Produced By: Ensombl
In the world of financial advice, there are countless stories of practitioners who begin in humble circumstances, only to rise through the ranks and make a name for themselves. Few, however, illustrate the power of combining ethics, relationship-building, and genuine care for clients more vividly than the career journey of Charles “Charlie” Viola. From a modest upbringing in semi-rural Camden—once on Sydney’s fringe—to founding his own private wealth firm, Viola Private Wealth, his story exemplifies how building trust, providing meaningful client outcomes, and embracing the right team can result in a thriving practice and a lasting legacy.
In a recent conversation with podcast host and fellow adviser, Andrew “Roxy” Rocks, Viola opened up about his career trajectory. He moved from a teenage employee at an electronics store to a teller at the Commonwealth Bank (CBA), progressed into various client-facing advisory roles, and ultimately built a billion-dollar advice business under the umbrella of an accounting firm. Now, with Viola Private Wealth newly established, Charlie continues to advocate for a client-centric, ethical model—one that relies on well-structured systems, strong professional standards, transparency, and a clear vision for the future of advice.
Below is a deeper look at Charlie’s journey and philosophy, distilled into an article that highlights his growth, the professional and ethical lessons he has learned, and how those lessons might resonate with other advisors, clients, and business owners alike.
Charlie’s childhood and teenage years in Camden—a once semi-rural town around 60 kilometers southwest of Sydney—laid the foundation for his unwavering work ethic. Raised by a single mother who juggled employment with caring for Charlie and his sibling, he learned early on about the value of diligence and humility. While financial pressures were ever-present, he never felt deprived. Instead, he developed an acute appreciation of how meaningful it is when someone invests time, energy, and genuine concern for another’s well-being.
This sense of empathy and directness would prove invaluable throughout his professional life. Early roles, such as working in a local news agency and electronics store, trained him in one of his greatest skills: communicating clearly with people from diverse backgrounds. Even at a young age, Charlie recognized that every person seeks respect and wants to feel valued. This understanding would later inform the very heart of his client relationships in financial services.
The pivot into banking began almost serendipitously. A high-school friend was applying for a teller position at the Commonwealth Bank, and Charlie followed suit. Though his friend opted to return to university, Charlie forged ahead, accepting a role as a CBA teller in a small suburban branch in Tahmoor. There, he quickly discovered he had a talent for making clients feel at ease. He excelled at explaining new products or account types that were better suited to customer needs—an early lesson in the value of sincerely putting clients’ interests first.
At a time when the bank was transitioning from its government-owned status into a competitive retail bank, Charlie embraced the new “sales culture” wholeheartedly. Yet even in an environment focused on cross-selling and acquisitions, he emphasized a deeper approach: hearing clients out, understanding their situations, and genuinely caring about delivering solutions. It was a strong start, but, as he put it, “I was just a fancy bank teller, counting other people’s money.”
When a relieving branch manager noticed Charlie’s knack for client interaction, he advised him to move from the suburban branch to the city, where more complex financial needs—and thus greater opportunity—awaited. Charlie took the leap. In Sydney’s CBD, his enthusiasm for problem-solving and his willingness to engage thoroughly with every client began to stand out.
Before long, Charlie was promoted into CBA’s new Premium Banking division. The institution was testing a relationship-driven model to cater to clients with larger balances. Yet this environment came with its share of challenges. Metrics like “sales numbers” and “product conversions” still dominated. When one manager bluntly said, “You’re a distribution network for the bank’s products,” it galvanized Charlie. The role contradicted his belief that an adviser’s job is to learn about a client’s goals and craft strategies to help realize them—not simply to act as a conduit for pushing proprietary offerings.
This experience compelled him to seek a new start: a role in which he could serve as a genuine adviser, not just an order-taker for in-house funds. In 2003, an opportunity arose with the mid-tier accounting firm Moore Stephens in Sydney, which was piloting a wealth advisory service. Charlie jumped at the chance, signing on as an adviser in an environment where independence and client-centric advice appeared more feasible.
The transition from a well-resourced bank environment to a fledgling advisory within an accounting firm was, by Charlie’s own admission, jarring. He no longer had a built-in funnel of referrals. He arrived expecting robust client flow from the accounting practice—only to discover that the firm wasn’t yet geared to feed leads systematically.
