The private wealth arm of Goldman Sachs JBWere (GSJBW) has the tough job of rebuilding two regional offices after staff defected en masse to rival companies in the same week.
15 private client advisers walked out of the Adelaide branch on October 30 to join Macquarie Private Wealth. An office manager, one adviser and support staff remained.
Just three days later in Perth 10 advisers, one administration manager and four support staff, defected to join Citi. This left six advisers and seven support staff.
"We don't like it when people leave, but we understand when people leave," GSJBW private wealth management managing director Paul Heath told InvestorDaily.
"My key message is that we are committed to the regional network, we've got people on the ground to ensure we are continuing to service clients . we will be looking to rebuild, therefore this creates good opportunities to advisers who are comfortable with our business model."
The firm has already suffered two corporate raids this year. Its Gold Coast adviser team absconded in March and seven investment advisers, including one of its top Sydney business writers, quit in August.
The departures were motivated by a shift in remuneration from brokerage, suited to clients of all types, to charging large ongoing fees, favouring wealthy and sophisticated investors.
"We feel that our business model delivers great outcomes for clients. Fewer clients means better service," Heath said.
Citi Smith Barney deputy head Trent McCamley said the group had recruited 13 financial advisers and two specialist financial planners from GSJBW's Perth office.
The 15 will join Citi's Perth financial planning hub, making it the largest in Western Australia," McCamley said.
