ipac unfurls flag in Melbourne
ipac will be opening an office in Melbourne in September after buying out local planning business Albert & Will.
This is the first interstate expansion of the ipac brand since partners UBS Capital backed the financial planning group in June by taking a 30 per cent stake in the company.
ipac chief executive Peeyush Gupta says the integration of Albert & Will into the ipac fold is the natural third step taken by such a business belonging to ipac’s ‘strategic partner’ program. ipac’s 30 strategic partners are assisted to grow, run and exit their financial advisory businesses which are situated throughout Australia.
Gupta says exiting strategies either involve taking an equity partnership with ipac in which a planning firm could take a cash injection from ipac and use it to remain with their business and further grow it, or it could involve an out-and-out sale to ipac. Albert & Will opted for the latter, with principals Wes Albert and Noel Will selling out after calling it a day in their partnership.
Gupta says that neither of the two outcomes of the exit strategy offered to its strategic partners - a total sale or equity partnership - is more desirable than the other for ipac.
“Both options are different outcomes of the same relationship. The step of the exit strategy is consistent with the overall message we have been taking to market for years,” Gupta says.
“When a strategic partner becomes a subsidiary, the sale transaction is almost a minor consideration.”
Gupta says there should be more announcements from ipac on equity partnerships throughout the remainder of the calendar year. ipac has just begun a process of engaging its strategic partners in talks about the equity partnering program.
Albert & Will was a two principal practice with $65 million of funds under advice and has been a strategic partner with ipac for the last four years.
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