Premium Wealth Management had taken out a 25 per cent stake with responsible investment (RI) platform provider the Emerald Club as part of its growth initiatives for the year, its chief executive said yesterday.
The alliance will also enable Premium advisers to boost their client service offering and value proposition through the diversified investment choice on the Emerald Wrap, through a separate deal as a preferred licensee.
"At a business philosophy level, it [the Emerald Club] probably has the strongest alignment to Premium Wealth Management in that they're one of the few groups who are passionate about not being institutionally aligned or controlled," Premium chief executive Paul Harding-Davis told InvestorDaily.
"We are actively recruiting advisers who identify with this philosophy, so this provides us with another channel to form relationships with like-minded firms and individuals."
The partnership allowed Premium to differentiate itself from its competitors, Harding-Davis said.
"It gives us access to another type of platform, which will help our advisers because they would all have some clients who would like to have more of their portfolio managed in an ethical or responsible way," he said.
"Most platforms don't really have the right sort of product range to do that well and to really construct good portfolios, so there's an opportunity for our guys there."
Another benefit of investing in the Emerald Club is attracting advisers from other practices that do not have access to RI, despite it being one of the fastest-growing sectors.
"As a secondary dimension, we'd be pleased to assist any of the advisers who aren't able to get access to the sorts of approved product list or a range of products they need," Harding-Davis said.
In addition, Premium is continuing with several initiatives for the rest of the year while the industry waits for further detail on the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms.
"We'd be keen to add some more practices as part of our growth plans, but on a very slow and measured basis of good-quality people, and hopefully we'll have news soon," Harding-Davis said.
"We're trying to strengthen our skills, capabilities and reach in the life/risk area and we are also working on model portfolios and business efficiency, which will hopefully result in cheaper portfolios for clients.
"Then, of course, whatever we need to do for FOFA becomes an almost instant top priority."
