Adviser platform Parmenion is to acquire Chartered Planner-run investment firm EBI Portfolios for an undisclosed sum.  

West Midlands-based EBI (evidence based investing) administers £1.9bn of funds for over 150 advisory firms and their 7,000 clients. 

EBI provides outsourced investment for adviser firms, mainly through MPSs (Managed Portfolio Service) and DFMs (Discretionary Fund Manager). It also offers cashflow modelling software and ESG portfolios. 

EBI was founded by Financial Planner and entrepreneur Craig Burgess FPFS who is CEO and CIO. He has been involved in financial services since 1992 as both a financial adviser and entrepreneur. 

Mr Burgess is a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Financial Planner and a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society. He also holds the Investment Management Certificate.

He founded EBI Portfolios in 2010, calling it the first ‘Turnkey Asset Management Program(sic)’ (TAMP) in the United Kingdom. It was launched to provide advisers with an outsource facility for investment management. 

In 2014, Mr Burgess launched Vantage, a Discretionary Fund Management (DFM) service to supply low-cost balanced fund management. Previously, he founded and sold Blackstone Wealth Management, a financial adviser practice. 

Mr Burgess, who runs the firm with his wife Guzz and a team of directors and staff, said: “We first looked to align EBI with Parmenion ten years ago, so I’m delighted to be announcing this acquisition today.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to accelerate our growth and develop our business with the support of a well-capitalised parent. Parmenion understands the way advice, investment and technology fit together in practice and will support the continuous improvement of our online adviser tools, Turnkey and The Vault.”

Post-acquisition, EBI will continue to operate from its office in Aldridge under the EBI brand, with no changes to its investment offer or service.

Parmenion chief commercial officer Mike Morrow will join the EBI board.  

Private equity firm Preservation Capital Partners acquired the Parmenion platform for £102m, following Standard Life Aberdeen’s decision to sell the business in November 2020. Martin Gilbert’s AssetCo holds a 30% stake in Parmenion Capital Partners. 

Parmenion manages over £9bn for more than 1,500 adviser firms and 90,000 underlying clients.