EUROPE - JP Morgan FundsHub, the four-year-old fund aggregation platform, dealing and settlement service, is to close after failing to find an external partner, writes Brooke Donovan, Editor of European Fund Focus.

JP Morgan Investor Services recently told clients that it was starting an “orderly wind-down” of FundsHub, which has three clients in the UK and Germany.

It has closed to new business but will continue to operate until its existing clients switch to new providers.

A spokesperson for JP Morgan Investor Services says the most significant factor in the decision to wind down FundsHub was the fact that it envisioned a rapid take-up of the service, which did not happen, and the failure to find an external investor.

“As a business, JP Morgan Investor Services still believes in the importance of distribution to our clients and will continue to pursue product opportunities to support them in this arena as and when they arise.”

FundsHub was launched in April 2000 as a fund trading platform linking fund managers, distributors and retail investors and offering straight-through mutual fund processing technology from Investia. Investia sold its stake in FundsHub to JP Morgan in February 2002.

In May 2001 FundsHub announced its first German customer, the insurance group Gothaer, and in June 2001 its first UK customer, Charcol Online, launched an internet-based fund supermarket using infrastructure provided by FundsHub.

This was followed in November the same year by the launch of Old Mutual's multi-manager platform Selestia, with technology and operations provided by FundsHub.

FundsHub’s chief executive Mark Lund left JP Morgan FundsHub last year to become chief executive designate of St James’ Place Capital. Lund was replaced by Simon Rigden.

JP Morgan has not confirmed how many jobs will be lost as a result of FundsHub’s closure.