02 July 2007
Rabobank has announced the expansion of its financial planning arm, Rabo Financial Advisors Ltd (RFA), with the acquisition of the boutique advisory business of Mondo Financial Pty Ltd.
In the transaction, Rabobank has purchased the client portfolio of Mondo Financial, helping to increase the funds under management of its rapidly-expanding RFA business to $500 million.
Mondo Financial’s staff, including principal advisor David Owen, will move to the employ of RFA.
Announcing the purchase, Rabobank Australia & New Zealand CEO Bruce Dick said Mondo Financial was a highly-regarded boutique financial advisory business which was well-established in the Sydney market.
“Mondo Financial is a very successful operation which has highly-experienced staff, including quality advisors and a strong and growing client base specialising in the high net worth (HNW) market,” he said.
Mr Dick said Mondo Financial and RFA shared a strong service culture and both had been successful at building loyal HNW client relationships.
He said RFA would benefit from the additional experience and skills of the Mondo Financial staff.
“This acquisition will help develop the RFA business further in Sydney through additional resources and by leveraging this expanded business off the Rabobank network, which now includes the new online banking and investment service RaboPlus,” he said.
RFA was established in 2002 by AAA rated Rabobank, the world’s leading agribusiness bank and the second largest lender to rural Australia, to provide specialist financial advisory services primarily to the rural and regional community. The business has undergone rapid expansion, achieving growth of more than 30 per cent in both 2005 and 2006. RFA now operates from seven locations around New South Wales and has recently expanded into Western Australia.
RFA general manager Colin Williams said the Mondo Financial acquisition gave RFA’s expansion plans a “terrific boost”.
“Alongside opening a branch in WA with two experienced advisors and adding to the resources of a successful NSW team, we are well on our way to achieving our initial goals,” Mr Williams said.
“We are also in discussions with other businesses similar to Mondo in other states to progressively open new branches across Australia and New Zealand.”
Mondo Financial principal David Owen said that while the Mondo Financial business would be re-branded under the RFA name, there would be no significant changes for clients, with all current products and services to be maintained.
“For our clients, it’s business as usual. Advice and ongoing service will be delivered in the same way by the same people, and there will be future opportunities to expand the products and services offered to clients,” he said.
The transaction will see Mondo Financial transfer from the Lonsdale Financial Group Ltd’s Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) to RFA’s AFSL.
Mr Williams said as Lonsdale provided dealer group services to RFA via its Dealer to Dealer offering, the impact of the change would be minimal.
“RFA, Mondo Financial and Lonsdale see this development as a very positive outcome for all concerned and one that highlights the benefits of a close and open business relationship between all associated parties,” he said.
Contact
For further information please contact Denise Shaw, Public Relations Manager (Tel: +61 2 8233 8744) or email on sydney.mediarelations@rabobank.com.