The Merkin Group has invested in, managed or added value to  intelligent solutions  – solving the problems faced by businesses and consumers through the use of technology – taking a strategic stake in financial services and IT companies.

Recent  investments include

Advisor Plus Pty Ltd was a joint venture between The Merkin Group and Leon Hinde. Applying to become an Australian registered financial service provider, Advisor Plus intends to serve the diverse needs of dealer groups, traditional money managers and registered investment firms and funds as well as authorise both BoxRED’s and Leon’s  regulated businesses in Australia and Hong Kong.

Advisor Plus will be looking to provide multi asset prime brokerage via Direct Market Access as well as a licensing and product solution

Advisor Plus intends to provide a fully integrated service specifically to high value advisors wishing to become CAR’s, the service provides an integrated structure that will enable advisors to provide scalable financial services to their clients with a view to either establishing a new or growing an existing brand.

The Advisor Plus solution is designed to assist brokers to develop their own business entity, building their own brand value and in the process allowing  full flexibility when it comes time to consider a rewarding exit plan through a trade sale or corporate roll up strategy. Alternatively, Advisor Plus will help develop your own independent listing through ASOB or the ASX .

Advisor Plus is particularly interested in boutique CAR licensing arrangements where we can work with advisors  to help facilitate their  product, licensing and business scalability requirements.

International Markets (IB)
Trade on over 100 market centers in 23 countries.
Direct market access to stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds, ETFs and CFDs
from a single IB Universal Account™.
Trade assets denominated in multiple currencies from a single account.
Access market data 24 hours a day and six days a week to stay connected to all global markets.
Convert currencies at market determined rates as low as 1/2 PIP wide, or create a position collateralized by a non-native currency.
TechnologyOur range of IRESS solutions cater to the diverse needs of trading in Equity and Derivative markets. Through IRESS solutions, clients gain access to comprehensive market data and sophisticated market analysis tools. IRESS also provides clients with an extensive historical database, incorporating time-series data on security prices, exchange rates, commodity prices, economic data and market statistics.The IRESS integrated management system enables clients to streamline their trading processes and integrate seamlessly with Microsoft products such as Excel and other industry standard software tools. See http://www.advisorplus.com.au

Advisor Plus RE Services will  apply to become licensed (pursuant to the Corporations Act) to act as a Responsible Entity (RE) for registered managed investment schemes. As a

Responsible Entity (RE), Advisor Plus will be responsible for the operation of schemes (funds) on an ongoing basis, specifically to provide:

· Fund setup and administration.
· Delivery of required documents.
· Establishment and monitoring of compliance plans.
· Appointment and monitoring of external service providers.
· Regular compliance certifications.
· Performance reviews and on-site visits.
· Monitoring against the delivery and performance of service standards.
Subject to license approval, Advisor Plus intends to act as RE for registered managed investment schemes (funds) and provide a premium mini prime brokerage service to enable fund managers to trade efficiently in a variety of markets. See http://www.advisorplus.com.au

Model Portfolio.

Subject to license approval, the Advisor Plus MPS is intended to allow advisors to offer their clients a portfolio of investments managed by us according to a defined investment strategy, commonly referred to as a Separately Managed Account (SMA).
The MPS will give your client access to a professionally managed portfolio of investments, without the hassles of direct ownership.
It is intended that the Advisor Plus MPS will allow you to :
· choose one Model Portfolio or a combination of Model Portfolios from a selection of investment managers and strategies to suit their investment needs
· fund their account with cash or a transfer of existing ASX listed securities, without triggering a capital gains tax liability (where the securities form part of the Model Portfolio), where there is no change of beneficial ownership
· view their account holdings and transactions online
· set up a regular withdrawal plan to receive monthly payments from their account
· upon closing their account, transfer security holdings to their name without triggering a capital gains tax liability (where there is no change of beneficial ownership).

Investor Signals Pty Ltd is a portfolio management company based in Australia and The Merkin Group and Leon Hinde have a Hong Kong joint venture to promote the company in Hong Kong &Asia subject to licensing. See http://www.investorsignals.com.hk

Investment Objective – to outperform the S&P/ASX Top 50 Index, (post fees), on a rolling 5 year basis.Investment – a carefully selected portfolio of Australian Equities and the use of Exchange Traded Options to seek enhanced risk adjusted returns.

