Koda Capital Welcomes Emigrant Partners as a Minority Strategic Investor

Koda Capital welcomes Emigrant Partners as a minority strategic investor to support the next phase of growth, commitment to partner ownership and independent advice model

Koda Capital (“Koda”), a leading independent financial advice firm for high-net-worth clients today announced that Emigrant Partners, the US-based capital and advice partner, will become a strategic minority investor in Koda. Koda’s staff will continue to own more than 75% of the business.

Koda has successfully grown to be a leading independent wealth management business in Australia with 39 Partners, and 28 advisers managing more than AUD $10 billion of client funds. Koda was established in 2015 with a founding principle of providing independent financial advice free from the conflicts of interest which come with vertically integrated firms.

Emigrant Partners is a specialist capital and advice partner with a strong track record of making non-voting investments in leading independent wealth management businesses in the large and sophisticated US wealth market, adding value to those businesses as a minority investor. Emigrant Partners has minority investments in 18 firms in the US that advise on over USD $90 billion of client funds.

As a strategic investor, Emigrant Partners will provide valuable insights and know-how for Koda in areas that include best practice in technology and operations, financial adviser acquisition strategy and funding, wealth advice market insights, as well as peer-based networks and professional development for the Koda team. Emigrant Partners will also provide growth capital to support the acquisition of small-scale high quality financial advice businesses aligned to Koda’s values and funding structures for equity recycling to support new equity partners joining the firm.

Commenting on the announcement, Koda Chairman Steve Tucker said:

Over the last seven years we have established Koda as a leading independent wealth advisory business, owned by its people and free from the conflicts of interest that come with vertical integration. Koda’s independent advice model has enabled us to provide a compelling offer to clients, grow client funds to scale and deliver strong revenue and earnings growth over the last 5 years. The investment by Emigrant Partners is the outcome of a strategic review process we kicked off last year, with a vision of finding a strategic partner to support the next phase of growth. With the growing number and wealth of Australians seeking truly independent financial advice, we see an opportunity to double in scale over the next 5 years.

Koda CEO Paul Heath said:

In looking for strategic partners, we were clear that we didn’t want to sell our independence – we wanted to preserve our independence. This investment will see Koda double down on independence and staff ownership with our staff continuing to own more than 75% of the business. Koda will also benefit from Emigrant Partners’ investments in 18 highly successful wealth businesses in the US as well as access to growth capital as we continue to attract high quality advisers to the Koda team. The investment has been made at a premium valuation, reflecting the quality of our business, the value Emigrant Partners place on owners maintaining control and their understanding of the high-quality US wealth market which is more developed than the Australian market.

Karl Heckenberg, CEO of Emigrant Partners added:

We are very excited to be joining the partners of Koda as a minority investor in their business, our first investment outside the US. Koda has successfully established a high-quality independent advice business in the large and growing wealth market in Australia – a market that we see as very attractive. Our minority investments in employee-owned, founder-led firms enable our partner firms to continue to grow while maintaining a culture of trust, ownership and service excellence that draws top-tier client and advisers to their firms.

Koda’s advisers in the deal were MHB Advisers, a specialist investment bank to the global asset and wealth management industries, with legal advice from Kardos Scanlan, a specialist cross-border corporate law firm. Emigrant Partners’ legal adviser was Clayton Utz.

Media enquiries: please email media@kodacapital.com.

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Koda Capital

Koda Capital (“Koda”) is a leading independent private wealth management firm, providing holistic advice to individuals, families, and charitable institutions whose wealth management needs are sophisticated and complex.

Koda was founded on the principles of independent, conflict free advice, delivered by a firm that was majority owned by its staff.

Since its inception in 2015, Koda has grown to over 80 staff, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and today advises on over AUD $10 billion of client funds.

Emigrant Partners LLC

Emigrant Partners (“EP”) is a capital and advice partner to exceptional management teams building successful wealth, asset, and alternative asset management firms. EP makes long-term, non-voting, minority investments tailored to meet the needs of each partner firm. EP is currently partnered with 18 firms that advise on over USD $90 billion in aggregate AUM and AUA.

EP is wholly owned by Emigrant Bank, the largest family-owned and operated bank in the United States. Emigrant Bank is owned and operated by the Milstein family, who have significant investments in large scale office, residential and hotel real estate, financial services, consumer goods, energy, entertainment, sports, finance, technology and agriculture businesses.

For more information visit emigrantpartners.com