Fortitude confirms majority stake in Australia’s top SMSF auditor

Australian private markets investor Fortitude Investment Partners has secured a majority stake in Australia’s largest independent self-managed super fund (SMSF) audit firm, ASF Audits.

Fortitude, a specialist growth capital partner based in Brisbane, was a frontrunner among prospective buyers of the auditing firm, completing due diligence for the acquisition earlier last month.

The PE investment firm said the deal, valued at a reported $31.2 million (or 9.3-times the previous 12 months EBITDA), “has deepened its footprint in the tech-enabled financial services sector”.

The buy-out includes a capital injection, which Fortitude has earmarked for a number of growth objectives, including building out ASF’s technological capabilities, enhancing its service offering, and supporting “future acquisition-led growth”.

Fortitude managing partner Nick Miller said the acquisition would support ASF in “enhancing their customer experience while playing a leading role in the ongoing consolidation of the SMSF assurance industry.”

ASF Audits Managing Director Casey McGrath added that the transaction enables ASF Audits to “embark on a new phase of expansion”.

“Our objective is to sustain our growth trajectory by enhancing our market share both organically and through acquisition. We have strong conviction in the quality of our work, and believe the more SMSFs we audit, the more assurance we can provide to trustees and the SMSF industry itself.”

Headquartered in Adelaide, ASF employs more than 100 staff across Adelaide, Melbourne and just under 50 offshore, and reports more than 200 clients throughout Australia.

The firm, founded in 1994, holds a dominant 7% share of the SMSF audit market.

The SMSF sector is expected to top $1 trillion in assets under management this financial year, representing nearly a quarter of the total assets held by Australia’s superannuation sector.

Australia counts more than 625,000 SMSF accounts as of the end of calendar year 2024, up more than 10% in the last five years.

Fortitude, a lower mid-market private equity investor focused on Australian and New Zealand companies, boasts total investments of more than $350 million, with a “track record” of 23% per annum returns after fees.