Freshwater Wealth has appointed two new partners to meet rising client demand, particularly driven by the influx of intergenerational wealth transfer clients.
The Sydney-based financial advice firm officially launched at the end of May this year after first establishing itself in December 2023. It services high-net-worth (HNW) clients and is licensed by Centrepoint Alliance.
Roger Perrett, who leads Freshwater Wealth as its founder and partner, recently shared with Money Management the growth trajectory the firm is on in terms of increasing its adviser footprint and client numbers.
“We do have a pipeline of additional advisers who are keen to join, and we’re just going through the processes before making it official,” Perrett said last month.
The growing business has now announced the appointment of two partners and executive advisers who join alongside existing partners: Perrett, Jonathan Harris and Dean Fuchs.
Paul Oesterheld and Archana Bhatia have commenced at Freshwater Wealth, and each bring more than 30 years of experience with them. Prior to joining, Oesterheld spent nearly 25 years at Westpac Private Bank, followed by five years at Viridian Advisory. Bhatia spent 20 years at Westpac and five years at Financial Decisions most recently.
According to Perrett, the practice’s expansion from three to five partners has been driven by the wave of intergenerational wealth transfer clients seeking assistance from the advice industry. More than $3.5 trillion in assets is set to be passed down in Australia alone by 2050.
“The average age of our clients is 60–70 years and their parents are 80–90 years. Our clients are grappling with their parents’ diagnoses as well as dementia or Alzheimer’s and are looking for help around powers of attorney, transferring wealth and ensuring their care,” the founder explained.
Oesterheld and Bhatia’s appointments will help service this growing need, with wealth transfer clients now accounting for 15 per cent of Freshwater Wealth’s referrals from existing clients.
This has also prompted the business to work more closely with female clients, as women are most likely to be the great beneficiaries of the upcoming wealth transfer.
Perrett continued: “Multigenerational relationships across families have become very important to us, getting to know the next layer of families and all the issues that involves, especially health.
“The intergenerational wealth transfer brings with it a host of issues and requires relationships with more than just the client who sits in front of you.”
Research from AMP recently discovered that three in five under 40 have not spoken to their parents about wealth transferral. Moreover, half of those under the age of 40 expect to financially support their parents as they age, demonstrating the need for advice as Australians tackle these looming challenges.
