Twenty years ago, Justin Gilmour was a financial adviser with one of the big four banks, giving what then passed for financial advice to the bank’s customers.
But even then, he knew there was a better way to do it and, wanting to create a practice that focused on a whole-of-wealth approach, in 2003 Gilmour launched his own advice firm.
Integro Private Wealth has just celebrated its 20th anniversary and managing partner Gilmour tells Professional Planner the intent behind setting up the business was to move away from the advice culture of the big banks at the time.
“It was a very transactional based at that time and I recognised that perhaps there was another way, more concentrating on that whole-of-wealth approach to wealth management rather than it being a transactional approach,” Gilmour says.
Today, the Western Australian-based firm employs 30 people, including seven advisers, and serves clients in Perth and regional WA.
With its regional WA reach and clientele, Gilmour says Integro deals a lot with agricultural industry services.
“Our ideal client would be families with intergenerational wealth, a lot of successional planning,” he says.
“We do a lot with [agriculture] so successional planning is a big factor there, how the wealth is going to transfer to the next generation.
“It’s working out whether that’s best for the family for the wealth to stay together, or is it better that it actually is divided up.”
When it comes to growth, Gilmour says that in-line with most advice firms Integro relies on strategic partnerships, primarily with accounting practices.
“There’s 18 accounting firms that we provide a wealth management solution to their clients and they could be white labelled or under the banner of Integro,” Gilmour says.
“It also comes from a lot of the commercial lenders, agricultural advisers – farm consultants are a big one – and the high-end insurance brokerage market where they’re similar type clients with family businesses.”
Additionally, there are plans for a bigger push in regional WA and the firm announced a partnership with AMD Chartered Accountants last week.
The firm will also look for other M&A opportunities to grow, with an interest in small practices that need the benefits of scale via tuck-in acquisitions.
“A key strategy for us is identifying those smaller practices that are good operators but, with the scale now that is required to deliver advice, may not have the scale to operate on their own,” Gilmour says.
“We had a really successful one with Wealth Advantage 18 months ago whereby the calibre of adviser is generally different because they understand the process of running their own business.”
Looking back over the past couple of decades, Gilmour cites the Hayne royal commission as having a profound impact in improving industry standards.
“The royal commission has definitely had a positive role in that it’s cleaned out the industry, which I think it needed to,” Gilmour says.
“As long as the end consumer benefits from that regulation rather than increase costs to drive or to deliver advice. If it just increases the cost to deliver advice with none of the upside we’re going to damage the industry.
“I do feel like pendulum is starting to swing back to a sensible level and it will be interesting to see what the next 12 months holds.”
