National Australia Bank (NAB) will continue to expand its boutique business, NabInvest, following the closure of Australian equity firm Lodestar Capital Partners.
"We are pleased with the NabInvest partnerships we have in place and will continue to seek other opportunities which are complementary to our existing capabilities or which scale up and diversify our exposures in the areas of alternatives, regional and global equities, and core property," a spokesperson for the company said.
The closure of Lodestar sparked questions around whether the bank would scale back the boutique business, following the rapid expansion since the establishment of the business in October 2007.
But NAB has indicated that it closed Lodestar after a review of the firm, prompted by a request from the principals and founders to cease the business.
The fund had not been immune from the impact of ongoing difficult market conditions and believed it was in the interest of all parties involved to wind up the fund, Lodestar chief executive John Morgan said in a statement on the firm's website.
After concluding the review, NabInvest agreed with the view of the principals.
The Lodestar Australian Strategic Share Fund has returned 4.4 per cent per annum in total since its inception in July 2005.
In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation index returned 4.58 per cent over the same period.
The fund has been terminated on 30 March. It has started selling assets and is expected to distribute the proceeds in May this year.
NabInvest acquired a 33 per cent stake in Lodestar in September 2009, but the bank remained tight-lipped on the impact of the closure.
"We are unable to comment on the financial implications regarding the closure of Lodestar other than to say that NabInvest's investment in the fund was modest, reflecting the start-up nature of the company," the spokesperson said.
NabInvest manages through its in-house management teams and external partners more than $50 billion in assets.
The business has relationships with more than 10 external partners.
