Former Diverger managing director, Nathan Jacobsen, has taken up a new leadership in the financial advice space following the firm’s acquisition by Count.
Jacobsen left the advice licensee in March following its acquisition by Count which created the third-largest licensee in Australia at $30 billion in funds under advice. It was said at the time of the deal that he would not be joining the newly combined licensee.
He will now take up the senior leadership role of chief executive at Vital Business Partners (VBP) in late May, with a mandate to accelerate its growth and redefine how professional advisory businesses deliver value to clients.
Prior to being appointed to the role at Diverger in 2021, he worked as managing director of Paragem and as a general manager at Perpetual Private.
His appointment follows the exit of VBP co-founder David Carney from the role, although he will remain with the company to focus on business development opportunities. He will also remain as part of the VBP executive team as head of growth.
Jacobsen said: “One of the biggest challenges facing businesses is finding and maintaining talent, and VBP is ideally positioned to help advisers solve that problem. There is also an exciting opportunity to help advisers achieve scale and efficiency benefits through process optimisation and the effective use of technology.
“I am excited to lead this fantastic business as we continue investing in people, products and solutions.”
Founded in 2013, VBP, formerly known as Virtual Business Partners, partners with financial services firms across financial planning, accountancy, paraplanning and mortgage broking to drive growth and enable scaleability. This includes business consultancy, outsourcing solutions, education and workshops.
