The UK advice market has become one of the most exciting sectors around the world with many businesses looking to get a slice of the pie.
This even includes firms from far and wide wanting a chance to be part of the UK industry.
Scandinavian wealth company Söderberg & Partners is no exception. In February, the firm announced it would be setting up an independent financial advice and investment management business in the UK.
Stockholm-headquartered Söderberg & Partners will offer financial advice and investment solutions through its partnerships in the UK. It will conduct its UK operations under the sub brand Söderberg & Partners Wealth Management.
The UK operation will be run by ex-Novia duo Bill Vasilieff and Nick Raine, who will be chairman and chief executive, respectively.
International Adviser spoke with Vasilieff and Magnus Wikner, head of wealth management at Söderberg & Partners to discuss its ambitions in the UK advice market.
All the same
Söderberg & Partners is not new to launching in different countries.
It currently has advice operations in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands. Out of these countries, it offers wealth management advisory services under the Söderberg & Partners Wealth Management sub brand in Sweden and Norway.
Wikner said: “We were quite hesitant in the beginning about launching in the UK because it is a vast market. The last time we calculated, there are around 45 different kinds of consolidator seen in the UK.
“The more we looked we saw that they all have the same offer. They try to buy majority stakes; get control and get out efficiencies by merging the businesses together.
“What we do and what we have done in all countries we have entered into is invest in the people and the adviser. We don’t care about the brand name. Therefore, we buy minority stakes where management can continue to grow their business.
“We are supporting them and become guests to the table and offering something as guests to help them on that journey that they already planned for and they see.
Different in the market
Vasilieff said that one of the reasons he was attracted and “lured” out of retirement by the wealth firm’s proposition was there is “nothing else quite like in the UK”.
He added: “I found the story really compelling and I found the whole thing very exciting. The idea of getting involved was really appealing to me.
“The overall offering is quite different. First of all, we’re looking to back people and the business owners that are looking to grow their businesses.
“We are giving them access to capital. We’ve got an M&A team to help the business grow quickly and we’re helping them with technology to make the advice process much more efficient. We’re looking for really entrepreneurial people who are looking to grow the business.
“Maybe, they are advisers that have been in the business for a long time and would like some cash out and access to capital. More often, they will eventually exit the business in a few years’ time.
“But there’s no one else in the UK that does that.”
Growth plan
Söderberg & Partners is not just looking to enter the UK advice market, it wants to be a “major player”, Wikner said.
He added: “It will be made up of many brand names because we’re not forcing them to join any brand name. So, they will work on their own, and the value proposition will be the same and most probably many of them have chosen to work with our platform as we have built it together with them.
“We will hopefully be one of the major players in UK. That’s the goal for every country we have entered into, and we have succeeded so far.
“If we find all advisers in the same spot and they have a client base and a sound business, we will not mess around with that.
“When we entered countries, we don’t look at it by map and try to go into the big cities. We go after the people. Where we establish ourselves depends on where we find the right people.”
Vasilieff said: “The pipeline that we’ve got already is extremely high. Since we did the launch, it’s amazing how much extra interest we’ve got. I’m very confident that this will succeed.
“I’d be disappointed, if we didn’t have many billions of pounds under management in five or 10 years and were seen to be one of the leading players in the independent market.”
Platform
Aside from the advice operation, the firm will be launching a platform and utilising the expertise of Vasilieff and Raine’s experience at Novia.
Wikner said: “When we started in Scandinavia, it was also quite diversified market where we all worked with many multiple platforms. The struggle for IFAs was that we were quite small, and the platforms became dominant, meaning that they were always bigger than us and they invested in their own business and sometimes those investments also supported us.
“But we saw that we needed to invest so much more in our own business to be able to deliver the value towards our clients that we wish to do.
“What we saw in Nick and Bill when we first met them is they know the platform side and we know the IFA side.
“They fully respect and understand that we need the advisers to be able to build the perfect platform. We need the perfect platform to be able to build the perfect IFA.
“Many of the other consolidators, and investors in the UK market, don’t really appreciate and understand that issue. That’s the reason why we always invest in the IFAs, not just in the platform.”
Vasilieff added: “I think most platforms have evolved over the years, and almost any platform has also got an investment offering. I think the market’s probably already gone there.
“I would say that the platform part of our technology is only a part of it. We certainly intend to have a CRM platform fully integrated, which doesn’t exist on the market today.”
What are IFAs are looking for?
Wikner, who is a former IFA, believes his experience helps him understand what advisers are looking for in Söderberg.
“All IFAs are looking for is a seamless client experience, where all values or parts in the chain are interconnected – so it is seamless for the client,” he added. “This means that the offer that the IFA would like to present to the client is with all the financial planning services, so the CRM, platform and reporting becomes one experience for the client.
“That is what they seek, and also to be able to spend more time with their clients giving advice.”
