Speaking to InvestorDaily, Bell AM chief investment officer Ned Bell said Bell Potter's planners are "getting a lot of demand from their clients" for global equities.
"As a result of that, for the first time we’re starting to actively market our global equities capability through the Bell Potter network," Mr Bell said.
The arrangement is still in its "infancy" at just two weeks, he said.
Asked whether the push into the retail distribution space would extend into major platforms, Mr Bell was less forthcoming.
"We haven’t quite made that commitment to take the full on retail marketing plan at this stage," he said.
The global equities fund has a sole recommendation from Lonsec, Mr Bell said.
"We won’t rule it out, but I think at this stage we’ve been very much focused on the institutional market," he said.
"The expansion of the Bell Potter [relationship] is an opportunistic way of dipping our toes into retail. It’s not to say that we won’t have a fully-fledged retail plan going forward, but we’re just taking it step by step," Mr Bell said.
Another stumbling block would be Bell AM's ability to service financial advisers around the country, he said.
"Having said that we still think we can service the Bell Potter advisers and their clients relatively easily [who are mainly based in Melbourne]," Mr Bell said.
On the institutional side, Bell AM is having "relatively strong ongoing discussions" with six "large super funds" – and there are 25-30 that his team visits "a couple of times a year", he said.
"It's a really long process, with a number of moving parts. For us to win mandates we have to unseat someone. That’s something that’s totally out of our control," Mr Bell said.
