According to Capital Haus, the acquisition furthers its ambition to “redefine the financial advice sector” and provide clients concierge-style management plus access to “best practice portfolio design, global assets and unique, institutional-grade investment products”.
Baker Young, which was found by Alan Young and David Baker more than 40 years ago, will retain its brand and both Young and Baker will remain in active advisory roles.
Capital Haus, which was founded in Sydney in 2019, has undertaken a period of rapid expansion in recent years, having expanded into Dubai and Zurich, and making acquisitions in Townsville and Bateman’s Bay.
The latest move will see the firm take its head count of advisers and support staff to 41 and its funds under management to around $1.4 billion.
Young said: “For 40 years, our focus has been simple: put clients first and build relationships that span generations. Capital Haus shares that philosophy.
“We are planning for the long term – for our clients, our team and our brand. Becoming part of the Capital Haus Group means our legacy will endure, while also providing stability for clients, as well as access to exciting new opportunities. It is the right succession step for our practice and a positive evolution for our clients.”
Baker added that they are “energised by the shared vision Capital Haus is pursuing and we’re proud to be part of it”.
Speaking with ifa, Capital Haus founder and CEO Brendan Gow said Baker Young’s extensive history was a major draw for the acquisition and “adds to our brand and our heritage”.
“They seamlessly slip into what we do, because we do things very similarly,” Gow explained, adding that the client experience is at the centre of everything they do.
“They are very much focused on the customer service that they provide first, that’s always been very clear,” he said.
“As it stands with providing financial advice, especially these days, it is much less about actually making money grow, and more about the physical relationship, knowing when your kids’ birthdays are and understanding where the client comes from; the small intricacies behind each client.”
Gow added that the Baker Young staff were adamant that they didn’t want the acquisition to alter their ability to offer retail advice and lose those clients.
“On the contrary, we want to expand in that space,” Gow said.
“We’re very much focused on the broader Australian community. Everybody deserves good quality, affordable financial advice. Those are really the core beliefs that we go by and Baker Young shares that.”
In line with this stance, Capital Haus will also move its existing clients into the ‘Baker Young, a Capital Haus company’ brand, its new flagship advisory offering.
Both Baker Young and Capital Haus’ existing clients will continue to work with the same personal advisers and service model, the firm said, while “gaining access to new group-level global research, multi‑asset solutions and cross‑border capabilities”.
It will also launch a new service for UHNW clients, Baker Young Private, that will provide clients with access to wholesale opportunities, global private credit financing, and capital raises.
Gow explained that it made sense to leverage the 40 years of heritage that Baker Young has built and have it be the client facing brand for private wealth, while Capital Haus stays as the fund manager and the systems that drive the Baker Young service.
“What that also allows us to do, as we progress our growth trajectory it means Capital Haus is seen more as a services business, which means that we’re open to growing and building on an existing brand, if we think that’s the right the right path to go down,” he said.
“The most recent acquisitions in years gone by, they’ve been smaller brands. They don’t have the same recognition that Baker Young does and, in fact, the founders of those businesses wanted the Capital Haus branding. With Baker young, we wanted to really respect the heritage in a lot of ways.”
