Mason Stevens a platform with HNW investment DNA

As Australia’s wealth management landscape evolves, more financial advice practices are pivoting toward High Net Worth (HNW) clients. This shift aligns with findings from recent ASX financial reports, which highlight a rebalancing of clients to focus on those with more significant investible capital.

While a strategy to move the client profile needle upwards is understandable and desirable, the challenge for advisers is meeting the reality that HNW clients not only have higher balances with respect to investible capital, but they also have higher expectations about what their financial advisers can and should deliver.

Recent research undertaken by Investment Trends highlights record growth in the number of HNW investors in Australia, who are now focusing on strategies that balance capital growth with wealth preservation to navigate challenging economic conditions.

The Investment Trends research, released in early September, found that the number of HNW individuals had risen by 8.7% over the past year to 690,000 collectively controlling $3.4 trillion in investable assets.

Investment-focused platform business, Mason Stevens, has identified some key characteristics that financial advisers should consider when servicing HNW clients:

• Sophisticated needs: HNW clients often have more complex financial needs, including tax optimisation, estate planning, and philanthropy.

• High expectations: They expect a high level of service, transparency, and personalised advice.

• Diverse portfolios: HNW clients typically seek diverse investment options, including private market investments, equity and debt capital market deal flow and unlisted assets.

• Long-term relationships: Building trust and maintaining long-term relationships is crucial in servicing this segment effectively.

Mason Stevens’ head of distribution, Nick Mitchell said that the rapid growth of the HNW segment was creating a dynamic environment driven by people with large amounts of wealth outside of superannuation and their real estate holdings.

“That presents a genuine opportunity for advisers to service and support clients as they go on their investment journey and that investment journey is going to be a different journey than that taken by a retail client,” he said.

Mason Stevens’ strength in working with financial advisers who service HNW clients stems from its deep background in investments. Chief executive officer Tim Yule emphasises that they approach the platform market from a different perspective, one focused on optimising investment outcomes for advisers and their clients.

“We have a strong focus on investment outcomes and helping our advisers optimise those outcomes for their clients. Our platform technology is focused on the delivery of sophisticated investment solutions for advisers and their clients, and we complement that with the delivery of scalable capabilities through managed accounts to help advice practices to thrive.”

“We provide an extensive suite of investment options and services, including access to all asset classes such as equity exchanges globally, true multi-currency capability, real time execution, small denomination over the counter fixed income securities, and access to alternative investments,” Yule explained.

Discussing the characteristics of HNW clients, Jacqueline Fernley, chief investment officer at Mason Stevens told Financial Newswire that the research suggests that advisers need to be conscious of having the ability to deliver a bespoke offering.

“That cohort of investors do like to have a level of personalisation in their portfolio – a bespoke portfolio – and the problem with delivering bespoke solutions to a HNW client is that the compliance burden is high and the ability to scale your operation is limited,” she said.

Mason Stevens works with financial advice businesses to construct wholesale investment offerings including Managed Accounts (MAs) and bespoke portfolio solutions, allowing advisers to offer differentiated, personalised strategies that appeal to HNW clients seeking greater control, tax efficiency, and diversified returns.

Mitchell said that advisers servicing HNW clients tended to operate as a connector and facilitator and sat at the core of a network of experts from accounting, tax, legal and investing.

From the perspective of a HNW adviser, clients in this segment aren’t always solely focused on chasing returns. Many interactions revolve around understanding the dynamics of the family group and how they intersect with business, succession planning, and estate strategies. The focus is often on delivering a comprehensive strategic advice framework rather than just focusing on investment performance.

So, it’s critical that financial advice practices have scalable offerings so they can service the investment needs of their clients and also have time to develop that relationship.

“We make it easy for financial advice practices to access everything they need to service HNW clients—from private market deal flow to IPO access, direct bond investments, and white-label portfolio solutions. It’s a one-stop shop,” said Fernley. “We also provide support through tailored OCIO services, ensuring advisers have everything they need to scale their offering and deliver value to their clients.”

This combination of platform capabilities, investment expertise, and OCIO services position Mason Stevens as a partner for advisers looking to expand their business in the HNW space.

Content Partnership sponsored by Mason Stevens

About Mason Stevens

Mason Stevens is a leading provider of integrated wealth platform technology that uniquely focuses on investor portfolio outcomes. More than just an administration platform, the innovative technology, paired with experienced investment specialist support, empowers advisers to deliver on their clients’ investment objectives via an unconstrained investment universe.

Established in 2010, the privately owned firm has circa A$8 billion of assets on platform. Led by some of Australia’s most experienced finance and investment professionals, the company has over 80 staff nationally with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. It’s known for its investment capability, forming genuine partnerships with clients, and unlocking new growth opportunities for wealth practices.

To find out more about how we can help you grow and scale your wealth practice, visit our website or contact us here.