// Local fintech PictureWealth has completed a $12M late-seed funding round, a mix of debt and private equity, and bought a financial solutions business…
Picture Wealth Holdings Ltd (“PictureWealth”), a two-year old Perth-based fintech, has closed a A$12m late-seed funding round, also acquiring financial services licensee, NEO Financial Solutions (“NFS”) for an undisclosed sum.
NFS becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of PictureWealth and NFS MD Mark Edman will also take on the Group COO role.
The aligned vision is to grow the company whilst improving the tech’s client experience.
Within its first two years of commercial operation PictureWealth has grown rapidly to $20M annual revenues, with $2B of funds under advice and over 40,000 clients.
Co-founded by CEO David Pettit, a long-term private wealth innovator, the business now has its sights set on reinventing the financial advisory and superannuation landscape in Australia.
The Chair, Neal Cross is a globally recognised fintech and social entrepreneur.
“We are super excited about completing this transaction and welcoming the NFS clients and staff into the PictureWealth family,” said Neal Cross, Co-Founder and Chair of PictureWealth.
“Mark is a world-class talent and is joining our journey to digitally transform the entire industry, one financial planning business at a time.
“We have built an engine of innovation that enables us to rapidly onboard new financial advisors, optimise how they run their business and give customers a best in class digital platform while at the same time helping them to reduce their product related fees.”
Neal Cross
David Pettit told Startup News that he is passionate about managing both money and personal health, believing there is an intrinsic link between the two.
“For me, it’s always about the people,” David said.
“We found that the leadership team at NFS shared our outlook on the future of financial advice and we wanted to align to take the companies forward together.
“That’s why we felt acquiring NFS with its robust compliance protocols was the way forward so that we could offer advisers and their clients a new home amidst very turbulent market conditions.
“Many financial advisers have spent their entire lives building a business that is now worth less than expected, or in some cases nothing at all.
David Pettit
“This is due to a number of reasons, but primarily the new education requirements from FASEA means they have to have a degree level qualification and many older advisors are just not willing or unable to spend another 4 years studying to get the new qualification.”
Mark Edman, Managing Director of NFS, and now COO of PictureWealth said, “This acquisition allows a unified and streamlined approach to provide consumers an accessible personalised service.
“[This] will assist in lifting the financial barrier many consumers may experience as the industry evolves. A great combination of real people with technology.
“At the same time, we will be releasing a range of value-added services to make the lives of financial advisers easier so they can spend more time helping their clients achieve financial happiness”
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For more, visit PictureWealth.
MAIN Image: from left to right Neal Cross, David Pettit and Mark Edman.
