IFA consolidator: 'Good management is hard to find'

The firm’s vice chairperson, Simon Goldthorpe, told FTAdviser his private equity-backed company is keen to bring in advice firms’ management teams, but that the supply of good managers is scarce.

“Those firms which are more entrepreneurial and looking to stay around - for the right kind of businesses, we are really keen to bring strong management with us and to work with them. To take stakes in businesses and to retain management where managers want to stay on,” he explained.

“Good management is hard to find. We’re not awash with them. So we really want to partner with them to make sure that they can be part of the journey and part of the outcome too."

“We want to develop the business with them, rather than just around them - that’s one of the key bits of the strategy," he added. 

Solomon is a wealth manager which was set up last year by ex-Intrinsic chief Andy Thompson and Darren Sharkey, who until late 2020 was managing director of Quilter's national advice business. 

We’re looking to fairly aggressively acquire over the next two years.Simon Goldthorpe, Solomon

Earlier this week, the firm bought IFA Gale and Philipson, adding 34 advisers, 3,500 clients and £1.4bn of assets.

Solomon’s acquisition strategy is backed by JC Flowers, the US private equity house which held a stake in Interactive Investor before its £1.5bn sale to Abrdn.

It has a two-pronged approach. “We’ll have a fairly classic hub and spoke structure regionally. And we also have an offering for retiring IFAs,” Goldthorpe explained.

Solomon has built up a pipeline of adviser deals “quite quickly”, according to Goldthorpe, though he could not confirm the number or timeframe in which these would be completed.

“We’re looking to fairly aggressively acquire over the next two years.”

Owning a national IFA like Gale and Philipson now compliments its discretionary fund management arm, which it acquired through Beaufort Group and its DFM You Asset Management in June.

It took me from being hugely sceptical…to ‘I am absolutely bought in’.Simon Goldthorpe, Solomon

Goldthorpe moved over to Solomon with the acquisition of Beaufort Group, having previously been a director and chairperson at Beaufort.

He admitted he was initially weary of Solomon’s vision, which is to build a "technology-enabled national advice business" which can deliver both holistic and hybrid advice to mass affluent customers.

“It took me from being hugely sceptical when we first met Solomon as to how they would crack this and make it so much better than what you already see elsewhere, to ‘I am absolutely bought in’. They won me over, over a period of months,” Goldthorpe explained.

Now, Solomon is in the early stages of rolling out its hybrid advice service, and the team at Gale and Philipson will help to build out the vision.

Managers with a tech vision

Andrew Moore, Gale and Philipson’s managing director, has come over to Solomon as part of the firm’s latest acquisition.

Moore previously worked at Quilter’s Private Client Advisers business, and joined Gale and Philipson in June - just three months before Solomon acquired it.

The IFA’s chief executive, David Carr, is also joining the executive team at Solomon. He had been in conversations with the consolidator for over 12 months.

Advisers have become less respected.Andrew Moore, Gale and Philipson

Moore believes many advice businesses currently have over-complicated advice offerings which have hampered the delivery of valued and comprehensive advice.

“I’m not a tech entrepreneur, I’m a national advice firm MD,” said Moore. 

“But I know integrated technology between the back-office and client front-end - if you get that working well - you create time in your business.

“We also want clients to be more involved in their financial planning journey. I think at the moment they don’t feel that involved…That’s ensuring they have a clear sight of that financial plan and can engage with it through technology.”

Moore said Solomon’s technology will align with each client differently, depending on their age and assets.

He also reckons a tech-enabled business will help advisers become more respected again.

“Advisers have become less respected. They've become very much a number in businesses," said Moore.

"We need to get to the point where we're building a professional industry and advisers are given the ability to focus more on clients rather than being hindered by clunky processes."

He said there was a “real passion” in Gale and Philipson for a more future-looking vision like this. Operating since 1988, the IFA merged with Jonathan Fry in 2015.

“What became our driver was identifying a partner which could help us grow,” Moore added.

“And a partner that recognised like we did, that technology was a key enabler that needed to be really refreshed and delivered in the market.”

ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com