Challenger Financial Services Group (CGF)

Shares / Stock Code

CGF

Stock Exchange / Sharemarket

ax

Challenger Financial Services Group Limited (CGF) is a versatile financial services organisation with its core business focusing in administration and funds management platforms, annuities, mortgage financing and financial planning. CGF was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on the 23rd of December 2003. CGF purchased the Choice Aggregation Services in September 2007 and included in its purchase is the Choice Home Loans, a mortgage broker and aggregator in Australia. The company’s annual revenue reaches a total of $1,158,900,000. Its headquarters is located in Sydney, Australia and currently, around 958 people are employed in the company. CGF operates mainly on its seven main business segments: investments management, superannuation, margin lending, financial planning, retirement income, property and commercial loans.

The investments and assets management division of CGF has total assets of $9.0 billion and it specialises in real estate, infrastructure and fixed income. It continues to develop its specialist funds services for both the institutional and retail investors. CGF raises its capital through wholesale and retail annuities and through other sources and uses this capital in under valued assets investments making it a proprietary investor in its own rights.

The retirement income loan of the company includes Guaranteed Income Plan and Fixed Rate Allocated Pension. Investors could purchase the plan and could have an annuity with fixed rate. It could either be unrestricted, non-preserved eligible termination payments or with private money investors.

Aside from the superannuation services CGF offers, it also offers consulting services through its specialist-consulting firm. This firm deals with the development of technology to support the delivery of the company’s services with the support of the software called SuperLink which is used for the communication building and another software called SM6 which is used for the overall system of administration.

Challenger Financial Services Group Company History

In 2003, two companies, the CPH Investment Corporation and Challenger International joined to establish the Challenger Financial Services Group.

The company needed to cover past major asset class so they expanded their core suite of investments. The major asset classes were the Australian and international share, cash, bonds and properties and some investment structure including, unit trusts, wholesale funds, retirement income and superannuation. In 2003, an independent Australian land property financier, Interstar Securities was acquired by the Challenger company. In 2004, Challenger was one of the winning consortium to acquire West Gas Distribution Network and Wales in the UK.

Challenger Financial Services approved to supply the financing to help an Australian mortgage business, PLAN Australia. In May 2006, Global Infrastructure Fund was launched by the company. In December 2006, a Japanese property partnership was established by Challenger and at the same time, the company's administration/management assets and loans reached 46.4 billion dollars.

In January 2007, a wholesale property fund named CSPP1 was bought and launched by the Challenger. In August 2007, a long term relationship strategy with Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co., Ltd. (MUS) and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) was made by the Directors of the Challenger Financial Services in order to take advantage of the opportunities in Japan, Australia, and some locations over the Asian region.

Choice Aggregation Services applied with a mortgage business in Australian markets. It was acquired by the company in September 2007.