Crestone was established by client advisers, senior management and employees of UBS Wealth Management Australia Limited in May 2015 and is expecting to complete the purchase of UBS Wealth Management Australia Limited around the end of March 2016. Crestone will introduce the Avaloq Banking Suite as its fully integrated back, middle and front office banking functionalities combined with customised business solutions as the IT backbone of the company.
The new company’s strong ambitions include the implementation of a powerful IT set-up to ensure high efficiency from the outset, while also providing the flexibility to support future growth.
Mike Chisholm, Chief Executive Officer for Crestone, says, "This is an exciting time for Crestone. The industry landscape is changing at a rapid pace and this acquisition presents an extraordinary opportunity for us to build on a heritage with more than 75 years of wealth management in Australia. Strategic partnerships such as the one we established in June with Avaloq will enable us to offer our clients wealth management advice and portfolio management solutions that are both agile and scalable, covering a wide range of asset classes both locally and internationally. A number of Crestone management participated in a comprehensive study of global wealth management platforms at UBS and we have used that background to select Avaloq as the best fit for our new business where we are making a significant investment in technology."
Mike Chisholm continues, "Technology has proven to be the pillar of growth for many global wealth managers. Crestone’s early engagement with Avaloq during the business set-up is critical to us offering a great client experience. Over time we will build on the foundations available to us in Avaloq and enhance this experience in a digital sense. We are investing in a solution to guarantee high efficiency and boost profitability."
Peter Scott, General Manager Asia Pacific for Avaloq, says, "We are delighted to be supporting Crestone’s extensive and strategic business growth plans from day one and welcome them into our international community. We are confident that they will benefit from having access to the global industry expertise and experience our community provides."
Nick Frolich, Regional Director Avaloq Australia, continues, "The already existing localisation of the Avaloq solution will be of great value – particularly in a market such as Australia, where the regulatory framework provides an ongoing and costly challenge for the banking industry. By implementing an industry standard solution to deal with such regulation, valuable time, energy and money can be saved, enabling that resource to be directed toward client service and business growth."
