Independent Wealth Planners (IWP), the nationwide group of independent financial advisers, has continued its rapid expansion with the acquisition of mother-daughter financial planning firm, Acuity Wealth Management (AWM).
The deal boosts IWP’s assets under administration by GBP85 million, adding a further 228 clients in the process. Daniel Bisby, head of the financial services team at law firm Schofield Sweeney, acted on AWM’s behalf throughout the acquisition.
Yorkshire-based AWM is headed up by Janet Comrie and her daughter Sarah Dougal and is one of the few mother-daughter independent advice practices in the UK. The pair, both financial planners, have worked together for more than two decades, amassing over 50 years’ financial planning experience between them. They are supported by four administrative staff and a paraplanner, all of whom will remain in place as part of the acquisition.
AWM becomes the founding representative of IWP Advisory Services, the Group’s direct-to-consumer channel, marking a significant step in IWP Group’s development. IWP Advisory Services will provide independent financial advice to customers who are unable to travel to their local office or prefer to deal with an adviser virtually.
Janet Comrie, director and financial planner at AWM says: “By partnering with IWP we can give our clients the best of both worlds. The adviser to client relationship is built on a mutual trust, and so a local and personalised service proves invaluable. The acquisition means the close-knit relationships we’ve fostered with our clients can be complemented by the scale and resource of IWP whose centralised support will free up more time for us to focus on helping our clients achieve their financial goals.”
