SYS Financial, the Irish financial services group founded by former Tipperary hurler Tony Delaney, has added three more financial planning practices to its rapidly expanding stable.
BMC Financial Planning, based in Cork, and the Waterford City firm Billy Phelan Financial Services will add €130 million to SYS Financial’s client assets under management.
SYS has also acquired Wicklow financial planner Brendan Toolan’s business book.
“We are delighted to welcome these outstanding firms into SYS Financial. They have built trusted relationships with their clients over many years,” said Delaney.
“Our role is to protect that trust while providing the scale, systems and support that allow advisers and clients alike to feel secure about the future.
“These acquisitions reflect our disciplined, values-led approach to growth and our commitment to long-term continuity rather than short-term expansion.”
Existing clients of the firms will continue to receive personalised financial advice, “with the added benefit of access to SYS Financial’s wider team of specialists, enhanced reporting, and robust compliance and governance framework”, the group said in a statement.
With more deals in the pipeline, SYS has said it is on track to reach €1.3 billion in client assets under management by the end of June.
Consolidation within the financial planning sector has continued apace in recent years. However, SYS, one of the most aggressive buyers of smaller firms, is unusual because it is not backed by private equity.
SYS was founded in 2015 by Delaney (54), who spent more than two decades with New Ireland, initially as a financial adviser, before a long period as a regional sales manager. He is the chief executive of the group as well as the controlling shareholder alongside his wife, Elaine.
Outside the financial world, he was on the winning team in 11 county and three Munster hurling championships with Toomevara GAA club in Co Tipperary.