CFS Edge adds new international managed accounts, expands Accelerate Series menu

19 March 2024  

Colonial First State (CFS) today announces the expansion of international managed accounts on the CFS Edge platform and new managed accounts on the Accelerate Series menu.   

In an Australian first, and only available on CFS Edge, financial advisers and their clients now have access to an international managed account from global equity investment specialists Walter Scott. 

International managed accounts from Franklin Templeton and Watershed have also been added to the CFS Edge menu. This follows last year's introduction of global equity managers T.Rowe Price, CBRE Investment Management, ClearBridge, and Lazard Asset Management. 

“The addition of these leading international managers is in response to the growing demand we have from advisers and licensees seeking international investing opportunities,” said Bryce Quirk, CFS Group Executive, Distribution. 

“This collaboration underscores our commitment to providing Australian investors with access to high-quality and long-term global equity opportunities,” said Roy Leckie, Executive Director at Walter Scott. “We have a single focus - investing in world leading companies. Clients can count on us to stay true to this tried and tested investment approach for decades to come.” 

The menu expansion takes the total number of managed accounts on CFS Edge to more than 170 with over $16 billion invested in CFS managed accounts across the Edge and FirstChoice platforms. 

The CFS Edge Accelerate Series menu expansion includes new portfolios from CFS Investments and Innova Asset Management, winner of multi-asset manager of the year at the 2024 Institute of Managed Accounts Professionals awards, alongside portfolios from BondAdviser and Ausbil. 

"We are seeing a growing number of advisers and investment managers choosing CFS for managed account solutions due to our unique position in the market, offering options on both the FirstChoice and Edge platforms. The expansion of our menu provides advisers with even more choices to present to their clients," said Frances Taylor, Executive Director of Managed Accounts at CFS. 

The Accelerate Series is a full-service managed account solution which enables advisers to blend low-cost solutions with sophisticated investment options in a single account, allowing them to service different client segments from a single platform. 

The launch of the new options is complimented by an updated version of the CFS whitepaper, International Investing Through Managed Accounts, which is available to download on the CFS website.