Wellington-Altus Financial adds senior execs, closes in on strategic equity partner

Winnipeg-based Wellington-Altus Financial Inc. is beefing up its senior management team as its rapid growth continues.

The company is now just shy of $40 billion of assets under administration — after starting from scratch only eight years ago — making it one of the largest firms of its kind in the country.

In the meantime, the private company (owned by management and its network of advisers) is close to landing a strategic equity partner that would reward those shareholders and likely attract more advisers.

Wellington-Altus CEO Shaun Hauser said the three new members of its senior executive team have been brought on to ensure the company has all the tools it needs to continue growing.

“We will do whatever it takes to grow thoughtfully,” he said. “We are not afraid to invest in the business along the way, with the goal of trying to do something really great.”

In addition to adding to senior management, the firm is in the final stages of bringing on a minority equity partner who would own 20 to 30 per cent of the company. Hauser said no deal has yet been done, but expressed optimism it would be completed perhaps within the next few months.

The idea is to bring on a partner with experience and connections in the industry. The investment would not dilute the current equity base, but rather provide cash to monetize the holdings of existing shareholder/advisers.

“This is putting dollars in advisers’ jeans who have been fantastic partners for a long time,” he said.

Hauser said the company is in an enviable position in it has no debt and doesn’t need an injection of capital for operational or growth purposes. “The intention of the transaction is to do a number of things: reward our advisers who believed in us when we were much smaller and had more risk in our model; validate our enterprise valuation, which we think has never really been recognized in the marketplace; and we want to bring on a new partner that comes with a lot of contacts and experience in the business that helps us go to the next level of growth.”

Hauser would not disclose the valuation of the company that’s being sought in the transaction.

The corporate developments are taking place while the company is having the best quarter in its history, even though there is intense market uncertainty as the U.S. threatens the world with imposition of sweeping tariffs.

Hauser said Wellington-Altus advisers do not waver during short-term market gyrations. “We focus on one step ahead and keep an eye on the long term.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca