Brett Evans, director
Atlas Wealth Management
Southport, Qld
In the depths of the global financial crisis, Brett Evans decided there was a better way to do financial planning than the way he was doing it. In March, 2009 – “16 days before the bottom of the GFC, so we thought we were either the smartest guys or the dumbest guys” – Evans and a business partner established Gamma Wealth Management, a business that still operates on the Gold Coast, and in September 2011 Evans struck out on his own when he set up Atlas Wealth Management.
For Evans, this was an opportunity to really develop a niche financial planning interest – namely, as the firm’s name alludes to, Australians living overseas. He now has clients in 18 countries and a feature of his practice is its round-the-clock nature, catering to a client base spread across multiple time zones.
Evans zeroes in on the expats’ niche for a number of reasons, including the fact he is a former expat himself – while he was born in Newcastle, NSW, he has lived in Tucson, Arizona, and in Hong Kong.
“One of the things I love doing is being a subject matter expert, and just living and breathing a certain specific requirement,” Evans says.
“We do have a couple of local clients, but more so as a legacy from my previous business. We do have Australian-based clients but they are normally expats who have repatriated back to Australia. We still continue to service them, because we’ve been looking after them for a number of years and no-one knows their background better than we do.”
Dealing with expats means Atlas Wealth does not need to be located physically close to its clients. Evans says the decision to live and work at Southport also provides some significant lifestyle benefits.
“I can be on the beach in 10 minutes and I can be in the rainforest in 20”, he says.
(Words by Jo Leggatt)
Read the full feature – 24 HOURS: A day in the life of … Atlas Wealth Management
Read Planner Profile – Brett Evans: Crisis, what crisis? This adviser has seen them all
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