Geoff Pritchard’s Western Pacific is aiming to extend its national presence.
Osborne Park-based financial services player, Western Pacific Financial Group, is targeting further growth after recent acquisitions with the aim of expanding funds under advice to $5 billion.
Since its inception in 1985, the group has grown to become one of Australia’s largest independently owned dealer groups, with more than $2 billion funds under advice.
Western Pacific chief executive Geoff Pritchard told WA Business News the company started more than 20 years ago as the business of then senior Perth National Mutual adviser, Ian Hodgkinson.
He said the goal now was to achieve scale in the business and expand funds under advice to $5 billion.
“Our main measure is profit per adviser, and we believe we need around 100 advisers to deliver our scale targets,” Mr Pritchard said.
The group currently has 60 advisers, with 30 in WA.
Earlier this year, Western Pacific acquired Melbourne-based company Financial Management Professional Group, and is currently pursuing a sizable Sydney dealer group.
Locally, the company is looking to acquire client bases and advisers to complement its strong Subiaco and Osborne Park adviser teams.
It underwent a re-structure in late 2004 and now operates via a number of separate business units under the parent company, Western Pacific Group Holdings Pty Ltd.
Ownership of the business has transferred from the founders to current advisers by way of a five-year revenue buy-in plan, scheduled to conclude at the end of 2009.
Management has taken a 5 per cent interest in the business, with the remaining 95 per cent to be taken up by advisers based on their contribution to the group’s funds under advice.
Western Pacific Financial Group is the financial planning arm of the business and has offices in five key hubs – two in WA, and one in each of Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
The group also has its own funds management business, Western Pacific Asset Management, made up of 13 investment funds with about $300 million under management.
The deep value absolute returns investment philosophy has been a cornerstone of the group’s success.
Absolute return investment managers don’t benchmark themselves against a particular stock market index, but instead pursue consistent returns regard-less of what stage of an investment cycle the market is at.
“Our investment approach comes into its own when the market corrects, and it helps to eliminate negative returns and provide better long-term returns,” Mr Pritchard said.
Another business unit, Western Pacific Investments, is a venture capital business and it has a 20 per cent stake in listed Sydney-based dealer group, Snowball, which itself has $2 billion in assets under advice.
WPI also has 20 per cent interests in two other boutique fund managers, MMC and Select, both of which have assets under advice of about $600 million.
In addition, it has interests in two more start-up investment groups.
The business also has a specialist division called Western Pacific Structured Products, which develops niche investment products, and Western Pacific Insurance, a personal risk insurance operation.
