YBR moves to non-bank structure
Yellow Brick Road (YBR) Wealth Management will move to a non-bank organisational structure to take advantage of the expected fragmentation of the financial services industry.
The company has posted a wealth management update to the Australian Securities Exchange, in which it announced the creation of a non-bank holding company, which will own the business and will execute planned acquisitions in the financial services space.
YBR executive chairman Mark Bouris said the new structure would help the company grow its distribution in various markets, including financial planning.
Bouris added there were already three acquisitions in the pipeline.
"These are currently subject to due diligence investigations and, whilst there is no guarantee that these acquisitions will be completed, there are strong strategic imperatives behind them for our group," he said.
YBR Wealth Management is also set to deliver its first profit in 2015, Bouris said, which would conclude its three-year strategy to organically build a profitable wealth management business.
The non-bank organisational structure will see the creation of a multi-channel distribution business model which the company hopes will "broaden and deepen" distribution relationships.
YBR Wealth Management will also place significant investment in its advice business, particularly in the area of technology and advice software.
Recommended for you
With the final tally for FY25 now confirmed, how many advisers left during the financial year and how does it compare to the previous year?
HUB24 has appointed Matt Willis from Vanguard as an executive general manager of platform growth to strengthen the platform’s relationships with industry stakeholders.
Investment manager Drummond Capital Partners has announced a raft of adviser-focused updates, including a practice growth division, relaunched manager research capabilities, and a passive model portfolio suite.
When it comes to M&A activity, the share of financial buyers such as private equity firms in Australia fell from 67 per cent to 12 per cent in the last financial year.
