US wealth firm forays into Australia
Melbourne-based financial services company, MW Lomax Group, has become the first Australian firm to join US-based network of independent wealth management firms, Focus Financial Partners,
The partnership is expected to increase Focus' global footprint by making the Australian market, one of the largest funds management market in Asia-Pacific, its third international destination following the company's expansion into the UK and Canada.
Additionally, the partnership will help MW Lomax accelerate its growth by granting it access to Focus capital strength and value-added resources to better serve clients.
MW Lomax, which is run by the founding partners and senior managers, Nick Maikousis and Jon White, has currently a staff of 55 full-time employees split between its two offices in Sydney and Melbourne, with experienced CPAs, and tax specialists.
White said his company wanted to use Focus' "value-add programmes in operations, technology, compliance and marketing".
"We are excited to be the first Australian firm to join the ranks of the high calibre wealth management firms currently in the Focus partnership. Having seen various firms tapping into Focus' capital and resources to achieve the next stage of growth while maintaining their independence and local characteristics, we are confident that we will be able to do the same here in Australia," he said.
Co-founder and managing director at Focus, Rajini Kodialam, said the newly-formed relationship with MW Lomax represented ‘a significant step' in the company's international growth strategy as MW Lomax is currently the third international firm joining Focus, following Canadian Wealth Management and the UK-based Greystone Financial Services.
"MW Lomax's strong desire to grow and their client-centric model make it a natural fit for Focus. With the firm's scale of business and their holistic financial planning services, we believe that MW Lomax will act as an attractive platform to consolidate the fragmented planning and accounting space in its local regions," she said.
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