UK independent financial advisor Conforto Financial Management, which specialises in advising professional sportspeople, has selected Raymond James as its platform provider as part of ongoing expansion plans.

Previously Conforto had used four platform providers, but a growth in assets under management from £50 million ($75.3 million) to £125 million over the past year spurred the firm to look for a single provider to improve efficiency and to support a potential move into providing discretionary services.

“We cannot keep on growing at the pace we are growing without becoming more efficient. The growth of the business is leading us down certain decision paths and this move was inevitable. If we want to deliver our ambition of becoming proactive with clients we have to centralise,” said Mike Walsh, Conforto’s commercial director.

Conforto plans in the long term to build its assets under management to £500 million. As part of its expansion drive, Conforto has increased its staff to 16 over the last year and recently raised £1 million from new and existing investors to finance organic growth and potential acquisitions.

Conforto, which is based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, acquired Hertfordshire-based McCroddan Partnership in July 2008 and Surrey-based Christie Scott’s last October.