Privately-owned financial planning group, Premium Wealth Management, today announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Responsible Investment solutions group, The Emerald Club.
As part of the alliance, Premium has taken a 25 per cent stake in the group. Premium CEO Paul Harding-Davis and Melbourne-based adviser of Ethical Investment Services, Michelle Brisbane, have also been appointed to The Emerald Club’s Board.
In a separate deal, Premium has been selected as a preferred licensee for advisers wanting to recommend The Emerald Wrap; the recently launched, Responsible Investment-dedicated, non-aligned and low-cost platform for advisers. Mr Harding-Davis said Premium and The Emerald Club had very similar values and he believed the alliance would strengthen the adviser and investor offerings of both groups.
“We identified a very strong philosophical alignment between Premium and The Emerald Club. We both have a strong commitment to remaining free of institutional ownership, to professional standards and ethics and concur on how businesses should operate. We are very excited to be working with this group.”
Mr Harding-Davis said the step was also an important component of the growth strategy for Premium.
“We also have a strong commitment to private ownership and diversity of investment choice. This is against the backdrop of an industry that is increasingly dominated by large groups with their own agendas at the forefront, rather than those of their clients,” he said.
“We are actively recruiting advisers who identify with this philosophy, so this provides us with another channel to form relationships with like-minded firms and individuals.”
Co-founder and Managing Director of the Emerald Club, Justin Medcalf, said The Emerald Club would now be able to offer a more holistic solution to advisers.
“The Emerald Club and The Emerald Wrap have been developed to help make advisers’ businesses more successful and to make responsible investing more attractive to Australians,” he said.
“Now we not only have a platform solution for advisers, but also a preferred dealer group that will provide premium back office business support as well as licensee services.”
“We know there are many dealer groups that limit advisers and inhibit best product availability to the client. This partnership will help make our offering more complete and more attractive.”
18 July 2012