Fidelius  

Fidelius acquires Bath-based IFA

Fidelius acquires Bath-based IFA

Chartered financial planning firm Fidelius Group has bought Bath-based financial advisers Robson Taylor IFA for an undisclosed sum.

The deal will bring £105m in assets under management to Fidelius and £780,000 in revenue.

All staff will remain with the business, including principals Paul and Debbie Timmins, but the name of the firm will change to Fidelius. 

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Robson Taylor IFA specialises in retirement planning, investments, savings and protection.

Jim Grant, chief executive of Fidelius Group, said: “I have known Paul and Debbie for many years and have long thought Robson Taylor IFA would be an excellent fit for Fidelius, when the time was right for all parties.

"Paul, Debbie and the team at Robson Taylor IFA have worked very hard to build a great business, which is focussed on valued long-term client relationships, and this fits very well with the Fidelius approach.” 

There will be no changes in the costs to clients of the IFA, Fidelius said, though it added the business would benefit from the economies of scale, technology and administration of the larger firm. 

Paul Timmins, principal of Robson Taylor IFA, said: “Robson Taylor has been part of my life for 20 years. My team, client loyalty and friendships have been at the heart of what we do to provide the best advice.

"Fidelius is an extremely well-respected business with shared client-centred values. With an ever-increasing regulatory burden, we are now looking forward to adopting their services and expertise, benefitting from the economies of scale that Fidelius, as a bigger business, has in place.

"My saved time can be used to focus 100 per cent on servicing my clients, which is the part I enjoy most.” 

Fidelius Group has £1.75bn in assets under advice and 130 staff based in its offices around the UK in Bath, Cheltenham, Chelmsford, Bridgewater, Mansfield and London. 

Last year it agreed a joint venture with asset manager Pacific Asset Management which saw it gain £280m in assets under advice as the two companies took a stake in each other's businesses. 

The deal saw Pacific Asset Management buy Fidelius’ discretionary fund management arm, Parallel Investment Management, and assume responsibility for its model portfolios.

In return two financial planning firms belonging to Pacific, Chartered Financial Management and Zen Wealth, joined the Fidelius group. 

carmen.reichman@ft.com