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Equity Trustees Fund Services has been appointed Authorised Corporate Director (ACD) for the River and Mercantile Funds ICVC, effective 21 October 2019.

River and Mercantile Asset Management LLP and River and Mercantile Investments Limited remain the investment managers to the funds.

Equity Trustees Fund Services is the UK Specialist Authorised Corporate Director (ACD) business of Equity Trustees group, a 130-year-old, ASX listed, trustee company and Australia’s market leading provider of specialist funds governance services to domestic and international fund managers.

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to further expand our global relationship with River and Mercantile with the approval from the Financial Conduct Authority to take over as the ACD for the ICVC. This transition is further evidence that the specialist ACD model is seen as the optimal way forward for investment managers looking to deliver value and provide a robust governance structure for investors,” said James Gardner, Co-CEO Equity Trustees Fund Services (UK & Europe). 

James Barham, CEO of River and Mercantile Group PLC, said: “Since launching River and Mercantile Asset Management in 2006 our business and its capabilities have evolved and broadened with assets under management of the parent Group now exceeding £40bn.”

“The ACD performs an extremely important role for our equity fund management business where transparent, independent oversight is critically important. Following a thorough due diligence process we initiated last year, we’ve determined that transitioning the ACD role to Equity Trustees Fund Services will enhance this and allow us to focus on what we do best – managing our clients’ money.”

Mr Gardner said the specialist ACD service had a strong appeal, especially for fund management businesses looking to connect with a service provider with a broader, global capability.

“The strategic move for Equity Trustees to expand into the UK and Europe from Australia was to service managers with a profile like that of River and Mercantile,” he said.  

“Our UK ACD, UCITS Management Company and AIFM services continue to attract attention from investment managers looking for a specialist, experienced and knowledgeable partner with solid operational and financial substance,” Mr Gardner concluded.

Read the Australian announcement of this appointment here, and more about Equity Trustees Fund Services at www.equitytrustees.com

 Download the Full Media Release


Media inquiries

Alicia Kokocinski

General Manager Marketing & Communications

Equity Trustees

03 8623 5396 / 0403 172 024

akokocinski@eqt.com.au

Equity Trustees was established in 1888 for the purpose of providing independent and impartial Trustee and Executor services to help families throughout Australia protect their wealth. Equity Trustees Fund Services provides fund governance, risk and compliance, service provider oversight, product assistance and regulatory reporting services to investment managers, from locations in Melbourne, Sydney, New York, London and Dublin.

Fund Services in Europe are provided by Equity Trustees Fund Services Ltd and Equity Trustees Fund Services (Ireland) Limited which are part of the EQT Holdings Limited group (ABN 22 607 797 615),  a publicly listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: EQT) with offices in Melbourne, Bendigo, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, London and Dublin