Berkshire Capital Enters Australian Market, Announces AsiaPac Vice Chairman

Vanessa Doctor

7 December 2010

New York investment boutique Berkshire Capital Securities has established a new office in Sydney as it seeks to tap Australia's rising number of wealthy individuals.

"Given the size of the opportunity, and with good growth prospects generated by compulsory superannuation, the Australian industry will be a magnet for M&A activity," Bruce Cameron, the firm's co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement.

Berkshire Capital specialises in providing advice on mergers and acquisitions to firms operating in the investment and wealth management sectors. Since the company started in the early 1980s, it has established offices in London, Denver, and now, Sydney, and has completed over 240 transactions. The company said setting up in Australia presents a huge growth opportunity as the country is now the fourth largest in the world in terms of pool of assets' size available for management.

"We expect Australian institutions to look offshore to broaden their investment management capabilities. Second, we are aware of considerable interest from overseas firms wanting to participate more fully in Australia; and third, over time, we expect further activity in the boutique sector locally as it matures and by necessity focuses more on generational change," added Cameron.

The new Sydney office will be led by Ian Martin as vice chairman for Asia Pacific. Martin is a former chief executive of BT and head of global investment management at Bankers Trust. He was also the inaugural chairman of the IFSA, now the Financial Services Council.