Fiducian acquires NSW advice firm

In a statement to the ASX, Fiducian said it has executed an agreement to acquire the advice firm, which was not named, for $1.15 million to be funded by excess cash.

The acquisition is a continuation of its ongoing strategy to expand its quality financial planning network, the statement said. Total funds under management, administration and advice is currently at $5.2 billion, the company said.

Fiducian added that the “opportunity is unique in that the adviser funding will be provided to financial planners experienced in the Fiducian advice process to establish a larger presence and deliver Fiducian’s proven processes and systems for the benefit of their clients”.

The clients are being acquired from a vendor who seeks to retire, the statement said.

Jai Singh, manager for distribution and business development, said, “We have supported three of our quality trusted financial planners to acquire the clients.

“One of our financial planners will operate from a new and larger office which provides Fiducian with a scalable presence on the Central Coast of NSW, a geographic area highly contested for financial planning business.

“The other financial planners are obtaining clients who reside geographically closer to them. This brings the total of acquisitions since the commencement of the 2015-16 FY to $267 million, which shows a clear intent to acquire small- to mid-size quality financial planning businesses.”

Fiducian says as a matter of policy it doesn’t disclose the names of financial planners who join or sell their businesses, nor does it disclose the name of the dealer group from which the client base was acquired.