Ex JBWere GM launches HNW advice firm

In a statement, the newly formed Sayers Group announced the launch of its first offering, Sayers Wealth, planned to be the first of many service divisions for the group that will offer solutions to HNW clients around aspects such as philanthropy, business structuring and family succession.

Sayers Wealth chief executive Neville Azzopardi, a former general manager of advice for JBWere and managing director at UBS Wealth Management, told ifa the group it aimed to differentiate itself from other HNW and UHNW wealth offerings by tackling the holistic wealth picture of clients and their businesses and families.

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“There are some wonderful providers in the HNW advisory space, but they’ll tend to find their niche and become strong in that, whether that is managing domestic Aus equities, family office services, accounting, legal – they all stick in their swim lane with a bit of marginal support on the edges,” Mr Azzopardi said.

“We’re trying to swim across the lanes in some ways. We wanted to genuinely build something from scratch around the client that was flexible, taking a multi family office approach where we would bring skills to bear internally or from strategic alliances within other organisations, where we can figure out what’s the problem you’re trying to solve as opposed to what’s the return you’re trying to achieve.”

He added that the group would “look far broader than liquid wealth” when building investment strategies for clients, focusing on opportunities in private markets as well as generating more wealth within a client’s existing business assets.

“There’s a lot of entrepreneurial wealth in this country that is facing for the first time major succession decisions,” Mr Azzopardi said.

“Commonly, the industry has focused on the intergenerational wealth transfer, but it raises questions beyond that about do we expand the business, do we partner with someone, or how can we provide support to create value within the company.

“The concept of private deals is also a space the wealth industry hasn’t typically played in – these entrepreneur families that have had success through the family enterprise see ways of investing through other private companies that we can provide.”

Mr Azzopardi said the formation of the firm had been a response to broader trends in the wealth management industry, with the shift towards professionalism creating a bigger focus on the client’s broader wealth needs and the impact their legacy could have in the future.

“We’ve seen various evolutions of this industry, having gone from Aussie stockbroking through to balanced portfolios to combining portfolio management with strategic advisory like family trusts and structuring,” he said.

“The next phase of evolution is going towards understanding family dynamics, legacy, impact investment and the evolution around the higher order needs of investors. What was a transactional industry has evolved from a more balanced investment philosophy to a focus on ‘what’s my impact’.”