Investor Group cherry picks another Stockford practice

Melbourne-based accountant and planning aggregator,Investor Group, has picked up another business of theStockfordgroup after announcing yesterday it had acquired the listed company’s Richmond operation.

The deal, which follows the purchase by the same group of Stockford’s Collins Street practice last week for $2 million, may not be the last raid on the aggregator by Investor Group says its managing director Kevin White.

“There are a limited number of firms that we have an interest in and they have an interest in us. They [future acquisitions] are difficult to say though,” White says.

“There are some [Stockford firms] that we’d be interested in but they’d need to make suggestions to the administrator and then if they were to approach us then we’d consider it.”

Stockford has been in voluntary administration since February 23 when Mark Korda and Mark Mentha were appointed and White says InvestorGroup is specific about the practices it seeks to acquire.

“We’ve made it clear that there’s got to be a strategic reason for us to acquire a firm. We’re not interested in having a number of small firms all over the place, we more interested in the larger firms that can fit strategically into the group,” White says.

“Our strategy is to put together a group of large quality firms, and both the Richmond and Collins Street firms fit that mould.”

The latest purchase involves payment of approximately $1.2 million in cash and the issue of 600,000 Investor Group shares.

The Richmond business, which started trading in 1922, will revert to its former name of Manning & Perry in keeping with Investor Group’s culture of promoting local autonomy for member firms.

The firm has annual income projection for 2003/04 of $4 million and has $75 million in funds under advice through its financial planning division.

Manning & Perry will form a three-firm unit in the Melbourne area alongside the Collins Street business, now trading as WHK Carricks, and AOSR at Camberwell.