Building on Findex’s proven track record in the M&A space, Brent will lead a dedicated team focused on scaling the M&A program. His remit will encompass identifying and acquiring strategically aligned accounting, business advisory and wealth management firms to further strengthen Findex’s ability to provide best-in-class service to its growing customer base of Aussies and Kiwis and the businesses they run.

On the appointment, Findex Co-CEO Matt Games says, “We are thrilled to welcome Brent to the Findex leadership team, having worked closely with him over the last few years in his capacity as Non-Executive Director of the Findex Board. Brent has a deep knowledge of what drives success at Findex, and this is another step forward in our partnership with Mercury Capital.”

“The creation of a dedicated leadership role to spearhead our M&A program clearly signals and reinforces to the market our ambitions for accelerated growth, and we are proactively looking to acquire the right kind of businesses and talent to be part of Findex’s future.”

“Brent has a strong track record for identifying these potential partners and his deep experience in strategy and M&A, makes him the ideal person to lead Findex into our next phase of expansion which is underpinned by our commitment to delivering exceptional value and industry leading advice to our nearly 250,000 clients and partners across ANZ.”

With almost 15 years of experience across private equity, corporate strategy, investment banking and nurturing operational success in high-growth environments, which included working as Chief Strategy Officer for MessageMedia in Mercury Capital’s $1.7bn exit to Sinch in 2021. Brent brings a unique and in-depth understanding of Findex from his role on the Findex Board and at Mercury Capital which acquired a 40% stake of Findex from KKR last year. In this role, he will apply a global outlook to drive value creation for Australian and New Zealand SMEs.

“It’s a privilege to join Findex at such an exciting time. My connection with Mercury Capital allows me the unique viewpoint of diligence and a strong insight into what the board needs, while also having a rich knowledge of how Findex operates. This doesn’t feel like a new job—it feels like working with people I know and trust, towards ambitions we’re all collectively passionate about,” says Brent.

“My goal is to make Findex a household name and trusted financial services partner for individuals and SMEs. Australian and Kiwi business owners recognise a need for an integrated business and personal wealth management model to ensure financial resilience amidst a challenging economic backdrop alongside the ability and option to scale – and this is what Findex offers,”

“Through our M&A program, we want to bring onboard like-minded businesses who can truly partner with Aussie and Kiwi SMEs across metro and regional areas and are committed to working with clients throughout their entire financial life cycle.”

He describes his new team as operating like a special services force. Their task – to partner with the accounting and wealth firms who are already working with local businesses and giving them the competitive edge of equipping them with access to Findex’s digital workflows, the 2,700-strong team of experts, and ultimately help them unlock new opportunities through technology and innovation.

Within this, he sees a critical role for AI to reshape the future of professional services. Brent notes that AI can be transformative, freeing up teams to focus on high-value, advisory work and relationship building, while ensuring compliance is handled efficiently. Findex remains uniquely positioned to help SMEs navigate this change, as its scale and resources allow it to invest in cutting-edge solutions that smaller firms can’t access on their own.

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Matt Games

Despite the compulsory superannuation guarantee being over 30 years old in Australia, a worrying majority of Australians (2 in 3) fear they will not have sufficient financial resources to retire, reveals new research from Findex Group Limited (“Findex”).   

The research from YouGov commissioned by Findex, one of Australasia’s largest privately-owned providers of integrated financial advisory and accounting services, explored Australians’ preparedness for retirement and how professional financial advice factors into this. The survey of over 1,000 participants focused on those in the early planning stages of retirement to those in the process of retiring^[1] across metro and regional areas.    

The older, the more unprepared 

Set against uncertain economic environments and frequent interest rate hikes, Findex’s findings showed the closer Aussies were to retirement, the less confident they were about having the funds required. The majority (52%) of Baby Boomers and 38% of Gen X noted they were ‘not confident’ of having the money needed to retire compared to 31% of Millennials.  

“This paints the picture that most Aussies have adopted a ‘kick it down the road’ mentality to retirement. But when the time eventually comes, they’re faced with the reality that their existing savings and superannuation balance are insufficient in this economic climate,” says Findex Co-CEO Matt Games. 

