De Vere and Partners, the international IFA firm, has bought web-based investment broker Programmes for Wealth International (PWi), its latest acquisition following the purchase of what was Financial Partners’ Japan client base.
The firm, thought to be the largest international IFA in the world, with some 350 advisers in 40 countries, said the takeover – for an undisclosed sum – strengthened its online distribution channel, while also giving PWi clients an opportunity for face-to-face advice and service.
De Vere said PWi enabled it to target “internet savvy” professionals, who had used the online broker to access funds and other investment products from countries around the world.
PWi adds to de Vere’s burgeoning embrace of technology and the web as a means of interacting with and distributing to clients.
The firm this year launched a fund platform providing access to more than 5,000 funds from over 200 fund managers, as well as offering portfolio monitoring tools. The system allows clients to trade funds themselves, with each transaction generating commission for de Vere.
Nigel Green, chief executive of de Vere said: “The acquisition of Programmes for Wealth International enables us to increase our distribution channels as we remain on target to achieve our strategic expansion of servicing 100,000 clients worldwide.”
De Vere currently has some 50,000 clients. It was not known many more the acquisition of PWI, which Green said was among the top 1% of most visited websites in the world, would add.
The takeover of PWi follows de Vere’s recent acquisition of rival international IFA firm Financial Partner’s Japanese book of business. Financial Partners had initially sold the business back to its founder, James Murray. It was subsequently sold to de Vere, which already had a presence in Japan.
Financial Partners, which had its main interests in the Middle and Far East, is undergoing a split from a centralised business to independent regional businesses in order to cut costs due to a drop in revenue resulting from the global economic downturn.
