Colonial First State

The company was established in 1988 when the State Bank of New South Wales created First State Fund Management as a subsidiary. In 1994, Colonial Mutual acquired the State Bank of New South Wales from the NSW Government, and on 23 September 1996 the merged entity was rebranded as Colonial State Bank, with First State Fund Management being branded as "Colonial First State" (CFS).{{cite news |last1=Flint |first1=Jeremy |title=Colonial's State Bank gets ready for a new name |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=30 August 1996 |pages=23}}{{cite news |last1=Verrender |first1=Ian |title=Change of name for the State Bank lacks note |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=23 September 1996 |pages=3}}{{cite news |last1=Hornery |first1=Andrew |title=Yawns all round for bank revamp |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |page=2}} CFS demutualised in 1997 and in 2000, it was acquired by the Commonwealth Bank, with the Colonial State Bank division being merged into the Commonwealth Bank.

In May 2020, owner Commonwealth Bank announced that, subject to gaining approval from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and Foreign Investment Review Board, it would sell a 55% interest in the business to KKR.{{Cite web |title=CBA announces agreement to sell 55% stake in Colonial First State to KKR |url=https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/newsroom/2020/05/cba-announces-agreement-cfs-kkr.html |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=www.commbank.com.au |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |date=5 July 2021 |title=Colonial First State Leadership Team Update :: Colonial First State |url=https://www.cfs.com.au/about-us/corporate-profile/media/colonial-first-state-leadership-team-update.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719113440/https://www.cfs.com.au/about-us/corporate-profile/media/colonial-first-state-leadership-team-update.html |archive-date=19 July 2021 |access-date=2024-03-28 }} The transaction was completed in November 2021.{{Cite web |title=Completion of sale of 55% interest in Colonial First State to KKR |url=https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/newsroom/2021/12/CFS-sale-completed.html |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=www.commbank.com.au |language=en-AU}} On 1 December 2021, CFS became a standalone company.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

CFS announced its commitment on climate change, aligning CFS to the goals of the Paris Agreement and committing to net zero emissions by 2050 and to a 30 per cent reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions from 2019 levels for its investment portfolios.{{Cite web |date=28 October 2021 |title=Colonial First State commits to net zero by 2050 |url=https://www.cfs.com.au/about-us/corporate-profile/media/colonial-first-state-commits-to-net-zero-by-2050.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105200659/https://www.cfs.com.au/about-us/corporate-profile/media/colonial-first-state-commits-to-net-zero-by-2050.html |archive-date=5 November 2023 |access-date=28 March 2024 |website=Colonial First State}}

In 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) commended legal proceedings against Commonwealth Bank and CFS in relation to alleged conflicted remuneration of $22 million paid by CFS to Commonwealth Bank for the distribution of a super product issued by CFS. In 2022, the Federal Court of Australia dismissed the case and in 2023 dismissed an appeal by ASIC.{{Cite web |title=23-222MR Full Federal Court dismisses ASIC appeal but clarifies conflicted remuneration provisions |url=https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2023-releases/23-222mr-full-federal-court-dismisses-asic-appeal-but-clarifies-conflicted-remuneration-provisions/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=asic.gov.au |language=en}}

In 2021, the Federal Court of Australia fined CFS $20 million for misleading superannuation members, resulting in CFS paying $67 million to remediate losses to 5,815 members. The court found that:

• CFS had told its members that legislative changes required CFS to contact them to obtain an investment direction to stay in the FirstChoice Fund when that was not the case
• CFS failed to tell members that if Colonial did not receive an investment direction from the member, it was required to transfer the member's superannuation contributions into a MySuper product.{{Cite web |title=21-276MR Colonial First State to pay $20 million penalty for misleading superannuation members |url=https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2021-releases/21-276mr-colonial-first-state-to-pay-20-million-penalty-for-misleading-superannuation-members/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=asic.gov.au |language=en}}

In 2022, CFS settled a $56.3 million class action lawsuit with Maurice Blackburn for allegedly failing to transfer beneficiaries’ accrued default amounts to a MySuper as soon as reasonably practicable, however, the settlement came with no admission of liability or wrongdoing by CFS.{{Cite web |date=2 May 2022 |title=NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT |url=https://www.mauriceblackburn.com.au/content/dam/mbl/en/class-actions/current/colonial-mysuper-class-action/22.05.02%20Notice%20of%20Proposed%20Settlement.pdf.coredownload.pdf |access-date=29 March 2024 |website=Maurice Blackburn}}

In 2023, CFS settled a $100 million class action lawsuit with Slater & Gordon for allegedly raising fees on superannuation members to fund ongoing commissions to financial advisers, however, the settlement came with no admission of liability or wrongdoing by CFS.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-14 |title=CBA's former wealth arm settles class action for $100m |url=https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/cba-wealth-arm-settles-fees-for-no-service-class-action-for-100m-20230714-p5dobr |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.cfs.com.au/next/home.html Company website]

{{Commonwealth Bank}}

{{KKR}}

Category:Commonwealth Bank

Category:Financial services companies based in Sydney

Category:Investment companies of Australia

Category:Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies

Category:Asset management companies