The biggest growth lever in wealth management isn’t an investment

Anthony Kapitanovic was standing at a conference in Sydney when he struck up a conversation with the stranger next to him over a beer. Turned out they were both from Melbourne. Turned out the stranger was an accountant.

Once they got talking, that he lived five doors down from Kapetanovic’s own house, a man he had never once crossed paths with back home.

That chance encounter became one of the earliest joint venture partnerships behind Akambo Financial Group, the wealth management group Kapetanovic co-founded in 2007. A seminar with the accountant’s client base drew 150 people through the door and produced 100 appointments in the following five weeks, for clients who had never once been asked about their wealth management.

Kapetanovic turned that lucky break into a business that grew from 60 clients to close to 7,000. Knowing how to make the most of a chance encounter is exactly what makes him the perfect guest for the latest episode of Capital Conversations.

What is Capital Conversations?

Unlike other finance podcasts, Capital Conversations looks behind the curtain of business growth and development in the wealth management industry, with investment consultant, Steve Roberston, sitting down with those leading the charge in the Australian finance scene.

Rather than chasing market calls or rate predictions, each episode is a conversation with a CEO, head of distribution, or founder who have built business from the ground up, digging into the strategies that won clients, led teams, and turned into lasting lessons of success.

From full-service broking to a business of his own

Before Akambo, Kapetanovic spent years in full-service broking, first at Salomon Smith Barney and then Morgan Stanley, before deciding it was time to build something of his own.

Setting up shop in 2007, the timing could not have been worse. Within months the GFC hit, and what followed was five gruelling years of rebuilding client trust as markets collapsed around them.

Kapetanovic admits he wasn’t always sure he believed his own advice about diversification and time in the market while watching banks fall over and client portfolios shrink by the day.

But it was also, he says, the period that taught Akambo the value of transparency, telling clients exactly why they were losing money rather than hiding from the conversation, a lesson that would go on to define its culture and its growth.

For Robertson, that journey from a leap of faith in the shadow of a financial crisis to a genuine institution is exactly why Kapetanovic belongs on the podcast.

“Anthony’s story is a masterclass in patient, deliberate growth,” Robertson says. “Going from full-service broking to building a strong firm like Akambo, largely through joint venture partnerships with accountants, is an extraordinary achievement, and one that holds real lessons for anyone building a business in this industry.”

The art and the science of raising capital

Ask Robertson what makes Kapetanovic such a compelling capital raiser, and he points to a philosophy Kapetanovic returns to throughout the episode.

“Anthony is adamant that growth in this industry is more art than science, and he lives that out in how he treats people,” Robertson says. “He talks about engaging the hearts and minds of both clients and staff, not just the numbers, and building a culture of trust and transparency that people genuinely want to be part of.”

“That combination of technical capability and real human care is what sets the best capital raisers apart from the rest,” says Robertson.

Robertson also points to Akambo’s growth through collaboration as a defining feature of Kapetanovic’s approach.

“Anthony built this business through strong partnerships, first with a chance meeting with an accountant, and eventually across 25 joint venture relationships across the country,” he says.

“He, quite strategically, has recognised that it’s impossible to do everything yourself, and has instead found the right people to grow alongside. Those accounting principals became shareholders in the business, and some of them are still lifelong friends of Anthonys today.”

What listeners should take away

For Robertson, the episode leaves listeners with three clear lessons: that growth is more art than science, that collaboration is often more powerful than working alone, and that the learning never stops.

“Anthony is someone who, twenty-odd years into running one of the country’s largest independent wealth businesses, is still talking about self-development and continual improvement,” Robertson says. “That mindset, of never assuming you’ve arrived, is probably the biggest reason Akambo has kept growing while so many businesses plateau.”

Capital Conversations, featuring Anthony Kapitanovich, is available now on the Capital Outcomes website, Spotify and Apple podcasts.