Kepa takes stake in member business

Adviser group Kepa has entered an alliance with Financial Design Group, taking a 20% stake in the business.

Wednesday, April 18th 2018, 10:37AM

The group will inject capital to help managing director Mat Page, son of Kepa's outgoing chief executive Jeff Page, and other directors, build the company's reputation for insurance, mortgage and financial planning advice.

Kepa chairman David Johnstone will join the FDG board. He said it was the second such investment by the group in a Kepa member’s and would allow Page to focus on building relationships with clients and helping them to manage their insurance, mortgage and financial planning needs.

“Kepa succeeds when our members succeed. Through these partnerships we are helping strong and entrepreneurial advisory groups achieve their growth ambitions. The programme is leading to a sharing of financial adviser expertise and increasing collaboration across the Kepa network for the benefit of all our members and clients.”

Kepa invested in Mortgage Lab in October, which is now putting its advisers in the offices of Kepa members around the country that do not have a mortgage advisory practice.

Johnstone said FDGand Mortgage Lab continued to use Kepa’s support services on an arm’s-length basis, allowing them to deploy the solutions that best suited their business.

Page said the investment was an opportunity to learn from Kepa.

“We have benefited from the use of its support services including its customer relationship management, compliance and business development tools, as well as leveraging its national brand.

“Now, thanks to this enhanced level of cooperation and the strategic advice provided by David and his team, we are already making good headway on our strategic objectives. We have added an FDG presence in Whangarei, Wellington and Christchurch and we are now targeting the recruitment of several other advisers through this year.”

Tags: Kepa