Perth-based advice firm welcomes first employee shareholder

Upon joining Integro as a private wealth adviser in August 2020, Bryce Wild had the objective of becoming an equity partner with the Perth-based firm. Four years later, he has officially achieved this goal.

“It’s always been a career goal of mine to be able to have an equity stake in the business that I work in and to play a more meaningful role. Taking ownership of where you’re working and having more of a say definitely makes it more meaningful,” Wild told ifa.

Prior to becoming a partner, he was already taking a more active role in the business. Now that he has stepped into the new role, Integro managing partner Justin Gilmour said that Wild will “continue that contribution towards the growth of the practice as we go forward”.

Speaking on reaching this career goal, Wild said this would allow him to feel more secure in his position in the firm and the wider profession.

“Being mentored by Justin and Tim [Sullivan] over the past few years, I feel like I’ve learnt a lot about how to do business and to do it in the right way as well. I’m really happy about the equity position, and I feel like it’s going to solidify my place at Integro and in the industry and will give me an opportunity to have more influence on the direction and the growth of the business,” he said.

“I also feel like it gives my young family a bit more security as well. Got a wife and a young son, so I think on a personal front, it definitely does that.”

He added: “I think I’ve put in a lot of effort to get to this point, but I feel grateful that Integro has delivered the recognition and the reward for that effort. I really feel grateful for the opportunity.”

In addition to this being a milestone professional achievement, Wild said this will provide a roadmap for others looking to follow in his footsteps.

“It also paves the way for other private wealth advisers to come in, whether internally or through acquisition, and to share in the growth trajectory that we’re on,” he said.

Gilmour added that Wild can act as a “sounding board” for others in the firm, and externally, providing them an example of what they need to do to become an equity partner.

“I think a big thing in our industry is that there’s always a lot promised, but now that it’s happened and there’s a history there, it sets a precedent. Now we’ve got the structure in place to be able to support it,” Gilmour said.

He added that Integro is definitely looking to extend this opportunity to others both internally, with existing staff or natural hires, and externally, through mergers with smaller firms.

“They might have three to five people in a practice. They’re struggling with scale. So, basically, look at merging those guys in, and then they take an equity position on that front. It’s a way for us to get scale but attract and retain those people that we identify have potential and can add value to the growth of the firm,” Gilmour said.

Looking forward, Wild said he is keen to continue his work with referral partners, strengthening their relationships and providing a valuable touchpoint between the businesses.

“I’ve been spending quite a bit of time in the offices of our referral partners, just so that they have a private wealth adviser that’s there that they can partner with, that they can bounce things off on a day-to-day basis when things come up for their clients. So, we just want to continue doing that and having a presence in their offices,” he said.