Case Study: Wealth Management Transformation — Separation and Renewal at Scale

Overview

A leading Australian wealth management firm faced the formidable task of separating from its former parent, one of the country’s largest banks. The program was not a simple carve-out. It was a $430 million, multi-year transformation requiring the organisation to establish its own independent operations, systems, governance, and culture, while simultaneously modernising its platforms to compete as a standalone in a fast-changing wealth management market.

Transformativ was engaged to provide senior transformation leadership, reshaping the program strategy, introducing disciplined execution, and guiding high-stakes delivery. Our role included clarifying the end-state vision, establishing governance across more than 40 workstreams, and ensuring that critical customer-facing initiatives progressed alongside structural separation.

The Challenge

The separation required execution on three fronts simultaneously:

1. Disentanglement from the Parent Bank

   • Transition away from 36 Transitional Service Agreements (TSAs).

   • Stand up independent functions across finance, HR, risk, compliance, technology, and data.

   • Avoid disruption across millions of customer accounts and adviser relationships.

2. Regulatory and Market Pressure

   • Meet strict regulatory timelines for independence.

   • Reassure the market and retain inflows during a period of uncertainty.

   • Demonstrate a credible growth strategy while executing separation.

3. Modernisation Imperative

   • Replace legacy technology with modern cloud-based infrastructure.

   • Relaunch and expand wealth platforms to remain competitive.

   • Build data analytics capability to improve customer insights and product innovation.

These pressures reflected broader market dynamics — with global wealth managers also being pushed to modernise and meet rising digital expectations from both advisers and clients (BCG: Global Wealth Report 2023).

The Approach

Transformativ’s role was to provide leadership and program discipline that converted a sprawling separation into a structured, investable transformation.

1. Strategic Roadmap & Target Operating Model

• Redefined the separation as a journey towards independence and renewal.

• Designed a target operating model specifying which functions to build in-house, which to outsource, and which to redesign for agility.

• Sequenced complex cutovers with minimal business risk, balancing short-term separation deadlines with long-term growth aspirations.

2. Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO)

• Established a $430M portfolio governance structure.

• Integrated workstream plans across technology, operations, product, and customer.

• Introduced risk and dependency tracking across 40+ streams.

• Built steering committee cadence with direct C-suite sponsorship, enabling quick decisions on issues with customer, regulatory, or financial impact.

Separation programs of this scale required rigorous governance frameworks, echoing proven approaches for carve-outs outlined in PwC’s separation readiness guidance.

3. Delivery of Critical Business Initiatives

• Relaunched a flagship investment platform with $32M in functional upgrades to enhance adviser tools and attract new inflows.

• Directed the development of a new wrap platform — the first in the Australian wealth market in a decade — providing advisers and customers with a cutting-edge digital experience.

• Ensured these major launches aligned to the broader separation milestones, so innovation did not stall in the face of structural upheaval.

4. Technology & Data Transformation

• Oversaw migration of critical applications to the cloud for greater scalability and resilience.

• Introduced modern data management practices, building analytics capability for product design and customer insight.

• Coordinated the exit from 36 TSAs, balancing sequencing, vendor contracting, and customer service continuity.

5. Stakeholder and Market Engagement

• Orchestrated engagement with regulators to de-risk compliance and demonstrate control.

• Managed communications with the parent bank to mitigate dependency risk.

• Aligned leadership and frontline teams to a single transformation narrative.

• Drew on Transformativ’s partner network to inject specialist expertise at critical moments (e.g., payments, regulatory reporting, and cloud architecture).

The Outcome

By late 2023, the firm had:

• Achieved regulatory independence on schedule, without major customer disruption.

• Exited all TSAs smoothly, ensuring operational continuity.

• Relaunched its flagship investment platform and launched a new wrap platform, revitalising its product suite and market positioning.

• Modernised its technology and data stack, enabling ongoing digital transformation.

• Restored confidence with customers, advisers, and regulators.

The program not only de-risked the separation but positioned the firm for sustained growth. Market forecasts point to:

• $9–$10 billion net inflow growth by FY2026.

• $318M uplift in EBITDA, driven by efficiency and customer growth.

These outcomes are consistent with industry expectations for firms that modernise their adviser and customer engagement models, highlighted in EY’s Future of Wealth and Asset Management report.

Insights & Lessons

1. Separation is more than a cut — it’s an opportunity to reset. The firm used the forced separation to modernise and innovate, not just replicate.

2. Program governance is the hinge of success. Without a disciplined EPMO, the $430M portfolio risked fragmentation and delay.

3. Innovation can’t be deferred. Delivering a new wrap platform during separation showed that renewal and independence can be pursued together.

4. Stakeholder alignment is everything. Transformativ’s ability to align C-suite, board, regulators, and frontline teams kept the program on track.

Key Highlights

• $430M separation program delivered successfully

• 36 TSAs exited without customer disruption

• Flagship investment platform relaunched with $32M upgrades

• First new wealth wrap platform in a decade

• $318M EBITDA uplift forecast by FY2026

Separation and carve-out programs are among the most complex transformations a business can face. This case shows that with the right leadership, governance, and strategy, separation can become a platform for growth and renewal.

At Transformativ, we help organisations deliver major transformations that balance risk, regulatory obligations, and future growth.

👉 Learn more about our Separation & Transformation Leadership Services.