Swanton & Davidson move into Sydney

Melbourne-based financial advisory firm Swanton & Davidson have broadened their reach on the eastern seaboard of Australia, with the opening of its first office located in Sydney.

The new office will be situated in North Sydney and will be run by senior financial adviser Kevin Smith.

The initiative has been two years in the making, with Smith relocating to Swanton & Davidson’s Melbourne office for that period of time, with a view to eventually moving back to Sydney to expand the organisation’s operations.

“Swanton & Davidson have had a lot of success in Melbourne and the thought was that it would be good to duplicate that success in other states,” Smith said

He will be the sole adviser in Sydney during the office’s start-up phase, but is aiming to add two more advisers to the practice before the end of the year.

“The reason why I’m doing this is I have a strong belief that financial advice is best given by licensed accountants on a fee-for-service basis. That’s why I’ve also been playing a significant role with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in trying to push their role in the industry,” Smith explained.

“I believe it’s best to provide a one-stop-shop for clients in providing tax advice and investment advice at the same time. If you’re not a registered tax agent you can’t give tax advice, and financial advice is both tax and investment advice,” he added.

Smith said Swanton & Davidson was also looking to expand its Melbourne practice as well and had ambitions to establish a presence in other states around the country, although in regard to these plans nothing was “in the pipeline” as yet.

Swanton & Davidson currently has 12 financial advisers operating under its banner.