The CEO who kicked the incumbents to the curb (and delivered investors a +4000% return in the process)

It's been just over a decade since Andrew Alcock took a risk on a small up-and-coming investment platform. The gamble has certainly paid off. Since joining the firm in July 2013, HUB24's (ASX: HUB) share price has skyrocketed around 4200% - turning an ASX-listed microcap into a market-leading 30-bagger. 

In the early months of 2013, HUB24 was on its knees. The company experienced a boardroom battle, an emergency capital raising, and a lack of leadership. Born out of the stockbroking outfit InvestorFirst, the company was losing millions of dollars a year and its future was doubtful.

The boardroom bloodbath saw founder Otto Buttula depart, and Bruce Higgins installed as the new chairman. The company looked externally for a fresh start - and a CEO who could bring new ideas and a large dose of optimism. 

In a bold decision, they landed on Alcock, an unknown quantity to the listed market. At the time, Alcock was running the AMP-owned planning group Genesys Wealth Advisers.

HUB24’s share price in July 2013 was hovering around $1 a share and the company had just posted a loss of $9.7 million with funds under advice of just $479 million. Alcock obviously knew the industry better than most and saw a bright future for HUB24.

Fast forward a decade and things have changed. HUB24, along with its close rival Netwealth, have ushered in a new breed of financial platforms, leading the charge against the incumbents – MLC, BT, and ironically, AMP. 

Today, HUB has over $80 billion in funds under advice and in FY23 it booked a net profit of just under $60 million. The company’s share price trades at around $33 with a market capitalisation of $2.8 billion.

Alcock who, as a youngster on Sydney's North Shore dreamed of playing the keyboards in a band, has clocked up 10 years in charge of HUB24 - and he believes the next decade looks even brighter for the investment platform. Along with his right-hand man Jason Entwistle and a burgeoning team, there is a belief that the surge towards the top of the charts will continue.

In this episode of Success and More Interesting Stuff, Alcock openly shares his inspirational journey to the top, some of the challenges along the way, as well as some of the exciting initiatives for HUB24 in the future. 

Note: This interview was recorded on Thursday 23 November 2023. 

Timecodes

• 0:00 - Intro 
• 2:01 - HUB24's recent record-breaking results 
• 3:34 - A deep dive into Andrew's beginnings 
• 4:40 - Andrew's two early ambitions: medicine and music 
• 5:50 - Life growing up on Sydney's North Shore in a family of six kids 
• 10:10 - Bible college, marriage at 21, and the beginnings of a career in tech
• 14:40 - How Andrew was introduced to the finance industry 
• 17:24 - Andrew's first gig as a CEO (and why he is all fight, no flight)
• 21:15 - A foray into financial advice at Genesys Wealth 
• 22:54 - On what attracted him to take the opportunity at HUB24
• 28:53 - The first few months in the role 
• 32:21 - How the industry has changed since then 
• 34:22 - On the benefits of having a rival in Netwealth
• 35:44 - Why it's important to have a vision (but set realistic goals along the way)
• 37:43 - The Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry (and the beginnings of a "revolution" at HUB24)
• 40:23 - The attributes of a good leader 
• 44:59 - What keeps Andrew up at night 
• 47:18 - On Bruce Higgins's retirement from the chair of HUB24
• 49:04 - What investors can expect from HUB24 over the next decade
• 52:50 - How HUB24 is using AI to improve efficiency for advisers and investors 
• 55:38 - How investors should measure HUB24's success 
• 58:32 - On coming out publicly and the importance of being authentic