The deal will see Jupiter supply IFS with its Luxembourg-domiciled Jupiter JGF Merlin Real Return Portfolio, which is managed by Algy Smith-Maxwell.
The proposition will initially be available to institutional investors, but Jupiter has said it will expand the offering to the retail segment.
IFS will only offer the service to Singapore-based clients to begin with, but said it plans to expand this into other countries at a later date.
Greg Atherstone, investment specialist at IFS said: “This is an exclusive partnership with iFS; no other IFA firm has access to this fund. It is very different compared to traditional IFA offerings.”
He added that the deal was the “first of its kind” in Singapore which he hopes will “build a trend”.
IFS will allocate a percentage of a client’s portfolio into the core Merlin fund relative to their risk tolerance.
The company will then invest into “riskier” funds, which will sit around the core, with more being allocated to clients with a higher risk appetite.
The partnership will also see the UK-based investment manager provide IFS with the necessary research data to aid it in selecting third party satellite funds and build model portfolios for clients.
At present about 50% of Jupiter’s Merlin fund assets are invested in absolute return funds, 30% in equities and the rest into bonds. The fund manager has full discretion to change this allocation.
Benchmarked against the EURIBOR three-month, the fund manager is targeting a 6%-8% net return over the medium to long term.
IFS has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Qatar, and has been providing wealth management solutions for investors in Asia since 1997.
