Crestone chief executive Mike Chisholm has flagged his firm's fixed income capability as a point of difference with other Australian wealth managers.
Whereas most Australian wealth managers offer clients unlisted fixed income securities via managed funds, Crestone gives its clients access to the direct securities, Mr Chisholm said.
"Crestone have the ability to execute or hold unlisted fixed income securities (domestically and globally) for their clients in direct security form, which very few firms can do in Australia," Mr Chisholm said.
"Holding in direct form allows clients to directly control investment decisions around credit quality, diversity of issue and duration of exposure," he said.
The capability is important, Mr Chisholm said, given that a "very significant" part of the fixed income sector, both domestically and globally, is unlisted – particularly outside the 'high grade' category.
"At Crestone, we have a team that specialise in fixed income securities and support our advisers in understanding the preferred securities and recommended sectors when giving advice to clients," he said.
Crestone was established after Mr Chisholm led a management buyout of UBS Wealth Management that was finalised in June 2016.
The firm's investment platform, which is powered by the same Avaloq software behind BT's Panorama, is backed up with relationships with UBS (broking), Credit Suisse (margin lending) and CBA (cash products and foreign exchange).
