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Catalpa is the change Australians want to see in financial services.
We are a new generation licensee community enabling independent advice.
Our financial advisers are independent and unbiased, serving only their clients.
Together, we are setting a new standard of professional advice to everyday Australians.
The Catalpa story
The Catalpa was a vessel that brought freedom and independence.
In the mid 1860s, a group of men in Ireland stood up for their rights, their values, their independence. The British authorities didn’t approve and imprisoned them in one of the most remote parts of the world; Fremantle prison, Australia.
From there they planned one of the most audacious escapes in Australian history. In 1876, independence came in the shape of a whaleship called ‘Catalpa’.
And it’s the inspiration for our AFSL, Catalpa, which is enabling independent advice.
Like the group in Ireland all those years ago, we value our freedom and independence.
Because in our experience true excellence comes from choosing your own adventure.
Enabling independent advice
We are the change our clients want to see in financial services.
Our financial advisers are independent and unbiased, serving only their clients, and their clients alone. There are no other vested interests.
Our advisers do not receive any insurance commissions or any gifts or benefits from product providers. They have no associations with product providers, and they have no restrictions on the products they can recommend.
More than a licensee
Our founders share a common heritage, as financial planners employed within a large institution.
We came to the realisation that there is a better way to serve our clients. A way of working that is blind to vested interests, where the client has the loudest voice in the room, and we are free to serve our clients, and our clients alone.
We are much more than just another Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) holder. We are a community with passion. We have a common vision of the future, shared values, beliefs and experiences.
And that vision is to set a new standard of professional advice delivered to everyday Australians.
Growth partnerships
Our business model is simple. Free of any investment product conflicts, we ultimately provide independent financial advice that is always in the clients’ best interests.
Our principal advisers are self-employed business owners with the majority stake in their professional practices. Catalpa takes a minority non-controlling stake in the member practice, providing capital and expertise as growth partners with a long-term perspective.
Our member practices share support services at cost, including professional education, product research, technical support and professional frameworks to deliver on client outcomes.
But above all else, we are a community that shares our experience as growth partners. We have a track record of quickly establishing highly successful professional practices from scratch. We specialise in partnering with ex-institutional advisers in start-up practices. We help them identify the characteristics of their ideal client, the messages that resonate, define a client value proposition, design service offers and devise business development and go-to-market strategies that work.
A better way.
At Catalpa we came to the realisation that there is a better way to serve our clients. A way of working that is blind to vested interests, where the client has the loudest voice in the room, and we are free to serve our clients, and our clients alone.