Perpetual’s outgoing managing director, David Deverall, said he expected the firm to maintain a strong focus on boosting its Private Wealth operations even as it sought a new chief executive.
“Absolutely, it’s an important part of our business, important part of our growth and we will continue to do more stuff there,” Deverall said.
“At the board meeting on Tuesday (22 June), the same board meeting that I handed in my resignation, we approved our annual operating plan.”
The plan included detailed implementation initiatives across all Perpetual businesses, including acquisition plans for Private Wealth, he said.
“Obviously we are waiting for [new Private Wealth head] Geoff Lloyd to arrive. He comes in about six weeks time and so we look forward to his arrival and pushing ahead with our expansion plans,” he said.
Lloyd was previously BT Financial Group general manager of advice and private banking and replaces John Nesbitt, who left to become Suncorp chief financial officer.
In 2009, Perpetual acquired advisory firms Fordham Group, Financial Pursuit and Grosvenor Financial Services to beef up its Private Wealth division.
Deverall was unable to comment on speculation that Lloyd, Perpetual head of Australian equities John Sevior and chief financial officer Roger Burrows would look to become his successor.
“I don’t know [and] I’m not running the process,” he said.
“But what the board has said is that they’re running a process as you would expect them to do … my replacement could be internal, could be external, and given the highly competitive nature of this industry there has got to be some interesting external candidates and there is also some good internal candidates.”
When asked if he would be returning to financial services after leaving the company, Deverall said: “What do they say about politicians – they don’t rule anything in and they don’t rule anything out and that’s the way it is at the moment.”
Deverall will stay until a new chief executive is appointed or until 31 March 2011.
