JBWere is an Australian Investment Management firm. It was founded in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1840 by Jonathan Binns Were. Staniforth Ricketson, a descendant of Were, was made a partner in J. B. Were & Son Ltd in 1914 and eventually became sole proprietor. Under Ricketson, the firm consolidated its market share, promoting and

underwriting Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liability ...

share offerings for many large companies. In 1928, the firm established Were's Investment Trust Ltd, which later became the Australian Foundation Investment Company (AFIC). The firm also backed the National Reliance Investment Company in 1929, the Capel Court Investment Trust in 1936, and the Jason Investment Trust in 1937; its holdings became known as the Capel Court group of companies. Ricketson expanded the firm interstate and opened a London branch; at the time of his death in 1967 the firm had over 400 employees. In 2003,

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

purchased a 45% shareholding in JBWere. In 2009, the

National Australia Bank National Australia Bank Limited (abbreviated NAB, branded and stylised as nab) is one of the four largest Banking in Australia, financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "Big Four (banking), The Big Four") in terms of mar ...

(NAB) acquired an 80% shareholding in the private wealth division, and moved to 100% in 2016. Around that time the firm was split; with the name 'JBWere' and the firm's retail brokering business being sold to the NAB. NAB completed its takeover of the relevant divisions in 2016. Of the parts of the joint venture not sold to NAB, the remainder was acquired by Goldman Sachs in April 2011.

References

Financial services companies established in 1840 Goldman Sachs National Australia Bank 1840 establishments in Australia {{Australia-company-stub