According to AZ NGA, the move to acquire Financial Decisions will expand “its capability and capacity to serve high net worth individuals and families”.
Headquartered in Mona Vale, Financial Decisions has 35 employees, including eight financial advisers, across two locations. The firm’s 16 shareholders are all employees or board members. It specialises in comprehensive strategic advice and multi-generational advice for corporate executives, professionals, small business owners, and family offices.
Paul Barrett, AZ NGA Group CEO, highlighted that the acquisition provides the company with access to a high-growth corridor in the Northern Beaches, and area he said they have had limited presence in before.
“We are excited to partner with Financial Decisions to grow the business and deliver quality advice to more people,” Barrett said.
“The firm’s integrated, multi-disciplinary model supports AZ NGA’s strategy of providing end-to-end solutions, ensuring stronger and deeper client relationships, long-term client retention and a steady stream of high-quality referrals.”
Financial Decisions’ founder and CEO, Damien Cooper, said the partnership provides both succession and growth solutions while creating clear pathways and opportunities for future leaders and partners.
He added that it will also enable the firm to accelerate its expansion through both M&A and organic growth by attracting experienced advisers and mentoring younger associates throughout their professional year.
“We had a good look at the various strategic capital partners in the market and their offers, and the partners and shareholders came together and agreed that AZ NGA was the right fit for us, not just in terms of their model and offer but the cultural alignment,” Cooper said.
“Succession and growth were the main areas of focus for us, and our partnership with AZ NGA positions us strongly for the future.”
Cooper will step down as CEO of his company, focus solely on advising, something AZ NGA said he has wanted to do for some time, with the group’s managing director and principal adviser Blake Conde taking over as chief executive.
Conde said AZ NGA’s Super firm strategy reflected the natural and necessary evolution of the advice sector, drawing parallels to the accounting profession.
“Running an advice business is increasingly complex and expensive due to red tape and compliance, and additional considerations such as the compensation scheme of last resort, which is making it critical for businesses to find efficiencies in order to not only survive but thrive,” he said.
“Our focus is on delivering excellent service and advice to our clients and growing the business, and being able to leverage the resources, expertise and scale of AZ NGA gives us a competitive advantage. Advice businesses need to get bigger to meet the unmet advice needs of Australians.”
