Boutique dealer groups to merge
Two boutique dealer groups, Spark Financial Group and Aura Wealth Australia, have announced they have entered into binding agreements to merge, with the new combined group to service more than 80 authorised representatives across Australia.
The new entity would be led by Arthur Kallos, founder and chief executive office of Spark and Andrew Coloretti, Aura’s head of wealth management.
“The appeal of bringing Spark and Aura together is driven in a large part by our shared vision for creating a transformative and innovative approach to the wealth management space,” the company said in the press release. Commenting on the merger, Coloretti said it would bring together the best of two boutique businesses, to the benefit of the financial advisers we collectively serve.
“We believe that the investments necessary for competitively differentiated technology, practice management and service excellence require a greater level of scale than either of our companies can achieve on a stand-alone basis,” he added.
“In fact, as our two organisations learned more about each other's platforms, it became obvious that our strengths rounded out each other's offerings. Combined, we will have one of the most comprehensive and superior platforms for authorised representatives in the industry.”
Recommended for you
With HNW investors representing the largest market for alternative assets, Praemium and CoreData research underscores why this presents a compelling opportunity for advisers.
Having completed the successful integration of Diverger, Count has upgraded its forecast for expected synergy benefits achieved by the acquisition by a third.
Australia’s largest licensee has seen the biggest number of adviser losses over the past week, while the expected wave of new entrants has boosted overall adviser numbers.
Iress has increased its forecast adjusted EBITDA by $5 million for the 2023/24 financial year in light of the sale of its platform business to Praemium and hinted at a return to dividend payments.