Ousted Angus Aitken opens boutique advisory firm

Angus Aitken says he doesn’t want to be a ‘noisy’ broker any more.

Angus Aitken is opening a boutique firm. Picture: John Feder.

Angus Aitken says he doesn’t want to be a “noisy’’ broker — ringing clients to try to generate trading activity on the back of corporate news — any more.

Instead, the former Bell Potter head of institutional sales is setting up business as a boutique adviser, aiming to guide no more than a dozen institutional and high-net-worth clients on long-term investing.

Mr Aitken has set up a business with former Bell Potter colleague John Murray, who is leaving as head of advisory boutique Lonsec to partner in Aitken Murray Capital Advisers from next month.

The pair will hang out their shingle at venture capitalist and pub owner Mark Carnegie’s “campus’’ in the up-market Sydney suburb of Paddington, where they plan to advise clients on long-term investment ideas and provide corporate advice to Australian growth companies.

“If we are not going to be in the city every day and trying to make a noise with institutional clients, then why do we need to go and rent some dog box in the city,’’ Mr Aitken told The Australian.

“I think we can make a living serving a dozen clients really well rather than serving 100 clients ­really badly.”

It is the second business established by Mr Aitken; he also founded Market Animal to focus on developing financial markets media content.

In May this year, he was let go from Bell Potter amid allegations of sexism from ANZ over his comments that the appointment of investment banker Michelle Jablko as the bank’s chief financial officer was among the “dumbest’’ he had seen.

Mr Aitken has settled with Bell but is suing ANZ, its chief executive Shayne Elliott and its communications boss Paul Edwards for defamation, intimidation and misleading and deceptive conduct.

Angus and brother Charlie Aitken made their names as among the highest-profile institutional brokers, starting at US bulge bracket bank Citi, before jumping to Brent Potts’ Southern Cross Equities before it was sold to Bell Potter.

The son of legendary investor John Aitken — who set up the industrial share fund at Perpetual and went on to become the listed investment manager’s chief executive — Angus and brother Charlie were among the “noisiest’’ institutional brokers.

Angus was known for pithy calls on stocks — his last was slapping a sell on ANZ — while Charlie penned the widely-read Ringing the Bell newsletter for Bell Potter.

Having once been anointed as the future of the Bell Financial Group after it bought their Southern Cross Equities brokerage in 2008, the brothers have both left the firm to strike out on their own. Charlie founded Aitken Investment Management with wife Ellie two years ago.

In a message to friends on Sunday, Angus joked that he was being forced back to work after four months of playing house husband.

“Sarah has had enough of me being a house husband, baking Women’s Weekly birthday cakes. Apparently I make too much mess!’’

Mr Murray was a former institutional broker at Bell Potter before decamping to Lonsec when it was bought by Mark Carnegie, and rose to managing director. With Nick Fordham he founded Club Rugby TV and struck a deal to broadcast the NSW Shute Shield competition on the Seven Network.

Aitken said he and Murray shared 50 years of investment experience as well as a similar sense of humour and planned to bring an international perspective to their advice. “We aim to be a unique ‘boutique’ proposition, totally different to all other existing stock­brokers or investment banks,’’ he wrote to friends. “Our advice will be focused on long-term investment themes and making our clients money.’’