Certe bolsters services via new acquisition

The acquisition of Genesis Financial Partners by the advisory firm Certe is set to create a large, integrated professional services firm with over 20 staff, including nine advisers.

Certe’s risk insurance and employee benefits business will be significantly expanded by the acquisition, while also bringing additional capabilities in holistic financial advice and wealth management.

The combined client base of each group will now be able to access a wider range of advisory solutions under one roof. This option is also open to the many large legal and professional service firms. Under this new deal, Certe has acquired 60 per cent of Genesis upfront and will purchase the remaining 40 per cent down the line.

Certe CEO, Jeremy Boller, stated that the transaction is a key component in an ambitious growth strategy, including organic growth, mergers and acquisitions, and is supported by Certe’s capital and growth partner, AZ NGA.

Mr Boller said the demand from among their corporate clients as well as their employees for strategic financial advice as been “steadily rising,” particularly partners or executives of large professional service firms who are “time poor” and want easy access to “high-quality advice on insurance, superannuation, investing and retirement planning from someone they trust.”

“This acquisition fills a gap in our value proposition, strengthens our existing employee benefits service and enables us to help more people,” Mr Boller said.

“It strongly positions us as a serious challenger in the employee benefits space.”

Co-founder and joint managing director at Genesis Financial Partners, Phil Robbins, expressed that the deal was a “win-win” for all parties. The acquisition expands the breadth and depth of services made available to both firms’ clients which will provide better career development opportunities for senior staff at Genesis.

Mr Robbins and fellow joint managing director, Wilton Wong, will remain with the group for a minimum of three years under the new deal.

“We had been looking for a partner to help take our business to the next level for some time,” Mr Robbins said.

He added that outside of the three international broking firms, “Certe and Genesis together will be right up there” in regards to the size of their group risk and employee benefit portfolio.

“We’re keen to continue building our business and taking care of our clients and staff,” Mr Robbins said.

“Certe is also a leader in the employee benefits space. The way they approach things is quite unique and innovative, which Genesis clients will benefit from.”

Both parties will continue to operate independently for next 12 to 18 months before merging some functions to extract cost benefits and synergies.

Paul Barrett, AZ NGA CEO, expressed his support for the acquisition as accounting and advisory firms need to grow larger and scale up so they can expand their capacities and capabilities in order to meet latent demand for quality service.

“We are focused on helping our partners achieve their personal and professional goals, and we’re willing and able to be flexible to make things happen,” Mr Barrett said.