Faced with the possibility of failure, he devised his own approach. Rather than cold-calling individual prospects, he systematically phoned potential “centers of influence”—professionals who could direct multiple clients his way. If accountants or HR consultants wouldn’t return his calls, he moved on to outplacement agencies and executive coaching firms. Eventually, Dale Simpson, a Melbourne-based outplacement professional, agreed to see him.
When Simpson asked why he should send laid-off or transitioning executives to a 23-year-old, Charlie gave an audacious yet honest answer: “If I’m still in the same place you are at 55, I’ll have made a mess of my life.” That unexpected candor, paired with his ability to explain complex financial structures simply, resonated. Simpson became a critical early referral partner, steering Charlie to C-suite clients who needed clarity in equity compensation or redundancy packages.
Notably, one of these early clients worked for Macquarie Bank, which had a particularly complicated share-based remuneration scheme at the time. Charlie’s knack for translating technical jargon into plain language solved a persistent headache for many executives. Before long, word of his expertise spread internally, opening the door to more Macquarie clients. Over time, others moved on to major corporations like Stockland, and they brought his name with them, effectively giving him access to an ever-widening web of high-caliber individuals.
As Charlie’s client base grew, so did the wealth division within Moore Stephens. Eventually, a merger took place, folding Moore Stephens into the national brand Pitcher Partners. Charlie and his colleague Martin Fowler ran the firm’s advisory side as a separate yet complementary enterprise. While they benefited from Pitcher Partners’ brand, infrastructure, and resources, they were also granted the independence to foster client relationships on their own terms.
During this era, Charlie discovered that success in professional services hinges on exceptional leadership and, more specifically, the right division of labor. He had initially assumed that climbing the partnership ladder meant becoming entrenched in management. Yet as he began taking on more internal leadership responsibilities, he realized that his true passion lay in guiding clients, not focusing on operational minutiae.
Professional services firms—accounting, legal, or financial planning—often face a structural challenge: talented practitioners find themselves pressed into management, where they may lose the client-facing edge that propelled them to success in the first place. Charlie addressed this by hiring dedicated operations professionals, starting with a general manager (Sean) and a head of operations (Andrew Levi). His aim was to free himself and other talented advisers from daily organizational tasks. Instead, they could hone their relationship-building skills and focus on complex financial planning and investment issues.
This proved transformative. Over five years, recurring revenue in Charlie’s division soared from AUD 3 million to over AUD 7 million—a remarkable growth curve, illustrating the wisdom of specializing roles and supporting advisers with robust infrastructure. Meanwhile, the business advanced its capabilities in asset allocation, private equity, and sophisticated investment structures.
Fast-forward to 2023, and Viola Private Wealth emerged as an independently owned advice firm spun out of Pitcher Partners. For Charlie, the move was driven by a desire to create a boutique private wealth model that remained purely devoted to client outcomes, unencumbered by the strategic demands or brand identity of a large accounting network.
By conducting a management buyout of the wealth business from Pitcher, Charlie and his leadership team retained the licensing, technology, client relationships, and staff who had been integral to their success. Through an amicable arrangement, certain portions of the client base remained with Pitcher Partners, while the rest migrated to Viola Private Wealth. The new entity arrived with a formidable 2.4 billion AUD in assets under management and a robust foundation for further expansion.
What differentiates Viola Private Wealth from many financial practices? According to Charlie, it boils down to culture and ethics:
Among the many contentious topics in financial advice is the fee structure—whether it be flat, asset-based, or performance-based. Charlie and his team keep it straightforward: an assets-under-management fee that tiers downward with scale, supplemented by meticulous reporting delivered twice a year (or quarterly, if the client prefers). Fees are fully disclosed upfront, and the conversation focuses on demonstrating value, not justifying cost.
Crucially, Charlie will walk away from prospective clients who see no value in the expertise or who engage purely to haggle over fees. In his eyes, the client-adviser relationship only works if both parties respect each other. That respect begins with a willingness to acknowledge the work and skill that managing a complex portfolio entails.
While they maintain model portfolios as general blueprints, Viola Private Wealth advisers strive to customize each asset allocation strategy. Some clients may favor more stable, income-producing assets—such as syndicate property or private debt—while others are drawn to higher-growth, higher-volatility sectors like technology, venture capital, or private equity.
Charlie emphasizes that nearly 35 percent of the assets they manage are in private alternatives, a figure he expects to grow. Yet not every client is right for illiquid assets. The guiding principle is alignment with the client’s time horizon, tolerance for market swings, and life objectives. Liquid holdings, including listed securities and managed funds, remain part of nearly every portfolio, ensuring that personal financial commitments are well covered.
