The head of Australia's newest investment bank, Barrenjoey Capital's Brian Benari, hopes to emulate success stories such as Bankers Trust and Macquarie by freeing its rainmakers from the shackles of offshore control at the hands of Wall Street, Frankfurt or Zurich.

With the backing of funds management giant Magellan Financial Group and British bank Barclays, Barrenjoey already has a $400 million-plus valuation and will be ready for advisory work as soon as next month.