Wilson HTM rebrands, restructures and hires new division heads

Investment advice, research and financial services company, Wilson HTM, has rebranded to Wilsons, and appointed 14 new senior staff, including three division heads.

It followed an organisational restructure that enabled staff to acquire the business, alongside Craigs Investment Partners and Deutsche Bank in July 2015.

Wilsons' chair, Frank Aldridge, said it was a successful first year for the new structure, as it exceeded financial performance and profitability expectations.

The success over the last 12 months was crucial, as it allowed for continued investment in the business for future growth, Aldridge said.

Wilsons' chief executive. Brad Gale, said the business had flourished since the restructure and it validated that staff ownership was the right model for the Australian market.

"We knew by changing the model to enable staff ownership, we would achieve superior outcomes. The new model and clear business strategy has also increased the attractiveness of Wilsons as a destination for finance professionals," Gale said.

Since the restructure, the company also made over 14 senior hires, which included three new division heads:

• In July 2016, Mark Byran was appointed to be head of research. He had two decades of experience in Australian and European markets. He worked for the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and ABN Amro.
• In July 2016, Robert Snow was appointed head of capital markets. He was previously at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs JBWere.
• In April 2016, James Barratt was made head of institutional equities. He had over 20 years experienced at JBWere, Goldman Sachs JBWere, JPMorgan and CBA equities.

Since the restructure, Wilsons said it noticed increased funds under advice, greater trade volumes in institutional equities, a number of high profile initial public offerings (IPOs) and increased capital raising mandates.