Euroz Hartleys private wealth team raided by CanaccordAnthony...

Euroz Hartleys private wealth team raided by Canaccord

Anthony Macdonald, Yolanda Redrup and Kanika Sood

Nov 3, 2021 – 2.33pm

There’s been a mass exodus from Euroz Hartleys’ private wealth team.

A group of six people are understood to have jumped ship this week and agreed to join rival firm Canaccord Genuity.

Canaccord Genuity has made a bunch of new hires in its private wealth division.

The most senior of the exits is understood to be 18-year firm veteran Cameron Murray, who has more than 20 years-experience in financial services and was a senior member of the firm.

Murray is understood to be joined by three other senior advisors, including two former associate directors and Euroz Hartleys’ former head of advice.

The departures come less than 18 months after ASX-listed Euroz signed non-binding terms to acquire fellow Perth-based broker Hartleys, in a scrip deal that saw Euroz issues shares to Hartleys’ owners and staff.

It’s understood there’s been some discontentment of late among the Euroz crew, who believed the Hartleys team got a better deal.

It appears Murray’s profile has already been taken down from the Euroz Hartleys website, but a cached version of the page indicated he had joined Euroz Securities in 2003.

Canaccord’s Australian branch is majority owned by Canadian-listed Canaccord Genuity Group Inc, with local staff holding a minority position.

According to Canaccord Genuity’s most recent annual report, the Australian business generated $C245 million ($265 million) revenue in the year to March 31, of which $C62.2 million was from its wealth management practice, and a $C42.9 million profit.

It was a hugely successful year for the Australian practice, as it made the most of a boom in equity capital markets activity and its push into wealth management.

Canaccord’s Australian arm took its first steps to bulk up its private wealth business in May 2019, when it poached three advisors from Melbourne-based Lucerne Investment Partners.

Soon after, it pounced on Perth-based wealth and stockbroking firm Patersons Securities in a $25 million deal and retains a hefty Perth presence. Canaccord Genuity (Australia) CEO Marcus Freeman could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.