Investment solutions provider Ironbark Asset Management and national advice firm Invest Blue plan to merge to create one of Australia’s largest diversified financial services firms.
The merged entity will have $64 billion in funds under management, trusteeship and advice and more than 500 staff across 35 locations.
It is expected to be completed by the end of September 2023.
Ironbark was founded in 2009 and has $60.8 billion in funds under management, providing investment solutions for retail, wholesale and institutional clients. Invest Blue was founded in 1996 as a holistic and financial advice business.
Earlier this year, Invest Blue implemented a nine-day fortnight initiative for staff to support employee wellbeing and productivity. It also announced a strategic partnership with Lumiant to build a cloud-based platform where Invest Blue would provide $2 million in seed capital towards developing Lumiant’s digital platform.
Chris Larsen, chief executive of Ironbark, said the partnership will bring multiple areas of specialisation under one roof.
“The client is at the forefront of everything that we do; be it, acting as professional trustee for funds and managed account solutions or partnering with best-in-class investment managers globally via our investment solutions business. With an existing and significant footprint in the advice market, this merger enhances our commitment to creating Australia’s largest independent diversified financial services business,” he said.
“In a competitive and fast-changing environment, we will be well positioned to take advantage of favourable themes, including increasing demand for advice and regulatory changes aimed at making advice more affordable and accessible.”
David Stephen, managing director at Invest Blue, said: “Our strategic partnership with Ironbark will provide capital, scale and expertise. It will accelerate our ability to enhance our value proposition to our clients, people and shareholders,” he said.
“Our partnership with Ironbark will increase our ability to invest in our offer, systems and processes to enhance the client experience as we strive to become Australia’s trusted home of great advice.”
