The discretionary service will use the existing range of 10 specialist sector funds within Omnis, its £4.2bn model portfolio proposition.
These include bespoke strategies run by firms including Woodford Investment Management, Schroders and Threadneedle.
The new service will be exclusively available to Openwork advisers and their clients. It is designed to offer a cost-effective tailored solution for clients seeking to outsource tactical asset allocation decisions.
It will complement the Omnis ‘Graphene’ fund proposition launched in 2013, which offers three risk-rated model portfolios – Cautious, Balanced and Adventurous.
As part of the launch Toni Meadows will join the business as head of investment. He will lead a team that will manage portfolios in line with customer attitudes to risk.
Meadows joins from Tilney Bestinvest, which last year acquired Towry where he was head of investment services.
Openwork CEO Mark Duckworth said: “Openwork continues to develop its products and services to meet the needs of our advisers and their clients and the discretionary service is designed to appeal to those who desire one-stop access to some of the world’s best fund managers, but with the tactical asset allocation decisions outsourced to a dedicated investment team. Our size, scale and buying power mean we can offer these services very cost-effectively to our customers. We are extremely pleased to have attracted someone of Toni’s calibre to lead this proposition.”
Meadows added: “I am delighted to be joining Openwork at such an exciting time for the business. Many advisers will find a discretionary service appealing at a time when political risk and an uncertain economic backdrop are increasing volatility and making short-term asset allocation decisions very challenging.”
