Castle Point sold

Castle Point, which has $300 million in funds under management, has been sold to Perpetual Guardian Group for an undisclosed sum.

The firm was established in 2013, by Richard Stubbs, Stephen Bennie, Jamie Young and Gordon Sims.

It has three funds; 5 Oceans, Ranger and a Trans-Tasman equity fund. Castle Point uses Heathcote Investment Partners for distribution.

Castle Point has had a tough time recently with performance hampered by market headwinds. Also it lost a significant mandate recently when money it managed for BNZ was moved to Harbour Asset Management following the creation of First Cape.

The Castle Point deal follows the group’s acquisition in February of the Private Wealth division of Trustees Executors, consistent with the Group’s strategy to continue to grow organically and by acquisition.

Perpetual Guardian Group chief executive Patrick Gamble says, “The Castle Point acquisition is consistent with our plan to open our investment services to the retail market. Our investment management business, PG Investments, has a strong track record of prudent investment management and wealth creation for group clients under the leadership of our longtime CIO Tim Chesterfield.

"We look forward to bringing Castle Point under the PG Investments umbrella.”

Gamble told Good Returns the acquisition accelerated its move into the retail market as Castle Point had the necessary licences and operations people.

He says Perpetual Guardian is working to make its funds retail offerings in the near future and is working through the required changes with the trustee and the Financial Markets Authority.

While acknowledging the performance issues, Gamble says PG, with its additional resources, should be able to help turn around some of these issues.

"We think we can turn some of it around," he said.

With the deal being done today all investments decisions made from now will be the responsibility of Perpetual Guardian.

Castle Point co-founder and managing director Richard Stubbs says, “This is a fantastic match up. It is particularly great for our clients, who will have access to a broader investment management team with a wealth of knowledge. Perpetual Guardian Group has a long history and an ingrained ethos of client service.”

The Perpetual Guardian Group of companies is the leading fiduciary services provider in the country and has been taking care of Kiwis’ wealth and legacies for more than 140 years.

With $2.5 billion in funds under management and $8 billion in total assets under management, the group’s four companies (Perpetual Guardian, PG Investments, New Zealand Trustee Services, and Givealittle) provide the full suite of estate planning and investment services for Kiwis at all stages of life including Wills, Trusts, Enduring Powers of Attorney, Investment Advisory, Investment Management and Philanthropic ventures.

Castle Point reported a loss of $25,297 in the year to March 31, 2023 following a $905,837 profit the year before. A large part of the difference is the fund manager earned performance fees of $2.91 million in 2022 and nothing in 2023.