It’s rare for a financial planning practice to have been operating since the last century, but a handful have stood the test of time. One of them, Alman Partners, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year – a notable milestone.
Alman Partners celebrated the milestone with a gala event for its team and clients at the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre.
A Brief History
Started in Mackay, Qld, by Scott Alman as Scott Alman Insurance & Investment in 1985, the business evolved into the partnership Seymour & Alman Insurance & Investment when Jim Seymour joined in 1987.
In 1994, Scott and Jim embraced a true financial advice model – as Mackay Financial Planners. Scott then became a CFP® professional in 1996.
The business brought on specialists as needed, including Stephen Lowry CFP® as general manager (and later partner) in 1998.
“Bringing in the right people at the right times was really pivotal,” said Kerri Wallace, Alman Partners’ creative and executive director.
In 1999 Scott Alman Financial Planning was formed and soon after Frances Easton CFP® (retired) joined, followed by Teneale Laister CFP® and Paul Shepherd CFP®; all became partners with Frances stepping down as partner and becoming a consultant in 2023. Paul became general manager in 2024 as Steve moved into the role of chair.
Growth and Expansion
In 2021, three additional owners were added – Niyati Khanna CFP®, Jason Kirk CFP®, and Matthew Falzon, followed by two more in 2023 (Kelsey Dent CFP® and James Alexander CFP®).
Alman Partners currently has 32 employees, including 12 advisers, technical specialists, client services officers and three c-suite executives.
Kerri has been with the business for 14 years, working in a variety of roles from receptionist to client service officer, project management, marketing and events and now creative director and executive officer.
Alman expanded in 2020 to open an office in Brisbane to help service clients that had moved into the Queensland capital. This also meant being able to attract more talent into the business. “Getting qualified advisers and keeping them in the regional space has been a challenge for us over the years,” Kerri said.
“But now that we do have our Brisbane presence, we are able to attract more talent to our Brisbane office and keep them.
“The Brisbane office has also benefited from existing client referrals and professional networks such as accountants, solicitors, mortgage brokers, and anyone around the profession we work in.”
The two offices operate as one firm with technology like Zoom and Teams meetings allowing the teams to work together. It’s possible that a Mackay client might have a Brisbane adviser, although the company tries to match an adviser with the client’s location.
Client Base and Recognition
In Mackay, many clients are from the mining industry and are FIFO workers. The majority of clients are around retirement age, but there are accumulators also.
Alman Partners talks at a lot of public forums, providing case studies and scenarios which step potential clients through the challenges they might face in their industry and how financial planning might help them.
The business has won a slew of awards including FAAA Professional Practice of the Year in 2022.
“The year that we won it, we were coming off of the back of a lot of implementation around our systems and processes, really perfecting our interpersonal skills. We utilise a programme called Heartstyles and that has been instrumental in getting the team that we have today,” Kerri said.
“It really allows you to become the best version of yourself and that definitely benefits our team and our clients.”
Looking Ahead
The company is focusing on growth for the next 12 months and there are plans around onboarding new team members, embedding more processes, making things as easy for the team possible, while still maintaining a high level of standards and compliance.
Alman Partners has been part of the FAAA Professional Practice Network since 2013.
