National advice firm MiQ Private Wealth has appointed Brett Schatto as its new chief executive to lead the business through a “transformative era” after penning a partnership deal with AZ NGA earlier this month.
Established in 2015, MiQ now has seven offices across Western Australia, Queensland and the ACT, with a total of some 50 employees, 15 financial advisers and eight advice partners.
Stepping into this role, Schatto will take over from chairman David Brown who had been acting as interim CEO through this transitional period for the firm.
Schatto brings a wealth of industry experience to the role, having established Pride Advice in 2002 and operating as the firm’s CEO for almost 24 years. Under his leadership, the firm completed the acquisition of two local firms and grew the team to 11 advisers and 30 support staff.
During this time, he was also a board member for RI Advice Group for two years up to 2012 and joined the AZ NGA board in 2023, a role he still holds today.
As he prepares to take on this new position, Schatto noted the firm’s trusted reputation, adding that he is “honoured” to join the firm as its CEO and guide it into the next chapter.
“Together, with the backing of AZ NGA and the exceptional MiQ team, we will continue delivering the outcomes our clients deserve.”
This announcement follows closely on the heels of MiQ entering into a strategic partnership with AZ NGA earlier this month, which the firm said would deliver a succession solution for MiQ’s retiring partners, a pathway for future leaders to become partners, and capital to fund its expansion plans.
With the aim of finding someone who could provide professional and career development opportunities for employees, MiQ commenced the process of seeking a strategic partner last year with the understanding that it was unable to achieve this on its own.
Speaking at the time, Brown said: “We were looking for a way to enable retiring and retired partners to realise the value of their equity and allow others to buy in. We also wanted to continue growing, particularly through M&A.
We could have borrowed more money from the bank and grown alone, but we decided to bring on a strategic partner who could help us scale up and accelerate our journey.”
