Deal sees Sylvan grab Victorian Gateway
Victoria-based dealer group Sylvan Ridge Financial Services has acquired Gateway Financial Group in central Geelong for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition of Gateway, which has about 900 clients and funds under administration (FUA) of $80 million, brings to three the number of practices in the Warrnambool-headquartered Sylvan Ridge.
It follows the establishment of a Sylvan Ridge practice in central Melbourne in April last year, and brings the group’s FUA to about $230 million and its number of planners to 10.
Sylvan Ridge principal Mike Raselli said Gateway’s acquisition represented a “strong geographic fit for the group, Geelong being situated between Melbourne and Warrnambool”.
The deal was prompted by the decision of Gateway principal Gary Plumridge, with whom Raselli has had a 20-year professional association, to quit planning for a career in politics.
Sylvan Ridge is currently advertising for a third planner to replace Plumridge at Gateway, the back-office and paraplanning of which will initially be managed out of the Warrnambool head office.
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