Succession Wealth, one of the UK’s largest wealth management and financial planning groups, has acquired DFP Health & Wealth Management, a Plymouth-based independent financial advice business which manages over £165m in assets.  

Founded in 2002, DFP’s team of eleven, all of whom will be joining Succession, provides advice on retirement planning and investments to clients across the south and south-west of England.

This marks Succession Wealth’s 63rd acquisition since 2014 and the third under Aviva ownership, following the purchases of G+E Wealth Management in October 2022 and Spence & Spence in May 2023, it said in a statement today (9 January).

James Stevenson, chief executive officer at Succession Wealth, said: “Glynne and the team have built a fantastic business that we are delighted to welcome on board. Succession Wealth was founded in Plymouth, and we remain as committed as ever to helping clients and high-quality IFA businesses fulfil their financial aspirations right across the UK.

“Our approach to M&A remains the same: only pursuing opportunities where we believe there is genuine strategic value for both parties, not building scale for its own sake.

“In the current environment, a number of high-quality advice firms are looking for a partner that can provide greater assurance to acquisition terms, has a proven track record and a solid balance sheet to acquire and integrate successfully. This is giving Succession Wealth a strong competitive advantage.”

Glynne Dunn, founding director at DFP, said: “The key for us is independence. When meeting potential partners to take the business forward, we wanted to ensure clients would have access to the best solutions on the market. Succession Wealth provides that, as well as the peace-of-mind that comes from their track record of making integrations work – and the financial security of Aviva in the background.”

Meanwhile, Söderberg & Partners yesterday (8 January) said it had taken a minority stake in two UK advice firms as it continues to expand in UK financial services market.

The Swedish wealth manager has made an investment in London wealth management firm Vintage and Croydon-based IFA PK Financial. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Vintage is a group of financial services businesses offering full-service advice to both the corporate and personal market. Its wealth management business has over £1.1bn in funds under management with an employee benefit advice service, private medical brokerage and a small self-administered scheme administration offering.

PK Financial offers independent professional advice to companies and individuals representing £150m funds under management.

These deals are the fifth and sixth acquisitions made by the firm. In 2023, Söderberg & Partners acquired four IFA businesses.