Alvarium buys into Newton Ross and NZ DIMS

Global wealth management firm Alvarium has bought significant shareholdings of Auckland-based Newton Ross' investment management and NZ DIMS.

Wednesday, May 5th 2021, 12:08PM

by Matthew Martin

Mike Newton.

Newton Ross co-owners Mike Newton and Wayne Ross will continue as shareholders of the company after forming their business back in 2003.

Alvarium Wealth Management in New Zealand is locally controlled but is also part of the wider Alvarium global organisation with $27 billion worth of assets under advice and operations, and has offices around the world.

“Newton Ross has grown over the years and now has a substantial business and client base," says Mike Newton.

"To grow our business effectively from here will require additional resources. This includes bringing on advice capacity, adding to our investment capabilities and beefing up our governance and regulatory response capability."

Newton says increasing expenses means scale is important in a small market like New Zealand.

"Having been approached by potential new partners over the years we feel Alvarium stood out as the right long-term shareholder for our business given their expertise, financial strength and desire to preserve our unique value proposition,” he says.

Alvarium is an independent, boutique global wealth management firm that offers tailored investment solutions for families, foundations, institutions and sovereigns.

The firm advises on $27 billion worth of assets, has more than 220 employees and 28 partners working in 10 offices across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions.

They offer independent investment advice, co-investment partnerships and family office services.

Alvarium Group co-chairman Andrew Williams says Alvarium has built up a strong New Zealand portfolio and operates as a joint venture between Alvarium and Tailorspace.

Tailorspace is the investment arm of the Christchurch-based Ben Gough Family Office.

“We have similar independent advice businesses around the world and are keen to keep growing our presence in that part of the financial services market," says Williams.

"We also understand the importance of scale and are looking for best-fit businesses in New Zealand to help us achieve that. This investment takes us to over $1 billion of FUM in our New Zealand wealth operations,” he says.

Alvarium began in 2009 as LJ Partnership and in 2016 purchased Guggenheim Investment Advisors (Hong Kong, US, Latin America, Switzerland) and Deloitte’s investment advisory business in London.

Since then, it has purchased other wealth management businesses in Switzerland, the UK, France, and local New Zealand fund managers NZAM and Pathfinder Asset Management.

Tags: Alvarium Wealth Newton Ross wealth management platform