The financial advice firm stated that this is part of their intention to become a “super firm”.
According to Eureka Whittaker Macnaught, the three imminent acquisitions will boost the firm’s revenue to $25 million and team members to 90, including 27 financial advisers, across eight locations.
This month, EWM will acquire MSI Taylor Wealth Management, led by partners Peter O’Callaghan and Daniel Shine; Financial Design, led by principal Helen Postle; and Your Wealthy Life, led by Megan Neale.
The group’s latest acquisitions followed mergers with MTP Financial in Cairns in November and Wealthmed on the Sunshine Coast earlier this year.
Greg Cook, CEO of EWM, said the group’s latest transactions would deliver scale and efficiency benefits and expanded its capabilities and capacity.
“Scale is increasingly important in financial advice not only to achieve operational and cost benefits but to increase our ability to meet the growing public demand for professional advice,” he said.
“We are pursuing a super firm strategy and on this journey, we’ve been able to expand our client value proposition, provide career development opportunities for team members, and free up advisers to spend more time in front of clients.”
EWM has also brought a number of services in-house, including accounting, mortgage broking and aged care advice.
Speaking on their participation in this flurry of acquisitions, Your Wealthy Life’s Neale said the backing of a business with a large, capable team and strong reputation attracted her to EWM.
“Running solo is rewarding, however, I could see the benefits of joining a bigger business and the stability that comes with that,” she said.
“My clients now have access to a broader range of services and expertise, and they can feel confident that their advice journey will continue seamlessly even if I take some time off.”
Financial Design’s Postle added that this scale allows her advisers to spend more time with clients, rather than losing time on backroom administration.
“Not only will I be able to spend more time seeing clients, but I’ll also have more time to spend mentoring team members, as I divest myself from the duties of running a business,” she said.
Looking ahead, Cook said the group would sharpen its focus on opportunities to grow through M&A in NSW and other states.
“Around three-quarters of our business is in Queensland, and the remaining quarter is NSW, but we see plenty of opportunities in NSW and other states and we are keen to partner with other advice businesses to continue growing and serving more clients.”
