Coastal Advice Group has acquired two advisory practices in Adelaide and one in Port Macquarie, representing its ambitious growth plans to expand across Australia.
The NSW financial advice firm’s “significant expansion” includes the acquisition of RI Brighton, a South Australian advice practice based in Adelaide, which is set to finalise this month.
Coastal Advice Group will also acquire Wealth for Life Financial Planning in January 2024, another Adelaide-based advice business.
“For now, the final piece of this strategic puzzle will be the merger of an established firm in Port
Macquarie early in the new year,” the firm added.
The three acquisitions follow Coastal Advice Group’s onboarding of Newcastle’s Folio Private Wealth in June 2023.
Upon completion of these various deals, the advisory group will service over 2,000 clients with more than $1 billion in funds under management.
It will also have a team of 15 financial advisers, with plans to further increase this number to approximately 50 advisers through strategic hires.
Daniel Brown, Coastal Advice Group chief executive, elaborated on the firm’s growth vision.
“We commenced this project earlier this year to identify key partnerships between the Central Coast and the Gold Coast and our first look interstate.
“Our experience with acquiring or merging businesses in the last few years ensures we focus on the three key parties, the clients, the staff, and the vendor who may have a desire for a succession plan, joining the business as a shareholder or moving into retirement,” he said.
Beyond the three advice acquisitions, the group is also finalising the acquisition of a lending business. The deal seeks to enhance its client services and aligns with its overarching growth strategy.
Moreover, internal promotions have been another focus for the firm to support its added scale. The newly established roles include an advice support manager, compliance manager, operations and project manager, and chief operating officer.
Supporting new entrants is an additional area which Coastal Advice Group prioritises, with four Professional Year candidates currently under its belt. The business has already seen two trainee advisers complete the development program.
Brown continued: “We are extremely fortunate to have some incredibly talented people in our team in all different roles, and I’m really excited about our new team members and shareholders joining the Coastal Advice Group team.”
