LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - Independent fund firm Keydata Investment Services Ltd was on Monday declared insolvent and placed into administration after a court application by Britain's financial regulator.
The Financial Services Authority said it had appointed Dan Schwarzmann and Mark Batten of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as administrators. Keydata spokespeople said the administrators arrived in the London offices earlier on Monday.
Keydata -- which is based in London and Reading -- designs and sells structured products to individual investors through independent financial advisers (IFAs). It also provides third party administration services for other financial institutions.
It had 2.8 billion pounds ($4.44 billion) in assets under management at the end of April. A Keydata spokesman was unable to explain the reasons for the FSA action, but said that none of the company's products were hedged or leveraged.
He also said the firm was entirely independent and not tied to one bank or one client. A Keydata statement is expected in the next 24 hours.
A person outside the company familiar with the situation said there was "no suggestion" that consumers had lost any money.
"This is a complex situation and we know many investors will have serious concerns. We will do all we can to get a clear understanding of the position as soon as possible," PwC's Schwarzmann said in a statement.
PwC said that a range of Keydata-branded venture capital trusts were separate legal entities and not subject to the administration.
The range comprises Keydata AIM VCT plc, Keydata AIM VCT 2 plc, Keydata Income VCT 1 plc and Keydata VCT plc 2.
The firm was formed in 2001 when Keydata -- a company with a background in multimedia sales tools for asset managers -- acquired Reading-based Fedsure Investment Products Services.
Private equity firm 3i Group Plc held an 18.5 percent stake in Keydata until 2006, when the stake was sold to management, a 3i spokesman said. (Reporting by Joel Dimmock; Editing by Rupert Winchester)