Fortnum Financial Advisers (Fortnum) executive director Ray Miles has said he would potentially be interested in buying Genesys Wealth Advisers (Genesys) once it is clear who the new owner of its parent company, Axa Asia Pacific, will be.
“We would want to know a lot more about it before we started any negotiations, but buying Genesys is definitely a conversation we would like to have,” the former Genesys managing director told InvestorDaily.
He said Fortnum would obviously need the support of ING to acquire Genesys. However, he had not yet spoken to ING about the matter.
Miles’ new dealer group, Fortnum, which opened its doors in March, had picked up 14 firms, 43 advisers and over $1.5 billion in funds under advice as of 10 August, he said.
“Twelve of those firms have come across from Genesys and we expect that more will join from both that dealer group and others in the coming days,” Miles said.
Fortnum now has firms located in South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales and was still aiming to build a presence in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.
“Overall, I think Fortnum is tracking really well,” Miles said.
“We’re happy with the practices we’ve picked up, the back office support provided by RI Advice Group and the progress of our universal managed account.”
He said Fortnum staff owned 20 per cent of the dealer group as did ING, while member firms owned 60 per cent. The first 30 firms were given the option of buying equity for just $1.
“This sort of deal ensures greater success, because when advisers own equity in a dealer group they’re happier sharing information as everyone benefits from the uptake,” Miles said.
Fortnum originally wanted 15 firms on board by December but has since doubled that figure.
“Once we have 30 we will most likely close our doors for a while to consolidate,” Miles said.
