Western Pacific kicks off new businesses

By Craig Phillips

Perth-based dealer firm Western Pacific Financial Group is embarking on an ambitious organisational expansion that includes the formation of a holding company to sit above a newly created funds management arm, a new strategic investment company and its existing advisory business.

Western Pacific Group Holdings will now be the ultimate owner of the planning arm, along with the two new businesses — Western Pacific Asset Management and Western Pacific Investments.

The investment arm will hold the group’s strategic interests, which currently include the South Australian-based master trust, Symetry (20 per cent ownership), Acumen Capital Securities (25 per cent), MMC Asset Management (22 per cent) and Select Asset Management (20 per cent).

The group, as reported in Money Management in April, has also appointed former MMC Asset Management head Geoff Pritchard as its new chief executive and moved finance general manager Gavin Cruise into the chief financial officer role.

Chairman David Guy will continue to fill the group’s chief investment officer position, a role he took on in July 2003, while the WA-based firm will also look to appoint a new chief operating officer over the coming months.

Western Pacific Financial Group is a national dealer firm and has 45 authorised representatives in most mainland states.

According to Pritchard, who took over at the helm of the organisation from former chief Godfrey Rule on May 10, the group’s immediate aim is to re-enter the New South Wales market and boost its planner numbers from 45 to 60.

“We are actively seeking existing proper authority holders or small dealers with annual revenue in excess of $250,000, [although] we have no current plans to grow beyond 100 proper authority holders,” Pritchard says.

The firm, which focuses on high-net-worth clients, has in excess of $1.1 billion in funds under management.