Your IndustryDec 9 2019

Addidi Wealth snapped up by national adviser

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Addidi Wealth snapped up by national adviser

The London-based advice firm launched in 2006 with a focus on helping women, their partners and families grow their wealth.

It has three financial planners and earlier this year launched its 'Are You In?' initiative, which seeks to create change from within the industry by bringing together like-minded people and campaigning for a better culture and higher standards in financial services.

Its founder and chief executive officer Anna Sofat said she considered Progeny to be the perfect fit, as it allowed her advisers to offer their clients a more joined-up service, including in-house access to tax advisers and lawyers, while offering her campaign the chance to reach a wider audience.

Progeny, which has eight offices across the country, offers a suite of financial, legal, and tax services to its clients.

It has about 150 employees, including 27 financial planners and 12 paraplanners, of whom at least half are women, with a female quota at senior management level of around 40 per cent. A third of the employees also own shares in the company.

Ms Sofat said: “In our view regulation hasn’t worked, it’s too expensive, too backward looking. My task will be to try and leverage up the movement to see if we can bring together enough people to try and see what [a better] solution should look like. 

“I want the industry itself to set high standards.”

“[Our] movement was twofold: to improve our own behaviours, and to bring together like-minded people who are forward looking, to come together to highlight good behaviour.

“Joining with Progeny shows this. There is an opportunity to bring that to a wider people. It seemed the perfect partnership.”

There are no plans to change the Addidi brand as it stands, and the firm will continue servicing its clients in its existing office via its financial planners.

Ms Sofat will become a shareholder in Progeny.

Ms Sofat said the services offered by Progeny were those typically only seen in private family offices for “very wealthy people”, but Progeny was “bringing that to the mainstream”.

She said: “Having internal specialists we can pick up the phone to means the added value is humongous. This is where the future of financial services has got to go, so you have seamless service across all your [business lines].”

She added: “What struck me was the age; it is a younger team and very diverse, it’s a breath of fresh air within our industry. 

“It’s all about tomorrow’s wealth, including a training academy for planners and paraplanners and there is a real focus on being the very best.”

Neil Moles, chief executive officer at Progeny, said: “At Progeny we are always looking ahead, developing strategies to adapt and evolve the way our business operates to ensure that we are creating opportunities for others and leading the industry towards a better future.

“As such, we are delighted to welcome Anna and the Addidi team to Progeny, to strengthen our financial planning offering and pursue an agenda of equality and inclusivity in financial advice. 

“We look forward to working together to transform the way this industry operates for the benefit of investors, as well as the next generation of professionals.”

carmen.reichman@ft.com