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Sequoia buys YBR's wealth division

Yellow Brick Road (YBR) has sold its Wealth Division, which includes life insurance, to Sequoia Financial Group.

The transaction, agreed in December, involves the sale of YBR Wealth’s share of recurring revenue from its wealth advice and life insurance distribution business. It includes an offer to YBR’s wealth advisers to become authorised under Sequoia subsidiary InterPrac Financial Planning.

“The transaction will simultaneously enhance Sequoia’s wealth management business and YBR’s mortgage distribution business,” Sequoia says in a statement.

The purchase price was $2.5 million cash in four instalments over 18 months.

Sequoia will act as the preferred referral partner of wealth advice and services for the YBR Group’s 1400-strong mortgage broker network.

YBR announced in May last year that it would offload, outsource or restructure its wealth division, including life insurance, with Group CEO Frank Ganis leaving as a result.

Executive Chairman Mark Bouris has said the wealth business lacked scale in an increasingly regulated environment and the company will now focus on the mortgage market.