Clime closing retail funds

Clime Investment Management shareholders have been told that the average assets under advice of clients within the retail advice book sold to unnamed entities last week was less than $200,000.

Addressing the company’s annual general meeting on Friday, CIM chair, John Abernathy said the profit on the sale would be accounted for in the half-year results but is expected to be in excess of $1 million.

“By way of background, the average client in this book, based on their average assets under advice, was less than $200,000,” he said.

Abernathy also flagged the firm’s substantial winding down of exposure to retail funds, describing “an increasingly difficult and declining retail advice market” having developed in Australia.

“Large retail fund failures, both manager and product restrictions proposed by investment platforms, and the declining numbers of retail advisors, suggest that the outlook for small scale retail funds has become difficult and it may be terminal,” he said.

“Winding down our retail offerings and selling retail clients was identified as a logical step in our strategic plan last year.

“While our Managing Director initially ‘embraced complexity’ to see where the dust would settle, it has been clear for some time that small retail funds without strong differentiation and significant marketing will fail to deliver a reasonable return to shareholders,” Abernathy said.

He said the management team is now moving quickly “to rationalise our fund offerings and develop strategic partnerships with larger established fund groups”.

“Accordingly, we have decided to close the high performing Clime Australian Income Fund and our much smaller Clime Smaller Companies Fund.