The national wealth group has sharpened its lending and investment strategy as its new sole CEO sets out a new phase of expansion.
The new sole CEO of financial services group Viridian Financial Group, Raamy Shahien, has laid out the next chapter for the lending and investment group as it enters its second decade.
Shahien - who was previously joint CEO of the financial services group alongside Glenn Calder (Viridian’s co-founder and former Joint CEO who remains closely involved in the business and is focused on mergers and acquisitions) - took on the top job as sole CEO earlier this year.
In one of his first strategic updates since taking on the sole CEO role, Viridian said it was moving into a new phase that aimed to convert its existing scale into better outcomes for clients.
Shahien framed the direction as a continuation of the firm’s evolution from a collection of practices into a national “wealth ecosystem” spanning advice, lending, and investments. It comes following TA Associates’ “strategic investment” in 2025 and as it approaches its three-year anniversary of acquiring Smartmove Professional Mortgage Advisors (Smartmove) – one of the Top 25 Brokerages in Australia.
“Over a decade on the frontline with clients and advisers has shaped how we think about advice, lending, investments and the overall client experience,” he said.
“We’re not interested in consolidation and scale for its own sake. The test is whether it makes the business better for clients and our people.”
With that lens, Shahien said the group was prioritising specialist capability and simpler processes and that the next phase would deepen support for those interacting with the business.
“That means continuing to invest in deeper specialist support and building a business that is simpler and easier to deal with – making it easier for clients and advisers to navigate and access advice, lending and investment solutions,” Shahien said.
Advice, recruitment, and partnership pipeline
The company reiterated that financial advice remained at the centre of its model, highlighting recent and ongoing investments, as well as active recruitment.
It also said it planned to continue using selective acquisitions and partnerships to build out its footprint.
The group noted that it had integrated more than 20 businesses over the past decade, adding specialist firms across advice, lending, and related services.
Shahien said the partnership-led approach had been critical to the firm’s ability to scale without losing local client relationships.
The company said it was now overseeing more than $11 billion across its advice and lending activities.
Viridian continues to build its broker offering after acquiring Smartmove Professional Mortgage Advisors (Smartmove) – one of the Top 25 Brokerages in Australia.
Under the acquisition, the Sydney-based brokerage retained its own branding and staff (including those in the Philippines and Nepal) and became the lending arm for VFGL, writing residential, commercial property, vehicles, and equipment loans.
At The Adviser's Better Business Summit 2026, run in partnership with National Australia Bank (NAB), Smartmove CEO Darren Little is taking attendees behind the scenes of Smartmove’s expansion into a 100-strong, multi-country operation.
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[Related: Why the Better Business Summit 2026 is a must-attend event]
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