Truinvest, a new consolidator formed by Micky Johal and Mark Smith, has revealed that it aims to secure £1bn in assets under management by the end of its first year in the advice industry.
Mr Johal and Mr Smith founded Truinvest after working together as directors at Mattioli Woods. Mr Johal worked as the director of mergers and acquisitions, while Mr Smith held the position of chief operating officer.
Last year, Truinvest obtained funding from a private family office, which has been used to fuel the firm’s external growth: Truinvest are in the final stages of their second acquisition, and, according to Mr Smith, are in discussions with three further prospective vendors.
Mr Smith commented, “The coronavirus crisis is obviously challenging but because we already have committed funding we are able to continue acquisition discussions, where others have had to pull out of the market. Where a lot of other firms in the sector are putting deals on hold, we are still pushing on.”
The global pandemic has divided consolidators’ attitudes to acquisition activity, with many remaining cautious, but with firms such as Ascot Lloyd, Independent Wealth Planners and Truinvest adopting a ‘business as usual’ approach and continuing with their pipelines.