Mattioli Woods targets IFAs for acquisition

AIM-listed pensions advisory firm Mattioli Woods could target IFA firms for acquisition as part of its expansion and plans to branch out into offering consultancy services to IFAs.

Mattioli Woods recently bought pension administration service City Trustees from Lighthouse and pensions consultancy firm Cooper Parry Pensions (CPP), and chairman Bob Woods (pictured) said it could now target advisers.

‘Now we have a separate advice proposition it widens the scope for IFA acquisitions,' he said.

Woods said he wanted to engage more closely with advisory firms in the run up to the retail distribution review (RDR).

This would include a consultancy function on pensions and tax issues to support IFAs alongside bespoke and white labelled Sipp and SSAS offers.

‘We have a core of advice and administration. City Trustees is a strong administrative platform and there is now a strong opportunity to introduce someone to IFA business who, for example, understands the tax and pensions regime.’ said Woods.

‘At core we would be a competitor with IFAs and now we would like not to be just a competitor but offer support to advisers using City Trustees.’

The chairman added that the firm would also continue to look for opportunities in employee benefits business but said that conditions were not yet right for expansion.

‘We are not progressing as fast as we would like…There is an enormous amount of work we can do for corporate defined benefit (DB) schemes, a lot of Sipp business would fall put of schemes like that for key executives. But the size of the deficits presents a huge problem.’

Mattioli Woods acquired CPP in April for £1.2 million and City Trustees in August for £1.9 million.