Wragge & Co LLP Funds and Financial Services team is advising Australian client Praemium Ltd on the launch of a new form of retail collective investment scheme in the UK financial services market. The uniquely structured unit trust has now secured approval from the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The SO Smartfund is a retail investment scheme which is an umbrella fund incorporating features of the Australian Separately Managed Account (SMA).

Praemium's SO Smartfund will now be offered to retail investors through financial advisers and other intermediaries in the UK. It combines technology, business and compliance processes and a unique legal structure to ensure a broad range of investors and financial planners can use or offer the service without significant changes to their licensing. Wragge & Co's William Brewis provided expertise in relation to the relevant FSA rules and structuring the new product for the UK market.

The unique collective investment scheme will be managed by Praemium's wholly owned subsidiary, Smart Operator Ltd. Trustee and custodial services will be provided by HSBC Securities Services, a division of HSBC Bank plc.

Financial Services director and head of the Funds and Financial Services team William Brewis worked closely with Praemium General Counsel and Company Secretary Cathryn Nolan.

William Brewis said: "It is a great endorsement for our credentials in this specialist marketplace to have secured the launch of this pioneering financial product. Praemium is now able to work with financial institutions and financial advisers in the UK to deliver a brand new vehicle for the UK retail investment market."

Cathryn Nolan said: "We had no locked in relationships with lawyers before coming to the UK. We looked for an adviser who would be able to assist us with navigating the complexities of the UK financial services law, as well as appreciate the special features of our own proposition sufficiently to work with us to 'anglicise' our offering. We found this, and more, in William Brewis. In some ways, he has become an integral part of our product development team, contributing invaluable assistance and offering solutions where many others could see only problems. We can't thank him enough and look forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship."

Praemium Ltd is one of Australia's leading suppliers of online financial portfolio administration and Separately Managed Account technology, administering over AUD 28.5 billion of assets. It currently provides services to over 420 financial institutions and intermediaries, including some of Australia's largest financial institutions.

Wragge & Co's specialist Funds and Financial Services team advises clients on FSA regulated transactions, as well as offering compliance, consumer credit, mortgage regulation and general insurance advice.

---

For further information about this press release, contact Kathryn Hobbs on +44 (0)121 213 2397, Alexa Highfield on +44 (0)121 213 2396 or Michelle Dolphin on +44 (0)121 213 2369

This press release may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not give legal advice.