This article was originally published in GoodReturns and has been reproduced in its entirety here.
The NZX is working with “several” parties on the sale of its funds management research business, FundSource.
Monday, September 3rd 2018, 6:00AM 
Good Returns reported in August that the stock exchange operator was working through the process to sell its research arm.
At the recent FundSource awards, NZX head of market data Glen van Echten said it was dealing with several interested parties.
It wanted to focus on its core exchange business, he said, and FundSource was not part of that. A decision had been made that the deal would be done this year.
There have been concerns that the sale is just another step in the process of New Zealand losing much of its research capability.
Morningstar Asia-Pacific head of manager research ratings Chris Douglas has left his role. It is now being filled from Sydney.
Lonsec and Van Eyk departed earlier in the decade.
But NZX said the industry should have faith in FundSource’s future.
Van Echten said NZX was still a “firm believer” in the FundSource brand and the role it played in the industry.
The market should take confidence in the commitment from the NZX to ensuring FundSource transitioned to new owners who would continue to grow the business and serve the funds management industry, he said.
The parties NZX was in discussion with saw the opportunity to develop FundSource and fund manager research further in New Zealand, for the benefit of the market, he said.
Comments from our readers
On 3 September 2018 at 3:40 pm Pragmatic said:
My limited understanding of the FundSource business is that it provides industry participants with:
1. Qualitative research across a limited range of funds that are offered in the NZ market via outsourcing this task to Australian-based Research IP
2. An annual awards ceremony that is linked to the qualitative and quantitative research that has been conducted by Research IP
3. No annual quantitative data – which was once resold under licence from FE Analytics
4. Some media tables
I’m curious what is for sale – with the only ‘natural buyer’ presumably Research IP?