It is the company’s objective that this adviser growth will be supplemented, in Quilter Cheviot, by pursuing targeted investment manager recruitment to expand regional coverage.
Master of none?
Aside from advisers’ concerns, Quilter is now beholden to analysts’ briefings, and they can dampen the glow around a newly formed Plc.
In a note circulated ahead of the IPO, David McCann, of the stockbroker and corporate adviser Numis Securities, described Quilter as a “jack of all trades, master of none”.
His note added: “In trying to be all things to all people in the wealth management industry, Quilter lacks focus in our view. As a result, we think it will struggle to become a market-leading vertically integrated player, like St. James's Place. This does not necessarily make Quilter a bad business, just a less valuable one compared to some in our opinion.”
With seven distinct businesses operating across the wealth management value chain, Mr McCann does at least acknowledge Quilter’s diversification, and its ability to capture revenue across the value chain and offer choice.
Quilter’s spokesperson, however, said the company is differentiated from many of its competitors in “the flexibility it offers customers and advisers”.
He added: “Increasingly, customers and advisers are choosing to use more than one of the group’s services. This integration of the group’s propositions offers benefits for both customers and advisers.”
Marcel Le Gouais is a freelance journalist
