Scott Carmichael of Escala Partners top financial adviser

Scott Carmichael, from Escala Partners, has emerged as Australia’s top-ranked financial adviser. TOP 50 LIST

Scott Carmichael of Escala Partners. Picture: David Geraghty.

Scott Carmichael from Melbourne-based Escala Partners, a breakaway group from giant Swiss investment bank UBS, has emerged as the top-ranked financial adviser in Australia.

Carmichael, a two-decade veteran of the wealth management industry who works on a portfolio of investments worth more than $900 million, beat a diverse field of advisers who entered the inaugural Top 50 Financial Advisers survey, conducted by The Australian in conjunction with New York-based investment publication Barrons. With the financial adviser industry suffering a series of scandals in recent times and continuing issues over both professional qualifications and commissions, the survey has produced a valuable list for investors and wealth professionals. It is the first time such a survey has been published in Australia.

Following a formula that has been used by Barrons for several decades, advisers answered more than 70 questions.

This is part of a complex survey used each year in the US version of the list. (Barrons is owned by News Corporation, owner of The Australian). Among the winners on the list, financial planners running “single shop” firms feature alongside executives who are on staff at some of the nation’s biggest investment houses, such as AMP and BT.

AUSTRALIA’S TOP 50 FINANCIAL ADVISERS

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Some — but not all — advisers on the list have a minimum account size that limits the number of clients they are willing to take on board.  These can range as high as $1.5m. The minimum account size refers to investable assets, and typically does not include the value of the family home.

The winning advisers often carry multiple qualifications. However, it is the internationally recognised Certified Financial Planner designation that dominates.

Among the top tier in the survey, a second Escala partner, Thomas Murphy, based in Sydney, also makes the grade. Other planners at the pinnacle of their profession include Will Hamilton, a former executive at National Australia Bank’s private bank unit (and a regular contributor to The Australian’s Wealth section), Marc Smith from BT Advice in Brisbane and Phillip Gillard of the Shadforth Financial Group in Sydney.

Melbourne-based winner Carmichael shares the list with advisers from every corner of Australia, from Bunbury in Western Australia to Broadbeach on the Gold Coast — though inevitably there is a large representation of ­planners from the major financial centres of Melbourne and Sydney.

In a male-dominated profession, six women made it into the final list.

Brother and sister Tim and Claire Mackay, from the family-owned Qantum Financial Group, both make the list. With more than $300m under advice these second-generation advisers are among the profession’s elite.

The list also features a fascinating spectrum of professionals who have impressed both clients and peers alike: Dr Doug Turek came to Australia as a chemical engineer from Windsor, Ontario. Turek found Australia’s chemical engineering industry so small his skills were hardly necessary; today he runs a top-ranked advisory boutique from Collins Street, Melbourne.

Brisbane-based Sally Huynh came to Australia from Vietnam when she was nine. Today she represents a double minority in wealth management — a Vietnamese woman who insists that if her clients are married they come to her office as a couple.

Despite the conservative image of advisers as a cohort, the 50 professionals that make up this ranking are as diverse a financial any group you are likely to meet. Marc Smith has worked helping orphans in Zimbabwe. March Minchin of Mosman has spent many hours coaching his wife Chantal, who was an Olympic kayaker. Turek once commissioned a composer to score a “Symphony for the GFC”.

The production of the list highlights connections across the financial services industry: The BT Advice group is owned by Westpac, RetireInvest (RI Alderely) is owned by ANZ, and the Shadforth group is owned by IOOF. Several boutique groups on the list also operate under licences controlled by major institutions.

Despite a strong move towards independence in the financial planning profession, most entrants on the list retain some connection with larger financial groups, typically through licence arrangements, often with dealer groups in turn held by banks and insurers.