Independent Wealth Planners (IWP) has acquired Acuity Wealth Management and founded a virtual advice service.

Acuity Wealth Management will become the foundation of IWP Advisory Services, the group’s new proposition for clients who prefer to deal with an adviser virtually.

Rapidly growing Financial Planning group IWP said the launch of the virtual channel marks a “significant step” in the group’s development.

The deal adds £85m in assets under management.

The Yorkshire-based Financial Planning firm is headed by mother-daughter Financial Planner team Janet Comrie and Sarah Dougal.

The deal brings 228 clients to IWP.

The cost of the deal has not been revealed.

Ms Comrie and Mr Dougal have worked together for over two decades and have over 50 years of Financial Planning experience between them.

They also bring four administrative staff and a paraplanner with them to IWP.

Janet Comrie, director and Financial Planner at Acuity Wealth Management, said: “By partnering with IWP we can give our clients the best of both worlds. The adviser to client relationship is built on a mutual trust, and so a local and personalised service proves invaluable.

“The acquisition means the close-knit relationships we’ve fostered with our clients can be complemented by the scale and resource of IWP whose centralised support will free up more time for us to focus on helping our clients achieve their financial goals.”

Last month IWP acquired Hampshire Financial Planner Encompass Financial Management which has £167m under management. 

Encompass, which has 458 clients, is based on the outskirts of Southampton.

It will follow Omnium Wealth Management in joining IWP’s Hampshire regional firm, Murdoch Asset Management.