Why First State Investments needs more than star fund managers to succeed in UK

group report

The First State Investment brand was introduced to the UK in 2001 but conquering the UK market has proved hard

When Aussie-owned First State Investments parked its tanks on the lawn of the UK fund management industry four years ago, it did so with the brashness of an archetypal pommie-basher. The UK retail investment industry, it said, would be conquered and it would only be a matter of time before First State walked off with the industry's version of the Ashes. Well, things haven't quite worked out like that for First State Investments, the investment arm of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, one of that country's largest financial services organisations. Although First State still has a presence in ...