According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia Retirement Standard^[2] a retiree today needs upwards of AUD$500,000 in their super balance. This sits well above the national average of AUD$356,000 and $288,000 respectively for men and women in their early 60s.   

Pairing with this, Findex’s research also revealed one in two Australians don’t believe they have a good understanding of the financial resources needed for a comfortable retirement. Gender disparity was additionally apparent in financial literacy where women were more likely to report their financial understanding as ‘poor’ (27%) compared to their male counterparts (15%). 

Never too late for professional advice 

In terms of seeking professional advice to prepare for retirement, while 80% believe professional financial advice could benefit them in retirement only 30% had sought advice, with women (24%) less likely than men (37%) to have received professional advice. Furthermore, the closer respondents were to retirement age, the less likely they were to consider professional advice (‘unlikely to get professional advice’: 49% Baby Boomers, 34% Gen X, 22% Millennials).  

“The time to access advice is now – especially when many are currently struggling to manage their finances. What our financial modelling shows** is it’s never too late for someone to benefit from advice even if you’re less than ten years away from retirement and this holds true for people at most income levels,” says Games. 

“Seeking professional financial advice should be viewed as good life hygiene like scheduling a dental check-up with a qualified dentist. And with the cost of living continuing to increase and Australians living longer, the reality for most people – particularly women – is not doing anything today will actually cost you. Most Aussies simply won’t have the funds they need to live a comfortable retirement if they don’t take a proactive approach to secure their financial future.”  

But what is stopping Aussies from getting advice? 

The main misconception uncovered in the research centred around the common perception that the cost of financial advice was too expensive and outweighed the potential returns. Of the barriers stopping Aussies from getting advice, 34% cited the cost of advice, 32% don’t feel they earn enough to make it worthwhile and 19% said procrastination.  

“It’s very common for us in the industry to hear that cost for advice is the issue. But at Findex, we want to dispel this,” says Findex Head of Investment Relations Matthew Swieconek. 

“A financial adviser doesn’t only provide guidance on investment strategies that align with your goals and risk tolerance. They provide behavioural coaching, asset allocation research and management and tax savvy planning – areas that DIY investors can often overlook and can add enormous value to wealth creation over time. Quantifying this, our projections demonstrate the value of advice where Aussies stand to gain 8% to 29% in benefits depending on the age they start.”  

While there is clear appetite and need for advice, to help Aussies unlock their full financial potential Findex is addressing the concerns around cost and value head on through offering tailored

pricing structures, transparency and consistently demonstrating value – all of which is underpinned by acting in the best interest of the client. 

Modelling projections:

For a Baby Boomer:  

A 57-year-old earning 150,000 per annum with a 58-year-old partner who earns the same. He/she has a super balance of $286,000 and the partner, a super balance of $210,000 (taken from the BT average super for a 55-59-year-old). If the client begins receiving financial advice today, Findex’s financial modelling shows that the client could stand to increase his/her combined net assets by 8% or just under $148,000 with financial advice by the time he/she reaches 65 years of age – and that’s in under ten years.    

For a Gen X: 

A 49-year-old male, part of a couple, and has a super balance of $215,000. Between now and the age of 65, he could potentially grow his net assets by 13% or just shy of $240,000 with financial advice.    

For a Millennial:  

o   Aged 35 with an income of $100,000 per annum and has a super balance of $50,000. Findex’s financial modelling illustrates that if you receive financial advice from the age of 35 you may reach age 65 with approximately 29% more in net financial assets ($664,000) than had you not sought any financial advice.   

Additional research findings

• Younger Australians 35 to 44 years are more likely than their older counterparts 55 to 65 years to believe they have a very good understanding of what financial resources they would need for a comfortable retirement (20% compared to 14%)
• Those who have sought professional financial advice to help plan for retirement are almost three times as likely to say they have a good understanding of what financial resources they will need to retire (32% compared to 12%)
• The most commonly identified benefits from obtaining professional financial advice, include making the most of their superannuation (44%), learning about the options that are available to use in retirement (40%), understanding how much is needed to retire (39%)
• Among Aussies who have not sought professional financial advice for retirement, a third say they are likely to consider doing so in the future while a similar proportion (34%) say they are unlikely to do so
• Concerningly, Aussies who have not sought professional financial advice and who rate their own understanding of what resources are needed for a comfortable retirement as poor are much less likely than their counterparts who rate their understanding as good to say they are likely to consider doing so in future (23% compared to 46%) 

 ——–

[1] Survey focussed on over 1,000 respondents aged between 35 to 65 years 
[2] https://www.superannuation.asn.au/ArticleDocuments/269/ASFA-Retirement_Standard-Summary-2023.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y

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Over the next five years Findex is aiming to triple the size of its wealth practice, growing from $17 billion in FUA to upwards of $50 billion as it takes advantage of the significant changes in the wealth management landscape.

