Investment platform OpenInvest has secured long-term financial support from a Melbourne-based family office and will continue to pursue deals with advice firms involved in intergenerational wealth transfer.
OpenInvest chief executive Andrew Varlamos said the firm has attracted the financial backing of the Tayside Group, which is the family office of the Smith family, which previously held a majority stake in PFD Food Services.
Tayside stated OpenInvest’s ability to configure and support online solutions for investment managers, advice firms, online brokers and banks to deliver professional portfolio management to any investor was a key driver for its involvement.
“Highly scalable online platforms like OpenInvest obviously have very appealing economics, which make them wonderful investment opportunities, but we were also very much attracted by the mission and purpose of the OpenInvest team to develop a platform that allows all Australians to obtain simple and lower-cost online access to professional portfolio management,” a Tayside representative said.
“This is a crucial element in helping all Australians to improve their financial position and experience a greater sense of financial well-being.”
Varlamos said with the support of Tayside, OpenInvest would continue to add to the 31 firms currently using its white-label investment solution, noting the shifts in the market due to greater choice and the need to assist new investors who will be part of the predicted generational wealth transfer of $3.5 trillion by 2050.
“International experience, particularly in the US, shows we are now entering a new era of wealth management, one where individuals are free to choose from an increasing array of high-quality providers offering online access to their portfolio management expertise and content,” he said.
“Major US brands like Morgan Stanley, Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab, as well as every US retail bank of any size, present their online portfolio solutions as a more sensible way for retail customers to invest, as compared to encouraging them to try their luck with online share trading.
“It’s a pretty simple and logical message, really: no matter how much or how little money you have, now you can invest with the experts, within a few minutes, all via a few clicks.”
