Carmel Wealth is a privately owned wealth and investment company established in 2023, specifically to capitalise on the opportunity in the South African market for an independently owned and scaled wealth and asset management firm. The group of private investors comprises of both local as well as international investors, some with extensive experience in managing large scale local and global financial services and asset management businesses. It is the belief of Carmel Wealth that both financial advisors and their clients will benefit from differentiated value proposition to what is offered in the market, and investment opportunities with a focus on global solutions, that they may not have been exposed to before. Further, they believe that there is an opportunity in the South African market for a completely independent wealth and asset management firm – in the absence of a corporate shareholder like a life assurer or asset manager Carmel Wealth will empower advisors with product decision making autonomy, thereby ensuring unbiased advice and product recommendations. It is expected that Carmel Wealth will be able to take advantage of various global trends shaping the wealth management industry, including the shift in investor behaviour and expectations when partnering with an advisory business, the subsequent increased demand for tailored and managed solutions as well as the role of technology and digitization in creating more relevant and scalable ways to interact with clients. The advisory environment has also presented various challenges as advisors are constantly faced with more regulatory changes, rising cost of compliance and the shortcomings of traditional distribution models which are fragmented, have poor operating models and technology, whilst there is increased pressure on advisors to support the corporate agenda of a life company or asset manager.