Australia’s little-known family office sector has received a major boost with the announcement of an alliance between one of Australia’s ric...

Australia’s little-known family office sector has received a major boost with the announcement of an alliance between one of Australia’s richest families and leading fund manager Robert Maple-Brown.

Maple-Brown, who formed the successful Maple-Brown Abbott fund management business in 1984, has announced a joint venture with the Melbourne-based Myer family in the Myer Family Office.

Mr Maple-Brown, an old family friend of the Myers, will take 25 per cent of the Myer Family Office, which will also market its services to other wealthy Australian families.

Rupert Myer, chairman of the Myer Family Office, described Mr Maple-Brown as a “close and trusted friend” in a statement.

“We are delighted to be expanding the services of the Myer Family Office to Sydney-based families and welcome the Maple-Brown family as a partner,” Mr Myer said.

The Myer family have a long history with Mr Maple-Brown, and provided the first A$20 million ($15.5 million) of seed capital when he left Rothschild to establish Maple-Brown Abbott, which now manages around A$19 billion.

The Myer Family Office is the largest in Australia, and has been offering services to other families in Melbourne since 1999.

The Myer family derives its wealth from Sidney Myer, who founded a successful chain of department stores – Myers – which is now part of Coles Myer, Australia’s leading retailer. The family retained a 5 per cent stake in Coles Myer after the 1986 merger with retailer G.J. Coles.

Mr Maple-Brown told Australian media yesterday that he had been planning to start up his own family office to manage his own family’s wealth, estimated at around A$188 million.

Combining the two group’s respective skills was a good combination, he said.

Mr Maple-Brown will be a non-executive director of the Myer Family Office.