DMA to acquire majority stake in Saxo Australia in boon for ambitious Aussie financial advisers, wealth managers
As part of the change in shareholding, Saxo Australia will continue to leverage Saxo Bank’s platform and trading technology, helping to ensure business continuity and minimal disruption for clients.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
Retail excellence and a world-class adviser offering, side by side
The change in shareholding means Saxo Australia’s vast investment product range, high-touch service and competitive brokerage will be complemented and strengthened by DMA’s business-to-business knowhow, world-class adviser offering, and track record of growth.
Once launched, DMA’s proprietary software as a service (SaaS) will enable Australian institutional investors—such as financial advisers and asset and fund managers—to seamlessly connect front, middle and back-office functions under a single solution, from clearing and settlement to execution and custody.
This will support financial services firms to reduce back-office cost and complexity, enhance their client-facing service, and sustainably grow their business.
More than 160 wealth managers and adviser networks across Africa, Europe, and the United Kingdom currently use DMA to access global markets, all from a single platform.
“We believe DMA’s platform offering will bring tangible benefits to Australian financial advisers and wealth managers, while the business will continue to focus on delivering high-touch, high-quality service for self-directed retail clients,” DMA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard North said. “It'll be the best of Saxo and the best of DMA—and we think that adds up to the marketplace’s best choice for investors across the entire lifecycle.”
A smooth transition for existing Saxo Australia clients
Existing self-directed retail clients of Saxo Australia, meanwhile, can continue to enjoy the award-winning trading platform they know and love.
This is made possible by the flexibility of Saxo Bank's open application programming interface (API) solution, which provides a fully outsourced brokerage business model and manages all aspects of trade order management, execution, settlement, and post-trade operations.
Saxo Bank’s open platform architecture also means DMA can easily build additional interfaces, digital services, and trading experiences for Australian clients.
“With this agreement with DMA, Saxo Bank leverages its core strength—providing a scalable and multi-asset trading infrastructure with our award-winning platforms,” Saxo Bank CEO and Founder Kim Fournais said. “We couldn’t be more pleased to partner with DMA as we seek to capitalise on the huge opportunity in the Australian market and fully leverage this win-win solution to get more curious people invested in Australia.”
The new name and brand of the business will be established following a transitional period, during which the business will continue to operate as Saxo Australia.
The business will also retain Saxo Australia’s staff, under the leadership of CEO Adam Smith, while looking to bolster its Australia-based client service capacity.
“We will ensure a smooth transition and aim to enhance the offerings and services provided,” Mr Smith said. “The clients of Saxo Australia will notice no disruption in service, product range, or platform access. We are very pleased to partner up with DMA and believe that this will be a game changer for Australian clients.”
Through the change in shareholding, the Johannesburg-headquartered DMA will assume (subject to regulatory approvals) 80.1% ownership of the Australian business, while Saxo Bank will retain a 19.9% equity stake.
The sale comes after Saxo Bank in June 2024 announced a review of strategic opportunities in the Asia-Pacific, seeking to accelerate its growth in the region.
Clients can view a list of FAQs on the change in shareholding via the help.saxo webpage here.
Communications and PR Manager, Australia
Phone: +61 2 8267 9024
Mobile: +61 498 333 025
Email: ARIS@saxomarkets.com
At Saxo we believe that when you invest, you unlock a new curiosity for the world around you. As a provider of multi-asset trading and investment, Saxo’s purpose is to Get Curious People Invested in the World, and we are committed to giving our clients more ways to make more of their money. We were founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1992 with a clear vision: we believe that access to global capital markets should not be the privilege of a select few. By 1998, we were one of the first online trading platforms in Europe, providing professional-grade tools and easy access to global financial markets for anyone who wanted to invest.
Today, we are an international award-winning investment firm for investors and traders who are serious about making more of their money. As a well-capitalised and profitable company, Saxo is a fully licensed bank under the supervision of the Danish FSA and we hold broker and banking licenses in multiple jurisdictions. Saxo has operated in Australia since 2012 and is a licensed subsidiary regulated by ASIC. As one of the earliest Fintechs in the world, we continue to invest heavily into our technology. Our clients and partners enjoy broad access to global capital markets across asset classes on our industry-leading platforms. Our open banking technology also powers more than 200 financial institutions as partners by boosting the investment experience they can offer their clients. Keeping our headquarters in Copenhagen, we have expanded our reach to having more than 2500 professionals in financial centers around the world including London, Singapore, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Zurich, Dubai and Tokyo.
For more information, please visit: www.home.saxo/en-au