Ord Minnett is eyeing both inorganic and organic growth opportunities to hit 400 advisers and $100 billion in funds under advice (FUA).
It was announced last week that the firm had welcomed nine senior financial advisers, including six who jumped over from Perpetual Private, and three private wealth assistants to its ranks.
At the time, chief executive and managing director Karl Morris said the company is actively recruiting “top tier talent” from across Australia.
With corporate origins dating back to 1872, the Australian wealth management giant has since grown to $67.8 billion in FUA and approximately 270 advisers, as of 31 December 2024. This makes Ord Minnett the 10th largest licensee owner in terms of adviser numbers at the end of 2024, according to Wealth Data.
As well as financial advice, the firm also provides stockbroking, funds management, and portfolio services meaning it sits in the ‘investment advice’ business model alongside peers such as Shaw & Partners and JBWere. Unlike the ‘holistic/financial planning’ model, the investment advice business model is far smaller with 2,901 advisers compared to 10,383 financial planners as of the end of 2024.
Speaking to Money Management, Ord Minnett’s head of private wealth, Frank Hegerty, said the firm’s growth ambitions are to increase its adviser numbers by nearly 50 per cent to 400 and reach an FUA target of $100 billion over the coming years.
“We’re unashamedly in a growth mode. Karl makes no secret in saying we are looking to grow the firm, because we do have the resources and the infrastructure in place to welcome more advisers, and equally, then to be able to serve more clients,” Hegerty explained.
“We have ambitious long-term growth plans and the infrastructure and resources to accommodate up to 400 advisers around Australia and Hong Kong. Ords has recently hit a record $67.8 billion in funds under advice, and we are working hard to grow that figure to over $100 billion in the coming years.”
Its expansion plans will be achieved by organically recruiting existing advisers and training up new advisers, the head of private wealth said, as well as considering potential M&A opportunities in the market.
“We’ve also got a corporate finance team with M&A capabilities and a capital finance team as well. We’re actively looking at opportunities throughout the market. We’re very much looking at growth opportunities for the firm.”
Pitcher Partners recently explored how large wealth management players are increasingly taking an opportunistic approach to M&A deals. An example of this would be WT Financial’s acquisition of Millennium3 from Insignia Financial at the end of 2023, despite managing director Keith Cullen stating the firm had completed its inorganic growth strategy.
With 14 established offices – comprising 13 throughout Australia and one in Hong Kong – Ord Minnett’s 15th office is set to launch in Noosa to bring additional wealth management services to the area.
Hegerty added: “We are opening up our Noosa office, which will open up very shortly, ideally if not the end of this month, early next month. What we saw is a real opportunity for our clients there to open up another office and to increase our offering to more clients in a really pivotal part of Australia.”
The new office represents Ords’ goal of building a greater presence in the Sunshine Coast, a region which has experienced strong population growth in recent years, he observed. According to Sunshine Coast Council, the largest population increase in recent years was among those aged 70-74 and 65-69, a key retiree demographic for financial advice and estate planning.
Looking back on the past ownership of Ord Minnett, the wealth manager was fully purchased by Westpac in 1987 before selling to Hong Kong-based investment bank Jardine Fleming and Ord Minnett staff in 1993.
In 2008, Australian Wealth Management (AWM) – which later merged with IOOF, today known as Insignia Financial – purchased a 70 per cent shareholding with JP Morgan.
Ord Minnett is now fully owned by its employees and a small number of Australian investors following a management buyout in 2019 led by its CEO.
