Shaw and Partners has merged with Sydney wealth manager Kennedy Partners Wealth (KPW), while Ord Minnett has hired a private wealth adviser from Morgan Stanley.
Kennedy is described as an independent, boutique, private investment adviser offering wealth management and investment services with in excess of $450 million in assets under management.
It is understood the move represents an opportunity for KPW to enhance its investment offering while retaining its independent advisory model.
As part of the move, Evelyn Vertzagias, Tim Bowers, Peter Webster and Patrick Anwandter have moved across to Shaw and Partners.
Vertzagias was formerly the head of wealth management at KPW where she worked for nine years, Bowers was the chief investment officer and adviser for nine years, Webster was an adviser for five years, and Anwandter was a senior adviser, having joined the firm in November 2023.
In their new roles at Shaw, Vertzagias will be a senior financial adviser, Bowers will be a senior wealth adviser, Webster has taken up the role of investment adviser, and Anwandter will be a senior private wealth adviser, all based in Shaw’s Sydney office.
In July, Shaw appointed Chris Smith as its national head of private wealth, having joined the firm in August 2024 from 23 years at Macquarie Group. At the time of his appointment, Smith said he was eager to grow the division, which had 220 advisers nationwide and $40 billion in client assets under management.
Commenting on the KPW move to Money Management, he said Shaw had been approached by Bowers as KPW was looking to grow beyond its existing capabilities.
“They needed help to grow, being a small firm has both advantages and challenges and they needed help to service clients in the way they wanted. Being part of a larger firm brings with it technology, compliance and marketing resources.
“The challenge of running a small firm is about how do they grow in a competitive environment? When you’re dealing with big clients, they want security and hearing of a brand such as Shaw and Partners provides them with that comfort. Also, some of the largest firms can be too restrictive on how they want advisers to service clients so we offer a ‘Goldilocks’ position in the market.”
Meanwhile, Ord Minnett has welcomed Richard Knight to its Melbourne office as a senior private wealth adviser.
He joins from 15 years at Morgan Stanley where he was a first vice president and financial adviser.
Writing on LinkedIn, Frank Hegarty, head of private wealth, said : “Ords continues to expand its adviser network, growing organically through our Associate Adviser Program and by attracting top-tier talent nationwide. Richard’s arrival further strengthens Ords’ wealth advisory offering to clients.”
His appointment follows the hiring of nine senior advisers in March, six of whom joined from Perpetual Private, and three private wealth assistants across multiple offices.
Hegerty previously told Money Management that the firm is “unashamedly in growth mode” with 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.
