Advice network Adviser Services Holdings Limited has established an investment arm called Rockhold Investments.

As part of the launch, ASHL has also acquired iFunds Asset Management.

iFunds is an investment manager which until recently offered a range of fund and portfolio solutions for retail investors.

The acquisition means that ASHL will have a business with investment management permissions within the group which will allow it to expand its investment offering to advisers and clients including a Rockhold fund proposition expected to launch later this year.

Following the acquisition, it is expected that iFunds will be renamed to sit under the Rockhold brand.

The acquisition is subject to FCA approval.

Designed to dovetail with the advice processes and risk framework adopted within the Lyncombe network restricted advice proposition, Rockhold Investments has over £170m in assets under management with assets expected to exceed well over £200m by the end of the year.

The network has appointed Alpha Beta Partners, a multi-asset portfolio manager, to offer a range of managed portfolios under its Rockhold brand. The Rockhold portfolios have fees ranging between 15bps for passive portfolios and 27.5bps for active, with no VAT due and more recently, a range of sustainable portfolios has been added.

The investment proposition is led by ASHL’s propositions director Chris Wilson. Mr Wilson is the former head of propositions at CAERUS where he was responsible for the oversight of over £1bn of clients’ assets in conjunction with Parmenion.

Stacey Ash, former investment and marketing director at iFunds, has joined ASHL as investment director to support the growth of the Rockhold proposition.

ASHL supports 400 advisers with over £5bn in assets under management.