it also maintains the independent model, which has been Cofunds’ trademark. It is a perfect fit.”
Charlie Eppinger, CEO of IFDS added: “We work closely with Cofunds’ existing shareholders and we look forward to the proposed relationship with Cofunds. Our experience in the UK and US makes us well aware of the central role that fund supermarkets play and we have seen the success of the platform’s independent, intermediary focused model.
We believe our expertise and advanced range of servicing and support technologies should enhance Cofunds’ market position.”