GSJBW begins rebuilding

Goldman Sachs JBWere’s (GSJBW’s) private wealth management division is fighting back following the resignation of 35 investment advisers in the past three months due to unhappiness over changes to its business model.

The business has embarked on a targeted internal and external recruitment program to replace some of the losses nationally, even as industry speculation about further imminent departures continues.

It acknowledged “about 35 advisers” have resigned in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and, most recently, Melbourne, some of whom have subsequently joined competitors Macquarie Group and Citi Smith Barney.

GSJBW private wealth management head Paul Heath told Money Management the business is “in the process of carefully” recruiting new advisers nationally to add to its current total of 95.

He said adviser numbers would be “increased to a level consistent with the needs of our clients and building our business over the longer term, rather than to replace any specific number of advisers”.

“There’s absolutely a need to build our teams in Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane in the short term, while in Melbourne, which currently has more than 50 advisers, the need is less urgent than in the other states.”

Four advisers have been recruited externally for each of the Adelaide and Perth offices since the resignations, adding to the six already on the ground, and there are “further opportunities to build on those numbers”, he said.

The business is also “committed to recruiting through GSJBW’s in-house recruitment and training programs, which ensures we have a significant pipeline of people at any point in time who are ready to step up to be advisers”.

Heath also refused to speculate on whether more advisers in the Melbourne office, where GSJBW’s head office is located, are poised to resign.

A total of 11 advisers resigned from the Melbourne office last month to take up employment at new Melbourne stock broking firm Evans and Partner, starting on March 10.

The brokerage was founded by David Evans, who quit as GSJBW chief of staff in March last year after running the private wealth division prior to 2004.

Evans, who launched his brokerage in November last year, told Money Management that he was “not sure if any more” advisers were set to leave GSJBW.

He said the reason the 11 GSJBW advisers decided to join Evans and Partners last month is that “they’ve worked with me before and they like our business model”.

The broker has 17 advisers now, including the 11 from GSJBW, he added, and “we’d like to think that we will have at least 20 by the end of the year”.