SYDNEY, 31 January 2012 - Ibbotson Associates Australia, a unit of the Morningstar Investment Management division, has been appointed by NEO Financial Solutions (NEO) as the group's dedicated implemented investment consultant.

Ibbotson will be providing NEO with a full range of retail investment consulting and advice capabilities, including investment committee and governance oversight; investment advice including asset allocation and portfolio construction; investment management; fund and equity research and selection; and dealer and practice management support. This will provide greater investment management support to NEO advisers, in turn helping them better service their clients.

Matthew Esler, Head of Adviser Services for Ibbotson Associates Australia, said: "Ibbotson is pleased to be partnering with NEO, and we look forward to supporting the development of NEO's investment capability, practice management, and advice process. NEO is the type of dealer group we want to work with, because it has a clear focus on delivering quality advice tailored to meet client needs."

Ibbotson Associates Australia recently appointed Esler as Head of Adviser Services and James Foot as Investment Consultant to support the company's focus on retail implemented investment consulting and advice services. Esler worked previously at Midwinter and Advance, and Foot at Centric Wealth.

NEO, founded by Mark Edman and Mark Woods, both formerly of AFG Financial Planning, was granted its Australian Financial Services License in January 2011, and is one of the fastest-growing dealer group licensees in Australia. NEO's significant growth has seen it appoint over 50 financial planners over the past 12 months, and the group now has over A$600.0 million in funds under advice.

NEO Managing Director Mark Edman said: "Ibbotson is a global leader in implemented investment consulting, with capabilities that closely match our financial planners' service requirements, and that will support them in enhancing their client value proposition. Given the new Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) regime changes, it will be the dealer groups that focus on enhancing practice development and efficiency that will flourish."

Edman continued: "We're confident that Ibbotson will help us establish a differentiated and customised investment offering based on its strong foundations in academic research, asset allocation, and portfolio construction services."

About Ibbotson Associates Australia
Ibbotson Associates Australia is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research. Ibbotson Associates Australia, along with Morningstar's other investment advisory subsidiaries, comprise the Morningstar Investment Management division. This division provides independent investment management and consulting services to institutions and advisers, and had approximately US$167.0 billion in assets under advisement and management at 30 September 2011.

About NEO Financial Solutions
NEO Financial Solutions' primary focus is to provide financial planners with a range of services, to enable them to grow their businesses and do what they do best - provide clients with quality financial planning advice. NEO is different because we aim to provide client-focused advice that is tailored to our clients' specific needs. As small business owners, our financial planners know that the success of their business is reliant on the commitment that they provide to their clients. NEO financial planners build dedicated, long-term partnerships with their clients and are committed to helping their clients through all stages of their financial lives.
distribué par

Ce noodl a été diffusé par Morningstar Inc. et initialement mise en ligne sur le site http://www.morningstar.com. La version originale est disponible ici.

Ce noodl a été distribué par noodls dans son format d'origine et sans modification sur 2012-01-31 18:59:38 PM et restera accessible depuis ce lien permanent.

Cette annonce est protégée par les règles du droit d'auteur et toute autre loi applicable, et son propriétaire est seul responsable de sa véracité et de son originalité.