Sydney, Feb 26, 2008 (ABN Newswire) - Grove Research and Advisory has signed Standards and Poors (S&P) Australian asset consulting group headed by Simon Ibbetson, effectively doubling the firm's assets under advice.

The news comes following Grove's recent deal with Western Financial which saw the Western Australian Local Superannuation Plan take a 50 per cent stake in the growing business.

According to Simon Ibbetson, who will be joining Grove as Chief Executive Officer on April 1: "We are delighted to be joining Grove and look forward to continuing to provide advice to clients in Australia and across Asia."

The deal sees Grove, the number one provider in the capital secure advisory markets, move into broad base and independent asset consulting."We perfectly complement Grove's existing specialisation around structured investments and credit based funds. Grove's clients will also now have access to S&Ps' research and ratings services," said Mr Ibbetson.

Chairman of Grove, Mr Ross Wraight, said: "The S&P senior consulting team is a great asset for Grove as we continue to grow our business through capitalising on the current demand for quality independent advice."

Grove will now offer its clients knowledge and personal research on international managers in a broad range of asset classes including:

Equities
- Large and small cap
- Domestic, regional and global specialists
- Long/short and market neutral
- Emerging markets

Debt
- Sovereign debt
- Credit
- Emerging market, debt and currency
- Structured and other yield products

Alternative assets
- Fund of fund hedge funds
- Simple strategy hedge funds
- Private equity and infrastructure

Property
- Domestic and global
- Listed and direct


According to Mr Wraight: "Grove provides a high level of research blended with the asset allocation and portfolio construction skills that results in a robust product portfolio which can be targeted to an individual clients needs and objectives."