Season’s greetings to you from your team here at Fortitude.
fortitude
noun /ˈfɔrtɪtjuːd/
courage in pain or adversity
Doesn’t the year just fly… And don’t the years?! As I type this note, my baby girl is doing her final HSC exams, and I reflect on her amazing journey over the last nearly 18 years of living, and can’t help but also reflect on the near 16 years that Fortitude has been doing its stuff. I’ve loved every moment of both.
We feel truly privileged to have shared in your adventures and successes throughout 2024. It has been an extraordinary year for all of you, and we get huge enjoyment seeing you tick off all sorts of important achievements in your life at each of our catchups.
It’s been a big year on many fronts for Fortitude. In February, we farewelled Ollie as he branched out to start his own venture. We wish him all the best but are delighted he runs his new venture under Fortitude’s ASIC licence and remains in our offices. In May, we were honoured and humbled to celebrate our 15th anniversary with you, the amazing families that we serve and partner with. Alas, Warren Buffett was again a no-show.
STATE OF THE NATION
In the spirit of ‘Continuous Improvement’ (one of our core values), some of the wins for Fortitude over the last year include:
- Transitioning your portfolios across to the Netwealth and Macquarie wrap platforms. BENEFIT? Gives you direct access to your portfolios at the source of truth on best of breed technology platforms (vs xPlan which is a 3rd party datafeed system)
- Transitioning your personal data away from xPlan (external system) to our own Microsoft ecosystem utilising world leading Microsoft Dynamics CRM system. BENEFIT? Increased security of your data
- Wealth Adviser Paul Barrett has joined the team, bringing additional skills from extensive market and wealth management experience. Benefit? Increased diversity of experience and reduced key person risk… Huw is not getting any younger!
- We continue to refine and implement our enhanced investment philosophy and portfolio management to ensure you get the long-term returns you deserve, as well as better ways to manage your cashflow needs where necessary. BENEFIT? No nasty surprises and you enjoyed some fantastic returns over the last 12 months!
Huge thanks go to my business partner Huw. He continues to step up exponentially each year… so to speak. I think he remains 6’8”? Also, to the fabulous Fortitude Sydney team of Paul, Kylie, Brad, and Jamilah, as well as our Philippines team of Gelo and Clark. You are all amazing.
We are so looking forward to 2025 in our quest to provide you with the best personal private wealth experience in the country. With our increased capacity, we encourage you to put us in touch with any family and friends that need a hand with their affairs. We’re happy to chat with anyone that is important to you, to either work with them directly or refer them to the right people: eg our network of specialists in estate planning, insurance, financing, aged care, philanthropy and accounting services.
We’re really thrilled to continue our relationship with Fortitude’s chosen charity, The Man Cave which is linked to personal care provider Stuff That Matters. Check out their awesome achievements on the Man Cave website at themancave.life and enjoy a 20% discount on all their skin care products (use Fortitude20 when checking out). You can also support them and find their range at Woolies, in store and online.
Biggest thanks of course go to you. We are so privileged to be partnering with you and appreciate your support, feedback, and companionship over the last year. We can’t wait to share many more amazing experiences with you in 2025 and beyond. Merry Christmas, pens down, happiest of holidays to you with your loved ones and friends and see you next year. We love working with you and thank you so much for choosing to have us in your lives.
Best wishes,
