Lloyd's plans for Perpetual Private Wealth

Perpetual has continued its push into the lucrative high-net-worth advice space with the appointment of former BT Financial Group general manager of advice and private banking, Geoff Lloyd.

Perpetual has expanded its presence in the high-net-worth advice space over the past year through a series of acquisitions of specialist advice practices.

Lloyd said he viewed the existing Perpetual Private Wealth business, which has $8.6 billion in funds under advice, as strong in terms of its brand, service offering and niche position.

“The real chance is to accelerate that now,” he said.

Perpetual Private Wealth currently has 125 advisers under its banner, but the group is seeking to grow that number through further acquisitions as well as organic growth. Recent merger and acquisition activity and the resulting dominance of large players in the mass-affluent wealth management space would leave opportunities for niche players, Lloyd said.

As such Perpetual Private Wealth would continue to focus on meeting the needs of advisers who require specialised research, technical advice and other practice management support to meet the “broader and deeper” needs of high-net-worth clients.

“When it comes to strategy, there’s really a gap in the market around those technical and practice management needs to deliver to high-net-worth individuals,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd said he had been "encouraged" to see former van Eyk Research head of research Nigel Douglas and two other former van Eyk staffers join the Perpetual team recently.

Perpetual’s recent focus on expanding Private Wealth suggests it is seen as the potential engine room for growth in the broader business. Lloyd pointed to the group’s “strong heritage” in its asset management and corporate trust businesses, while adding the listed group’s strategy is to diversify its revenue stream.

Lloyd will step into the role in August, reporting to Perpetual managing director David Deverall. Lloyd’s key staff will include Shailendra Singh and Paul Ryan, who were acting joint heads of Private Wealth Management following John Nesbitt’s departure last year.