Jake Elmhirst from Coller Capital goes in-depth with James Dunn from The Inside Network on secondaries as the best-kept secret in private equity. The Inside Adviser
While the government takes its time drafting the second tranche of advice reforms, representatives for the life insurance agency fear the ongoing delays will spill over into the next federal election, which could mean the can gets kicked down the road even further.
LGT Crestone snags CBA’s $5B private wealth book
After a long and relatively protracted process, CBA has found a buyer for its high-net-worth advice business, with LGT Crestone emerging as the new owner of one of the last vestiges of bank-owned financial advice.
On Monday morning LGT Crestone put out a release stating that it had signed an agreement with CBA to acquire Commonwealth Private Advice’s $5 billion, 500-client book and welcome 20 investment advisers and around 20 support staff into the fold.
The news comes after several months of negotiations between CBA, with the help of independent advisory Gresham Partners, and a host of prominent advice groups including Viridian Advisory, Macquarie Private Wealth, Escala Partners and its main wholesale advice competitor in Koda Capital.
LGT Crestone is a remarkably well-established and capitalised advice business, considering it was only established eight years ago by a clutch of ex-UBS wealth managers in a buy-out led by Mike Chisholm, who remains chief executive. The original Crestone business became LGT Crestone when it was purchased by LGT Group – a global conglomerate of private banking businesses with $500 billion in client assets under management owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein – in 2022.
LGT Crestone currently has around 350 employees, including over 100 advisers, and offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The group has grown its client book to just over $32 billion.
According to Chisholm, the deal was driven by a “shared purpose and values” with CBA’s advice group.
“We are delighted CBA has chosen LGT Crestone as the trusted home for their highly valued high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients and employees,” the LGT Crestone CEO stated. “It’s a terrific validation of our efforts to build a truly outstanding private wealth advice business catering to the needs of the most sophisticated investors in Australia.
“By combining our strengths, we’ll enhance our ability to build strong, personal connections with our clients and deliver exceptional service, ensuring they have access to world-class expertise and tailored solutions to meet the very highest standards in private wealth management.”
The acquisition is a neat bolt-on due to the congruence of clientele; Crestone’s growing book of wholesale advice clients is relatively analogous with the HNW clients at Commonwealth Private Advice. With this alignment and Crestone’s solid reputation as an investment advice group, the tie-up probably won’t result in a great deal of client arbitrage.
“Our expertise in family advisory services, sustainable investing, and intergenerational wealth uniquely positions us to be a valued and respected partner in today’s financial landscape,” said LGT chairman H.S.H Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein (pictured).
“Clients need stable partners to provide comprehensive and secure opportunities throughout their financial journeys, and we are committed to delivering that level of support and confidence to our new clients.”
