FE joins forces with fundinfo and F2C following Hg investment

PRESS RELEASE

FE joins forces with fundinfo and F2C following Hg investment

- Expands firm’s international reach into the investment data market

- Combined company will connect approximately 800 asset managers with over 3,000 fund distributors

- Continued focus on operational excellence and quality service

LONDON, 26 NOVEMBER 2018:  A new international force in investment data has been created after FE, the investment data, research and software provider, joined forces with fundinfo, a provider of services for asset managers and distributors in Europe and Asia, and F2C, the Luxembourg-based business which runs fund data management platform, publiFund.

The combined firm ─ which follows the completion of specialist technology investor Hg’s investment in FE ─ will be led by FE chief executive officer Neil Bradford, with a new executive team comprising FE, fundinfo and F2C staff. 

The three firms will fully integrate to create a single business with international reach, market leading products and services, a greater level of scale and a continued focus on operational excellence and quality service. Combined, the firm will connect around 800 asset managers with over 3,000 fund distribution firms, including a majority of Europe’s wealth managers, platforms, private banks and UK financial adviser firms. 

Neil Bradford, CEO of FE, said: “Today marks the birth of a new international force in investment data.  Our combination will create a larger network of asset manager and distributor data partners across Europe and beyond.  This will hugely benefit our clients by simplifying data flows, reducing complexity, improving transparency and communication and, ultimately, making investing easier.  We look forward to announcing more details about our combined offering in early 2019.”

Philipp Portmann, CEO of fundinfo, said: “It’s been a busy two years since our own Hg investment.  Earlier this year, the team at F2C joined us to expand our client offering and this latest move is a step change in creating a global group at scale.  The three companies complement each other in expertise and geographical coverage while sharing similar values in terms of premium client service and operational excellence, so make a natural combination.  I, along with my fellow co-founders at fundinfo and F2C, are all excited to be continuing the journey within the enlarged company.”

Laurent Halbgewachs, CEO of F2C, said: “After joining forces with fundinfo earlier this year, I’m excited that the combination with FE will enable us to further increase the services that we can offer to our clients, while maintaining the level of service and operational excellence our clients have come to expect.” 

Sebastien Briens, Partner at Hg, said: “This deal is a major step in creating a global player in the fund information industry. The entire industry is undergoing massive changes.  As well as evolving their own business models, asset managers and distributors also expect their partners to adapt to a new reality by offering more efficient, higher quality and integrated services along the full-service value chain.  Bringing together these three leading players creates a business which can meet these requirements head on.”

Founded in 1996 by Michael Holland and Craig Wilson, FE has grown significantly to become a leading provider of investment data, software tools and performance analysis to financial advisers, asset managers and institutions. Headquartered in London, the company has expanded internationally with operations in Hong Kong, India, the Czech Republic and Australia.

Since its launch in 2005, fundinfo has become a leading provider of services for asset managers and fund distributors in Europe and Asia.  It hosts the world’s largest library of fund documents and provides asset managers with a range of services for publishing and disseminating fund information. 

F2C, founded by Laurent Halbgewachs in 2005, provides asset managers with a state-of-the-art fund data management platform, publiFund, enabling its clients, including some of the largest asset managers in the world, to significantly increase the quality and timeliness of their data output.

-ENDS-

Media Contacts

FE – UK/Europe

Claire Lewis, PR manager

T / +44 207 534 7661

E / Claire.Lewis@financialexpress.net

Fundinfo/F2C

Diana Mampell, marketing manager

T / +41 44 286 91 01 

E / diana.mampell@fundinfo.com  

FE – Asia Pacific

Mika-John Southworth, director

T / +61455553775

E / Mika-John.Southworth@financialexpress.net

Notes to editors

About FE

FE is a leading provider of data, software and performance analytics to the financial services industry. FE’s products and services are designed to interpret and analyse data, helping financial advisers and investors stay well informed and ultimately make sound investment decisions. FE also provides tools and software for fund managers and other financial services firms, including products to assist with fund reporting and analysis as well as fund marketing and presentation materials. FE has offices in the UK, Europe and across Asia Pacific. Its clients include life and pension providers, asset managers, financial advisers and networks, wrap platforms, fund supermarkets, software houses, and financial portals. For further details, please see www.financialexpress.net.

About fundinfo

fundinfo is a leading international platform for information and mandatory publications of investment funds. The platform www.fundinfo.com strengthens the network between fund houses, fund distributors and investors and is recognised by financial market supervisory authorities for mandatory publications. The service is available in Europe and Asia and covers thousands of funds from the world’s largest fund houses. With millions of fund documents, data, prices and ratings available on-demand, the platform is a unique source of information for the fund industry. fundinfo also has an experienced in-house research team that delivers high-quality fund research. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, fundinfo has offices in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Paris and Singapore. For further details, please see www.fundinfo.com.

About F2C

F2C operates and manages publiFund, an integrated fund, data and document management platform. The platform, which was developed internally, offers reliability, quality and scalability to asset managers.  F2C’s team of data management experts enables clients to get the best out of this high-end collaborative platform by providing advice, support and guidance on all data management aspects. Its range of services include the production and dissemination of UCITS KIIDs, PRIIPS KIDs, Hong Kong KFS, ManCo web sites, distributor reports, fund publication and control on a wide scope of media. Founded in 2005 by Laurent Halbgewachs, F2C has 3 offices in Luxembourg. For further details, please see www.f2c.lu.

About Hg 

Hg is a sector expert investor, committed to helping build ambitious businesses across the software and tech-enabled business market in Europe and the US. Deeply resourced sector teams focus on specific sub-sectors and investment themes to identify companies which have the potential to grow, create employment and become a leader in their space. Once we partner with a company, Hg’s dedicated Operations Innovation team is available to provide practical support to management teams to help them realise their growth ambitions. We are an independent, partner owned and managed firm with two investment offices, in London and Munich. Our team is experienced and internationally diverse, with 20 nationalities represented. We have funds of over £10 billion under management, serving more than 100 highly regarded institutional investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapital.com