Australian Equities Investment Strategy – growth at a reasonable price, (GARP), is the investment philosophy that will be applied to stock selection. Positions will be established in approximately 8 – 14 S&P/ASX Top 50 listed companies, (although selective exposure outside of the S&P/ASX Top 50 will occassionally occur), and are selected on the basis of their return on equity and solid earnings per share growth profile. Investment selection within the ASX Top 50 provides exposure to industry leaders, a thematic that will result in investing outside the ASX Top 50 will most often be predicated by potential corporate action.
Other determinants of stock selection include:-
Strong cash flow;
Strong cash conversion;
Low debt; and
Sector and technical trends.
Given these criteria, the research will tend to identify companies with pricing power, revenue growth and steady, to improving margins.
The entry price to be paid to establish a position in each stock will be determined by its expected growth and target price, (i.e. dividend yield and price earnings ratio are not the only selection criteria). Investments can be made in any sector. Derivatives will be used in the construction and management of the portfolio.
The Use of Derivatives in the Portfolio Construction and Portfolio Management – The performance of the portfolio will typically depend on three factors:
Stock Selection: Based on the investment strategy outlined in the Investor Signals’ Mandate;
Portfolio Construction: Acquisition of selected stocks through the use of derivatives where this results in a more favourable risk / return outcome, than investing in the stand alone stock; and
Portfolio Management: Management of each stock position to maintain the optimal risk / return profile at any point in time.
Used in conjunction with the Equity Portfolio, Exchange Traded Options have the potential to:-
Reduce Risk: Buying Put options or selling Call options reduces volatility and beta risk;
Generate Additional Returns: Selling Call options for income in return for capping a long stock upside;
Reduce Market Impact Cost of Buying / Selling Stock: Synthetic exposure via options;
Reduce Transaction Costs: Synthetic exposure via single stock options rather than a long stock position; and
Manage Capital Gains Implications: Synthetic exposure via single stock options rather than realising a capital gains event by buying / selling a stock.
The Exchange Traded Options strategies that will be used in the Portfolio construction and Portfolio management phases of the investment include:-
Long Calls, Long Puts, Collars, Stock Repairs, Long Call and Put Spreads, and Long and Short Iron Condor strategies
Note: The notional exposure of the cash holdings will not be exceeded in this portfolio. The Global Equity Management Mandate is not designed to be used as a leveraged vehicle. There is no cash holding requirement for this portfolio over and above the notional value requirement. The Covered Call is a strategy in options trading whereby Call options are written against a holding of the underlying security. Using the Covered Call option strategy, the investor gets to earn a premium, writing Calls whilst at the same time appreciating all benefits of the underlying stock ownership, such as dividends and voting rights, unless he is assignd an excercise notice on the written Call and is obligated to sell their shares.   See http://www.investorsignals.com Investor Signals is currently a CAR of D2MX  Ltd.

Past

The Merkin Group sold its interest to Leon Hinde in June 2016 and Sean is no longer a director or ASIC licensed Responsible Manager.The RE entity remains a strategic goal of The Merkin Group.

Key past investments in this area included ASX listed  MDS Financial Group Ltd (2006- 2013) and its subsidiaries D2MX – supplying direct to market wholesale trading and institutional dealing services, bespoke corporate advisory and capital markets solutions; Trader Dealer Online – supplying retail online execution stockbroking services; MDS News and Bourse Data, which supplies share-market analytical software and live share market data to both retail and institutional share market participants.

Over their stewardship , Sean Rothsey and The Merkin Group team have led the transition of MDS Financial Group into a full service investment house. Each acquisition has added to the offering, bringing new lines of business, industry expertise and clients.

The business is now transformed. Where once it was focused on retail products, today it is firmly grounded in sophisticated services for the institutional and wholesale markets, and high-net-worth individuals. The full list of services includes:

• Corporate advisory services.
• Equity Capital Markets.
• Corporate Finance.
• Institutional Dealing.
• Wholesale Trading.
• Retail Online Execution.
• General Advisory.