The new office is due to open in Melbourne in November and deVere chief executive Nigel Green said it is part of “far-reaching plans” for deVere in the country. These plans also include opening branch offices in other major cities including Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.
“With official estimates putting the number of British expats alone in Australia at 1.3 million, ultimately this could very well prove to be deVere Group’s biggest market,” said Green.
“Steps are being taken to enable deVere Australia to become the largest independent financial advisory firm in this region within a matter of years.”
The expansion into Australia is being facilitated by deVere’s recent acquisition of Meridian Financial which has an Australian Financial Services License.
On Meridian, Green said: “Meridian Financial’s existing clients will continue to receive top level service and advice and will now also be able to take advantage of all the associated benefits a robust international organisation is able to offer.
“These include access to market-exclusive products and services from the world’s leading financial institutions, standard-setting technologies and platforms, and world class support teams.”
At International Adviser’s recent Fund Links Forum, Green gave a speech in which he suggested the biggest opportunity for financial advisers is in developed markets, where there is a wealthy, aging demographic. Furthermore, in these countries, such as Australia, there is also a high concentration of British expatriates.
Click here to watch the Nigel Green’s speech or click here to watch an interview with him in which he discusses consolidation in the market
