Apex Group Ltd, the Bermudian-based global financial services provider, has continued its growth in New Zealand with the acquisition of Implemented Investment Holdings Limited, the parent company of Implemented Investment Solutions and InvestNow.

IIS provides investment services to large global fund managers, enabling them to establish and distribute New Zealand domiciled funds to their investors.

Their clients also include some of New Zealand’s most respected investment companies, Apex said, including specialist investment managers, KiwiSaver providers, adviser groups, and family offices.

Today, IIS is the issuer and manager of 22 investment schemes with approximately NZ$5 billion of assets under management. The addition of IIS will extend the geographic reach of Apex Group’s existing fund management company and distribution services currently delivered via FundRock and LRI subsidiaries.

InvestNow is a leading digital retail investment platform enabling over 25,000 clients to invest online in over 150 different managed funds from leading New Zealand and global fund managers, as well as a range of different leading banks’ term deposits.

Apex said InvestNow’s clients manage approximately NZ$1.3 billion of assets, and includes the multi-manager InvestNow KiwiSaver Scheme, which has grown by over 40 per cent in the previous quarter.

Anthony Edmonds, founder and CEO of the IIS Group, commented: “We are proud of the achievements and growth of the IIS and InvestNow businesses and are excited to be joining Apex Group to build on this success and offer a wider range of services to our clients.

“Both our clients and employees will benefit from leveraging Apex Group’s global fund hosting and management company capabilities, enabling investment managers to offer their investment solutions in the thriving New Zealand market.

“Apex Group’s global capability and experience enables us to continue to grow and capture the significant opportunity that exists within InvestNow, and I am extremely excited about what this means for our clients.”

The acquisitions of IIS and InvestNow add 28 experts, and expand Apex Group’s presence in New Zealand to more than 200 employees. This follows Apex Group's recent entry into the market with the addition of MMC, which provides fund and wealth administration services to the New Zealand investment market.

Following the close of this acquisition, IIS and InvestNow will become part of Apex Group in New Zealand, alongside the former MMC business.

Mr Edmonds and Gareth Fleming, CFO and executive director, will hold senior management roles in the combined business, driving continued growth and providing continuity for clients, Apex said.

The company added that through these acquisitions, the New Zealand investment industry will further benefit from access to Apex Group’s single-source solution, including services such as ESG rating, reporting & advisory and digital banking, offered via a network of over 80 offices globally and delivered locally by 10,000 experts.

Peter Hughes, founder and CEO of Apex Group, said: “New Zealand’s investment management community continues to grow, and with the addition of IIS and InvestNow, will enable us to further deliver our single-source solutions for investors participating in, and serving the local market through locally domiciled funds.

“We remain committed to increasing the depth of our services on a global scale, to enable our clients to reach their potential.”

Terms of the transaction were undisclosed.