Poor investment markets have forced Wilson HTM Investment Group (Wilson) to make cuts across its broking and financial advice teams.
Wilson managing director Andrew Coppin told InvestorDaily a “couple of brokers and one planner” were let go from the listed group last week.
“We had some people that left the firm [last Thursday]. Some we asked to leave, for various reasons, and others chose to leave,” Coppin said, declining to go into further detail.
“It’s really part of making sure we’ve got the best team who believe in the future and strategy of the business.”
The staff changes are in line with the company’s focus on cost reductions, particularly amid difficult markets, he said.
Last month, the company said it was working through cost reduction measures in response to market conditions.
Despite the changes, Coppin said the business is also concentrating on long-term strategies, including bedding down a number of corporate deals and settling new recruits.
“We’re still working on assessing opportunities with non-core assets [and] we are still looking at geographical expansion,” he said.
He said the new additions to the company’s investment and institutional advisory teams, announced last month, were performing well.
On Friday, it was revealed that the company’s corporate finance unit Wilson HTM Corporate Finance is acting as the global lead manager and sole book-runner for listed Australian mining company Hillgrove Resources $15 million equity raising.
Coppin declined to comment on Wilson’s progress with any transactions involving its $10.5-billion investment management business, Pinnacle Investment Management (Pinnacle).
“I can’t comment on that. The board made a strategic decision to end the strategic process,” he said, referring to Wilson’s decision to hold onto its 79.3 per cent interest in Pinnacle.
Last month, Wilson announced it would retain its shareholding in its Pinnacle business after continued weakened markets hampered potential sale plans.
“The conclusion of the formal process is due to the deterioration in market conditions since March 2012 and an assessment that a transaction could not be concluded at this time on sufficiently attractive terms for [Wilson] shareholders,” the company said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange at the time.
