An increased demand for advice and “high quality” acquisitions have proven to be the key to success for Mattioli Woods.

The Leicester headquartered wealth manager reported a 56.9 percent increase in pre-tax profits to £8 million and a 72.8 percent increase in revenues to £108.2 million in the year ended 31 May 2022.

Group managing director Michael Wright told thewealthnet it has “definitely been a year we are proud of”.

And the firm expects its progress to continue.

Having spent a significant amount of time developing young talent, “we have always got capacity to move with the markets,” Mr Wright said.

This may sound counterintuitive given we are in a period of negative market movements. However, Mattioli Woods believes this is where its advice proposition can show its strength.

 “When investments are down people want a lot more advice.

“You need to have more advisers to be able to go out and capitalise on that opportunity.”

He said this has been the “real secret” to Mattioli Wood’s organic growth, which was up 10 percent from £56.6 million to £62.2 million.

The firm’s revenue is split roughly in half between investment management related income and advice related income, which allows it to “ride economic storms far better than similar businesses,” chief financial officer Ravi Tara added.

It is not just organic growth that contributed to Mattioli Wood’s positive results.

The acquisition of Maven Capital Partners has helped expand its offering, particularly in relation to private equity.

In any acquisition, culture comes first, Mr Wright stressed. “We want to deliver great results for great clients.” This ethos is kept at the centre of the acquisition process.

With Maven, the two businesses had known each other for a long time. The seniors at Maven were also clients of Mattioli Woods, so both firms were comfortable with what they were agreeing to.

“It is an entirely different but complementary business,” Mr Wright explained.

So far, it has integrated well.

While many worry acquisitions can stifle the growth of the company being bought, Mr Tara argued this acquisition actually “fuelled its momentum” and helped its growth.

It is already contributing positively to revenues and is expected to continue on this trajectory.

Mattioli Woods’ scale and client base should help with this.

Mr Wright explained that Maven was a “product development specialist but had limited distribution capabilities.”

Combining the two firm’s strengths should prove beneficial to all parties.

The firm also acquired Ludlow Wealth Management during the period, which Mr Wright believes had “untapped potential and value”. As it further integrates into Mattioli Woods, this potential is expected to be realised.

Mattioli Wood’s headcount increased 27.8 percent in the year, from 663 to 847. This was largely due to the Maven and Ludlow Wealth Management acquisitions, but still presented an organisational and cultural challenge.

Remaining agile and being able to adapt quickly helped make this a success, Mr Tara explained.

Equally, having capacity is crucial. Integration simply will not work if the person responsible for it is also focusing on three or four other jobs.

Capacity gives everyone thinking space and helps to create operational resilience, Mr Wright argued.

“We are certainly not complacent about how difficult the world could potentially become in the next 12 to 24 months,” Mr Wright stressed.

“However, what we are confident in is that we have the basics mastered and have the tools to continue developing through these times.”