Snowball aligns with Trent Capital

Listed financial planning companySnowball Grouphas appointed Trent Capital managing director Andrew Brown as a non-executive director of the company, and given Trent, a listed investment company, a strategic stake in the business.

Snowball managing director Tony McDonald says that Brown has the ability to assist with front-line operational issues as the business looks for ways to expand distribution.

"He brings some real insights into the industry and solid relationships with many financial planners,” McDonald says.

Brown is the former head of equities at Rothschild Australia Asset Management and has been involved in stockbroking, funds management and corporate investment for 23 years.

Brown says the financial services industry has seen a sustained period of weak equity markets, poor investor sentiment, and a resulting decline in industry inflows, coupled with structural changes in distribution and increased regulation.

"The signs, however, point to an inevitable cyclical turnaround,” Brown says.

Brown says this will occur particularly in those companies that are poised to cut through the bureaucracy and risk aversion that holds back a number of large companies.

"Big is not necessarily better in retail financial services, and Snowball is a company, along with some others, that has the potential to break out and deliver strong growth," he says.

Brown is the largest shareholder in Trent Capital, which specialises in investing in microcaps and financial services.