Findex Co-Founder, Spiro Paule has appointed Co-CEOs in company veterans Chief Operations Officer, Tony Roussos, and Chief Financial Officer, Matt Games, in a move to bolster the leadership team to capture this opportunity. Mr. Paule’s decision is the realisation of a succession plan that will allow him to focus on the role of Managing Director where he will continue to lead the overall strategic direction as well as overseeing the group’s ambitious expansion plans.

“The Hayne Royal Commission has had a seismic impact on Australia’s Wealth Management sector,” Mr. Paule said.

“With ASIC citing that over 3000 advisers have already left the wealth space and the major banks divesting their interests, the opportunity is ripe for Findex to lead the charge in a new way of managing wealth, focussing on customer value and transparency combined with best practice accounting services.”

Mr. Paule, who co-founded Findex more than 30 years ago with his brother Terry, said that Findex’s wealth accounting model, which provides clients with access to a broad range of advisory, financial planning, accounting and audit services via their accountant, along with deep connections into a broad cross-section of businesses and individuals, makes it competitively placed to aggressively grow its market share.

“As the largest provider of integrated Wealth and Accounting services in Australia, Findex is uniquely positioned to deliver on the vision my brother Terry and I started this business with – to bring the two major hubs of a client relationship, the accountant and financial planner, together to increase value and create better outcomes for clients.” says Findex Managing Director, Spiro Paule.

“With the growth momentum we have behind us, our investment in leadership capability at this time will help the business capitalise on the strategic growth opportunities available whilst  allowing me to step back from day to day operations. I will continue to work closely with our longstanding Board and executive team to drive the strategic direction of the business.” 

The new Co-CEOs will act as joint custodians for Findex’s new chapter. With a collective 45 years’ experience with the brand, they combine deep business knowledge with complementary skills that enhance the leadership team and will allow it to capitalise on its growth momentum.

Mr. Roussos and Mr. Games have been pivotal to Findex’s transformational M&A strategy, overseeing 63 acquisitions with key operational input during their working partnership, including global accounting firm Crowe Australasia and wealth management leader Centric Wealth. This has resulted in the business growing from a team of 50 people to nearly 3,000 across 100 locations since 2008. 

Findex Co-CEO, Tony Roussos, says, “As one of Findex’s first employees, it is a privilege to be given the opportunity to be custodian for the business as we look to activate our next stage of growth. Findex was started by two visionary founders, who saw an opportunity to bring together wealth and accounting services to deliver greater value for clients. Now, as Australia’s largest diversified financial services business, we’re continuing to tread our own path, building a model built around the needs of our clients.”

Findex Co-CEO, Matt Games adds, “When I left Macquarie Bank to join Findex as CFO 15 years ago, I was attracted to its entrepreneurial vision combined with the strong family values instilled by founders, Spiro and Terry Paule. As an executive team, we’ve always worked together under the strategic guidance of Spiro to leverage our complementary skills and I’m looking forward to continuing my strong partnership with Tony to drive the business on its next stage of growth.”

This leadership model will  bring to life Findex’s vision of an integrated wealth and accounting offering by taking advantage of the restructure of the wealth management sector where Findex’s longstanding fee-for-service model and salaried adviser status give it significant competitive advantage and uniquely positions it to deliver a Wealth Accounting model to its SME client base.

Findex has always been guided by human connection, growth and innovation. When brothers Spiro and Terry Paule founded the company in 1987, they formed key values that the company has retained through its dynamic cycle of mergers and acquisitions. Today the firm stands at nearly 3,000 staff and 250,000 clients.

The appointments of the new leadership arrangements came into effect on Monday 22 August 2022.

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