Koda Establishes QLD Presence With UBS Execs

13 Jul 2015

“The idea of independence is a real attraction point as is a model that contains no inherent conflicts of interest,” Heath said, emphasising Koda offered transparency and that was resonating with clients.

Sydney-based wealth management firm Koda Capital has bolstered its presence on the eastern seaboard, with two Brisbane advisers soon to join the firm from UBS Wealth Management.

UBS Wealth announced in May it was pulling out of the Australian market, with a number of the company’s advisers exiting the group to establish a spin-off entity, Crestone Wealth Management.

Two UBS Wealth executives James Mapledoram and William Douglas will however join Koda, with another Sydney-based adviser Michael Massey having just joined the team in Sydney from JBWere.

Koda chief executive Paul Heath told financialobserver on Friday that the group was extremely pleased with the calibre of executives the business was attracting, with its adviser numbers now at 10 and total staff at 24, not including non-executive directors on the board.

“Will and James give us a starting point in Brisbane and as for Melbourne, all I can say is watch this space,” Heath said, adding that a Koda office would be opening there in August.

Established in December last year, he acknowledged Koda had attracted a significant range of institutional talent, with executives coming across from Morgan Stanley, Macquarie Private Wealth, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s private wealth division and National Australia Bank-aligned dealer group Godfrey Pembroke, among others.

“The idea of independence is a real attraction point as is a model that contains no inherent conflicts of interest,” Heath said, emphasising Koda offered transparency and that was resonating with clients.

“Coupled with a professional partnership model where advisers own equity in the firm, Koda also creates a really collegiate environment among advisers and staff.”

He said the group was happy with its development from an experience and diversity perspective, and bringing in people from different organisations added to ways of thinking.

“We’re bringing on people that have been in the industry for long periods of time and have outstanding track records,” he said, adding the latest three advisers all had nearly two decades in the sector, acknowledging his former ties with Mapledoram and Massey through Goldman Sachs JBWere.

“All three [advisers] are very highly regarded and we’re really pleased with the opportunity that Mapledoram and Douglas have provided us by agreeing to come on board in Queensland and expand our [footprint] on the eastern seaboard,” Heath said.

In terms of Koda’s adviser growth targets going forward, he said he did not see the group ever having hundreds of advisers, if even 100 advisers, as the business wanted to be large enough to be meaningful but small enough to maintain its boutique feel.

 

Read more at financialobserver.com.au

 

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