BOUTIQUE Perth corporate advisory firm PCF Capital is firming up plans for an early 2012 launch of a stock broking division.
PCF intends to provide services to institutional clients and sophisticated investors, putting it in direct competition with other local advisers, many of which started in the broking sector.
PCF founder Liam Twigger said Trevor Benson had joined him from Argonaut earlier this year to undertake the administrative work required for entry into the broking sector. A research analyst has been hired from mining giant Alcoa and PCF was now seeking institutional dealers.
The move reflects growing diversification within the state’s increasingly competitive but active advisory sector. Boutique rival Azure Capital has announced the launch of a management consulting business and has also poached Adrian Arundell from KPMG to develop its investment-banking capability in the private companies sector.
Argonaut has gone for geographic reach, opening an office in the increasingly important Hong Kong market.
And new players are also emerging. Former Euroz director Karl Paganin earlier this year established an Australian corporate finance presence in Perth for listed Canadian financial services group GMP.
Mr Twigger said PCF had developed stronger links with the broking market via a recent alliance with CIBC in Toronto, but felt that it needed that capacity in Australia to round out its offering and take full advantage of the market here.
“The next logical step for us was stock broking,” he said.
PCF is no stranger to diversification. Two years ago it launched the MinesOnline.com website, which provides a platform for the sale of smaller assets that generally fall below the investment banking threshold.
Mr Twigger said the site, now half owned by the Toronto Stock Exchange, had been very successful, with 20 deals in the past 12 months.
