NZX makes investment in Appello Services Limited as demand for electronic funds management services increases

27 November 2007 - NZX has acquired a 30% shareholding in Appello Services Limited (ASL), a funds management services business.

ASL was established in response to the increasingly complex technology needs of fund managers, primarily as a result of Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) and KiwiSaver developments. ASL provides fully electronic administrative, productivity and compliance services for New Zealand fund managers and is able to support all managed funds including KiwiSaver Funds and PIEs.

NZX CEO, Mark Weldon said, “The investment in Appello increases NZX’s exposure to the managed funds sector, which began in 2006 with the acquisition of FundSource.

“We are excited by this new business, Appello provides services that will act to enable and support growth in managed funds investment by New Zealanders.”

Craig Stobo, Chairman of ASL says “We are delighted that NZX has chosen to partner with Appello Services to deliver effective administrative, productivity and compliance services to New Zealand Fund Managers.

“NZX is an ideal partner for ASL as they will support the organisation in becoming the preeminent provider of electronic services to New Zealand fund managers while remaining independent from any fund manager, trustee or fund accountant. We believe this is vital in delivering these services,” said Stobo.

The remaining 70% of the company will be held by interests of Appello Services board members and senior management.

ENDS

For more information please contact:

NZX
Lucy McFadden
Communications
04-496-2890
+64 27-512-7832

Appello Services Limited

Michael Maunsell	Craig Stobo
CEO	Chairman
+64 21 427 222	+64 21 733 751

About ASL
The ASL service offering includes application and redemption management, investor communications, reporting, integration with fund accountants and communication with the Inland Revenue Department.

ASL has acquired exclusive rights to use the unified financial services platform developed by New Technologies Business Solutions (NTBS) to deliver administrative, productivity and compliance services to fund managers in New Zealand and Australia. The core banking component of the NTBS platform has been implemented by several registered banks in Australia and rates in the international league table for core banking system published by the International Banking Systems journal. The NTBS platform has been reconfigured to meet the unique needs of unitized funds in New Zealand. ASL has also partnered with Sublime Group to deliver electronic document management and storage capabilities.