WA dealer group Ballast acquires Sound Finance Group
Western Australian dealer group Ballast has increased the number of offices it has to four following its acquisition of the Sound Finance Group, while at the same time setting its sights on two additional acquisitions.
The acquisition of the Sound Finance Group includes the purchase of two retail offices based in Victoria Park and Rockingham while Ballast has also opened up a new retail outlet in Midland, bringing the total of offices it has to four.
“Sound Finance and our new Midland branch are a good fit with Ballast’s business ethos and we are very pleased to say that all existing staff will be retained,” Ballast’s general manager Frank Paratore said.
Meanwhile, Ballast is already considering two further acquisitions, the larger of which is a “boutique-style aggregator” that would see the group double in size, according to Paratore.
The acquisition would see Ballast expand into other states as it already has representation on the eastern seaboard.
“So that’ll pretty much give us our footprint over east,” Paratore said.
The second, another retail group, would have Ballast acquire an additional four or five retail outlets.
Ballast currently has 16 financial advisers but plans to “ramp that up” to 26 by June next year.
Speaking of the acquisitions, Paratore said: “I think that now the opportunities are definitely there and whilst other companies are shying away from spending money and acquiring and growing … we’ve gone the other way”.
Businesses interested in joining Ballast are given the option of switching to the Ballast branding or maintaining their own identity.
Recommended for you
The top five licensees are demonstrating a “strong recovery” from losses in the first half of the year, and the gap is narrowing between their respective adviser numbers.
With many advisers preparing to retire or sell up, business advisory firm Business Health believes advisers need to take a proactive approach to informing their clients of succession plans.
Retirement commentators have flagged that almost a third of Australians over 50 are unprepared for the longevity of retirement and are falling behind APAC peers in their preparations and advice engagement.
As private markets continue to garner investor interest, Netwealth’s series of private market reports have revealed how much advisers and wealth managers are allocating, as well as a growing attraction to evergreen funds.
