15th Aug 2008
Otto Buttula becomes executive chairman.
11th Nov 2008
Aequs capital and Findlay Securities announce merger scheme. Consideration is Findlay shares. Aequs’s principal activity is providing share trading and investment services including merger, acquisition and equity capital markets advice and services to corporations and financial institutions in Australia.
26th Nov 2008. Future direction
AGM Presentation statement. (Text taken from FDY 2008 Annual Report)
“We at Findlay Securities will continue to build a new leadership team, developing a strategy intended to rejuvenate the Company, taking advantage of the marketplace which we believe affords considerable opportunity given the dislocation of financial markets, ongoing capital scarcity and the need for scale. Overriding objectives of our Rejuvenation Strategy include:
i) further developing and growing Findlay’s recurring revenue streams;
ii) markedly expanding the Company’s strategic and commercial footprint (or ‘sphere of influence’), i.e., the Takeover Offer for Aequs Capital and
iii) cultivating top quartile stakeholder returns – thereby providing a more attractive future outlook for all of our stakeholders, including our employees, clients and shareholders. Our aim over ensuing years will be to become a Company renowned for providing stakeholders with better opportunities, higher investment returns and hence greater satisfaction in their experiences in dealing with our Company”
29th June 2009
Findlay changed name to Investorfirst.
6th July 2009
Brett Spork Appointed Managing Director and CEO of Investorfirst Limited (Formerly CEO of E*Trade Australia)
22nd July 2009
Mark Zworestine appointed as Chief Financial Officer (previously CFO for E*TRADE Australia between 1999 and its takeover by ANZ in 2007)
1st September 2009. First wholesale broking agreement signed
Investorfirst Limited (ASX: INQ) announced today its wholly owned subsidiary, ANZIEX Limited (‘ANZIEX’), has entered into a wholesale broking services agreement with Trader Dealer Online, a subsidiary of MDS Financial Group Limited (ASX: MWS). The agreement will allow Trader Dealer Online to execute and clear ASX market orders through ANZIEX, providing a seamless transaction for shares, warrants and options orders. Commenting on the formalisation of the transaction, Brett Spork, CEO of Investorfirst said, “The execution of the wholesale trading agreement with Trader Dealer Online is a great initial milestone for the newly restructured Investorfirst Group and in line with our strategy to leverage the ANZIEX back office administration functions to wholesale clients wishing to utilise their own head brand.”
(exgeo comment: This sounds a lot like the “white label” share trading service previously offered by IWL to me).
“We hope that this is the first of several wholesale relationships the Group expects to enter into, thereby leveraging off our in-house settlement and clearing expertise.
Damian Isbister, CEO of MDS Financial Group said “We are excited to be working with online broking pioneers, Brett Spork and Otto Buttula and look forward to the continuing rapid expansion of Trader Dealer Online.”
31 Aug 2009. Preliminary Final Report Commentary
“The primary focus of our strategic plan for FY10 is to strongly build our revenues (targetting growth of 100%). This is envisaged to be achieved by through cementing several selected and current strategic initiatives, including successfully closing targeted acquisitions, recruiting higher yielding personnel, and establishing wholesale broking service relationships, leveraging from our highly scaleable platform.”
Financial results are pretty meaningless given the deck-clearing and change of business direction (formerly Findlay traders would day-trade using the company’s capital, for example).
INQ Background info
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Senior management:
Otto Buttula, Andrea Steele, Paul Clarke (all formerly with IWL before CBA takeover). Brett Spork, Mark Zworestine (both formerly of ETrade Australia before takeover by ANZ)
Management Shareholdings:
Otto Buttula: 22,000,000 ordinary shares (13.6% of issued capital of 162m shares, as at 30th June 2009)
IWL Background info
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Prior to joining INQ Mr Buttula co-founded and was Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of IWL Limited (ASX: IWL), a company which listed on the ASX in 1999 at a market capitalisation of $48 million, before its takeover by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) in 2007 at a market capitalisation of approximately $372 million.
[exgeo commentary] Under Mr Buttula, IWL was highly acquisitive, building up a group focussed on back-office trade processing, company research and both “white-label” and own-brand (Sanford Securities) online share trading (IWL currently still provides the share-trading for Bankwest and NAB, using the same website as the former Sanford Securities). It looks to me that Mr Buttula is going to use the vehicle of INQ to construct another IWL, based on the acquistion and first wholesale broking agreement to date, management team assembled and stated management objectives. A case of “back the jockey” IMHO.
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