Financial advice consolidator One Four Nine Group has launched a wealth arm following its acquisition of a Lancashire-based advice firm and will begin unifying all the other firms it has already bought under one brand.
One Four Nine Group has bought 1st Chartered Financial Planning, a business offering lifestyle financial planning and wealth management services based in Chorley.
Following the deal, 1st Chartered Financial Planning has been rebranded to One Four Nine Wealth.
The company said the launch of One Four Nine Wealth, the financial advice arm of One Four Nine Group, is a “significant step in the firm’s progression” as it begins integrating and rebranding all the financial advice firms it has bought into a unified identity.
1st Chartered Financial Planning is the first firm to rebrand, with other locations to follow.
One Four Nine Wealth will operate alongside One Four Nine Portfolio Management, forming what the company claims is “one of the UK’s leading wealth advisory firms” with an in-house discretionary investment manager.
1st Chartered Financial Planning was established in 1991 by Sylvia Bentham, a certified financial planner through the CISI and a chartered financial planner with the CII and an associate of the Institute of Bankers.
The business, which was named Sylvia Joyce & Associates until 2008, was one of the first firms in the UK – and currently the only one in Lancashire - to achieve accredited financial planning firm status from the CISI.
Gabrielle Beaumont, chief executive of One Four Nine Group, said: “It is particularly exciting to have 1st Chartered Financial Planning turbo-charge our integration and rebranding programme as we officially launch One Four Nine Wealth.
“Sylvia understood and shared our vision to create a unified brand identity across our locations as we build a first-class national wealth advisory and discretionary investment management (DIM) business which is ready to meet the current challenges facing today’s clients. We are in a strong position following a robust period of expansion and I am looking forward to leading the business through this next stage in our evolution.”
The deal marks One Four Nine's ninth acquisition since launching in October 2021 and expands its nationwide footprint further into the north west, having acquired Rice Whatmough Crozier and Charter Financial Planning previously.
The addition of 1st Chartered Financial Planning will increase the number of advisers in the group to 36 and the client numbers to nearly 4,500.
Bentham said: “Choosing the best long-term home for my team and clients has been a significant decision, which is why I am delighted to have joined One Four Nine Group.
“The leadership team shared my values centred on client servicing and staff wellbeing as well as my ambitions to nurture the next generation of financial advisers through training and mentorship.”
amy.austin@ft.com
