Financial Planning solutions provider Benchmark Capital, part of Schroders, is to acquire Huddersfield-based adviser firm Robertson Baxter.

Robertson Baxter is a directly authorised firm with four advisers and £200m of client assets under advice.

Benchmark, part of the Schroders Group, has provided platform and investment solutions to Robertson Baxter for several years.

The network said its acquisition of the adviser will enable it to deepen practice management and compliance support.

The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, forms part of a retirement strategy for the firm’s current owners Greg Robertson and Stephen Baxter. The pair started the firm 17 years ago.

Greg Robertson, CEO of Robertson Baxter, said: “Having worked with Benchmark for several years we knew they were the right partner to support our business growth and secure a long-term home for our staff and our clients, as well as a smooth exit strategy for me and Stephen.

"We’ve already benefitted from Benchmark’s on-going investment into developing their proprietary technology and we’re pleased to be joining their network too; to leverage their broader practice management support to help us service more clients, more efficiently than ever before.”

Over the next two years, Robertson Baxter will integrate fully into Benchmark and move under its regulatory authorisation.

Ed Dymott, CEO of Benchmark, said the firm was seeing a lot of interest from firms looking to meet an increasing regulatory burden.

He said: “We continue to see very strong interest in directly authorised firms looking to networks to help streamline their business and better navigate the regulatory landscape. Our Schroders UK Financial Adviser Survey shows that regulation continues to be a primary concern with the number of advisers ranking it their number one concern rising from 49% in 2023 to 57% in 2024. With close to 200 firms already in our networks we expect to see this shift continue.”

He added that Benchmark’s acquisition of Robertson Baxter demonstrates its strategy to support Financial Planning businesses at “every stage of their journey”, including succession planning.