Garrisons forms Epic strategic partnership

In a bid to further boost its national financial planning presence,Garrisonshas signed a strategic partnership with West Australian dealer group, Epic Asset Management.

Under the terms of the deal, Garrisons will take a 49 per cent equity stake in the asset manager, with its executive chairman, John Sikkema, joining the Epic board. The deal now leaves the number of proper authority holders accessing the full range of Garrisons services totalling more than 200.

The deal also stipulates that Epic will have access to Garrisons’ research, provided by Lynne Curtis’ 5Di team, together with the full range of Garrisons services such as compliance, IT systems and marketing. Epic will be developing a full-service master trust offering in conjunction with Synergy, Garrisons’ funds management subsidiary.

Speaking about the strategic deal, Sikkema says it is a win-win situation for both parties.

“Garrisons has been looking to expand into Western Australia and the business built by David Newman and his partner, Manoj Pillai is a perfect fit for us. We share similar values, in particular a philosophy of high quality service and support for member firms,” he says.

Epic has already achieved substantial success in the WA market since its inception 12 months ago. The group has $320 million funds under advice with 40 proper authority holders in the group at present.

Epic co-founder David Newman, a former WA state manager of AMP and Tyndall, says the Garrisons partnership as a major step in Epic’s development as the only independently operated dealer group in Western Australia.

“Time and distance make the WA market unique and although we were looking to form a corporate partnership, we wanted to ensure we maintained our own identity and wouldn’t be seen merely as a branch office,” he says.

“We were looking for a partner that could provide strong strategic input as well as access to capital to adequately back our growth plans for the future. With cultural fit being an important issue for us, Garrisons’ philosophy of delivering high quality service to their network in an ethical and professional manner was a major factor in our decision,” Newman adds.

The Epic group provides financial planning support services to independent financial planners throughout Western Australia. It will continue as an independent business, retaining the Epic name and branding. The deal is subject to approval by Epic’s shareholders.