An advice group can either shift its compliance settings to accommodate the reforms, or they can reshape their business strategy to take advantage of them. The different paths could lead to a bifurcated industry when all’s said and done.
The private market sector has grown to the point that it has a thriving secondaries market operating behind it, which puts investors in line to benefit from the twin pillars of risk mitigation and upside return potential.
Adviser Charlie Viola leads Pitcher Partners buyout to set up new HNW wealth firm
Leading financial adviser Charlie Viola will lead a handful of senior staff in a buyout of Pitcher Partners’ high-net-worth client base, with over $2 billion worth of client funds transferring to a new entity, Viola Private Wealth.
After 21 years at Pitcher Partners, where Viola built the converged tax and accounting specialists’ wealth division virtually from scratch, the adviser will now operate separately but maintain a “strong partnership” with his old firm, who will continue to handle the accounting duties for many of Viola Private Wealth’s client book.
Viola is the executive chair of the new firm, with former Pitcher Partners executives Andrew Levi and Sean Ward instilled as COO and CEO respectively. Around a dozen former Pitcher Partners staff, in total, will make up the inaugural Viola Private Wealth team.
The new Pitcher Partners Sydney Private Wealth team, as the legacy outfit will be called, will run the firm’s remaining $1.2 billion client business.
As part of the buyout deal, Viola’s new outfit will take on many of the operational aspects of the Pitcher Partners business, including administration services, governance, corporate entity and infrastructure, while Pitcher Partners will provide office space for Viola Private Wealth – at least in the short term.
Viola’s rise as a prominent financial adviser has been consistent over two decades. Known for being able to attract, manage and retain some of the wealthiest non-family office clients in the country, his profile has been buoyed by a constant presence in the Barron’s Top 100 Financial Advisers list (most recently ranked No. 4) and for his work advising on ex-AFR columnist Tony Boyd’s self-managed superannuation fund, with the latter praising Viola publicly.
In a statement, Viola said the new name reflects the firm’s drive for “personalisation and exclusivity”.
“Our core focus includes the ongoing management of client investment portfolios, as we have done for the last 20+ years and continuing to play our role as the client’s trusted adviser,” Viola added. “Our role is always to give our clients the right advice, ensure they are well structured and helping them protect and growth their wealth.”
He also made clear that Viola Private Wealth is keen to maintain a close partnership with Pitcher Partners.
“Approximately 40 per cent of our clients are shared with Pitcher Partners,” he said. “Together, we will deliver a seamless service for our mutual clients, just as we have done over many years.”
