Wealth manager Oakglen Wealth is to acquire East Anglia-based Aurea Financial Planning for an undisclosed sum.
It has received FCA approval for the acquisition, which is expected to complete this month.
The expansion marks Oakglen’s transition from purely wealth management into the broader Financial Planning market.
Jamie Crawford, group head of wealth management at Oakglen Wealth, said: “Financial Planning is an increasingly important part of our long-term strategy and Aurea’s reputation, people and client relationships make it an excellent fit for Oakglen. We look forward to working together and building on the strong foundations already in place.”
He added that Oakglen Wealth has seen growth of over 100% and is now approaching break-even.
Under the terms of the deal, Aurea’s existing clients will continue to receive advice from their current adviser, with no changes to client relationships or services currently planned.
Becky Taylor, managing director of Aurea Financial Planning and a former President of the Institute of Financial Planning which merged with the CISI in 2015, said: “This is a positive step for our business, our colleagues and our clients. We look forward to joining Oakglen and continuing to deliver the same high-quality advice and personal service that our clients have come to expect.”
Oakglen recently appointed its first head of artificial intelligence, Louis Theodorou, as it explores the potential opportunities AI could bring to the business.
Mr Theodorou joined Oakglen in September with a background spanning engineering, computer science, machine learning, software development and enterprise AI. He holds an MSc in Computer Science from University College London, with a focus including machine learning, big data and software engineering, and has most recently worked in enterprise AI and digital transformation at SITA.
Mr Crawford said that AI was transforming the way businesses operates and that Oakglen needed to respond to that change.