Building trust isn’t a one-and-done exercise; it requires consistent follow-up. Viola Private Wealth provides all clients with access to an online portal where they can review portfolio values and transactions. At least twice a year, the firm produces comprehensive formal reports. These summarize performance, evaluate asset allocation, and contextualize results in relation to a client’s stated objectives.
This process also allows for real-time adjustments. If a portion of the client’s private debt or real estate holdings is scheduled to roll over, the team looks for complementary opportunities—perhaps a new fund or a reallocation to better balance the overall portfolio. The approach is both proactive and strategic, ensuring that no area of a client’s wealth management is left to chance.
The financial services sector has evolved dramatically over the last two decades. Royal commissions, heightened educational requirements, and new ethical codes may have reduced the number of licensed advisers. Yet for those willing to align with higher standards, there is vast opportunity. Clients who crave honest, skilled counsel are more plentiful than ever.
Charlie believes this shift favors a new generation of professionals who might have once been drawn exclusively to investment banking, law, or consulting. With stricter qualifications and a code of ethics for advisers, careers in wealth management no longer carry the stigma of product pushing or boiler-room sales tactics. Instead, the role is increasingly respected, attracting academically strong, empathetic communicators who see advisory work as a calling.
Viola Private Wealth is explicit in recruiting advisers who are “relationship people.” Technical competence is a must, but the willingness to collaborate, share knowledge, and put clients first is equally critical. The firm has built a robust infrastructure—from its client-relationship management software (fin365) to an advanced administrative engine (iPac/Praemium-based reporting)—that reduces paperwork headaches and leaves advisers free to do what they do best.
Moreover, the firm’s model of granting equity and forging a “team-first” culture ensures that high performers remain invested in the practice’s long-term success. In turn, they can build genuine client relationships over decades, rather than bouncing from one institution to another. That longevity translates to better outcomes for clients, reinforcing a sense of fiduciary duty.
Throughout his journey, Charlie has held firmly to the idea that financial advice is, at its core, a profession rooted in trust. That trust demands unflinching honesty, full disclosure, and a pledge to place client welfare above everything else. “We deal with people’s life savings,” he frequently reminds colleagues and prospective hires. Such stewardship calls for prudence, skill, and unassailable integrity.
An ethical framework, for Charlie, cannot be just a mission statement. It has to permeate every client interaction: listening deeply to their needs, being upfront about costs and potential risks, declining engagements that are misaligned with the firm’s values, and ensuring clients never feel pressured into products. That unwavering approach, ironically, often wins more business than it loses.
True professionalism is also about self-reflection and learning. Charlie’s experience in banking, for instance, highlighted the pitfalls of focusing solely on volume and sales numbers. While acknowledging the necessity of commercial sustainability, he also believes the best advisers distinguish themselves by giving clients the time and education to make informed choices.
Team members at Viola Private Wealth stay current with market research, policy updates, and a wide array of specialized topics, from structured credit to property syndicates to philanthropic strategies. Formal continuing professional development (CPD) hours are supplemented by in-house “teach-ins,” where advisers share insights from recent due diligence trips or from analyzing new investment products. The outcome is a firm that remains nimble, curious, and qualified to meet the ever-changing demands of high-net-worth clients.
The financial advisory landscape is more challenging—and more exciting—than ever. Regulatory pressures and evolving client expectations push advisers to demonstrate real value. Technological advances make certain tasks more efficient but raise the bar for personalization and specialized knowledge. Within this shifting environment, Charlie Viola’s story underscores essential truths:
Charlie Viola’s progression from a single-parent household in Camden, to a teller at the Commonwealth Bank, to founder of Viola Private Wealth exemplifies how an unwavering commitment to professionalism, ethics, and empathy can shape a monumental career. His insistence on truly understanding clients’ goals, his ability to “make complex things simple,” and his refusal to compromise on transparency all illustrate a business philosophy that places clients’ best interests front and center.
This mindset isn’t just aspirational or theoretical; it’s rooted in tangible successes and failures, in lessons learned through trial and error. Charlie’s story also highlights a broader evolution in the financial services profession. Higher educational standards, stronger regulations, and rising client expectations have converged, encouraging firms that embrace ethics and thorough client care to flourish. Simultaneously, those clinging to old-school sales tactics fall by the wayside.
For aspiring or seasoned advisers, the message is clear: focus on building an environment where clients feel valued, outcomes are personalized, operations are robust, and ethics are non-negotiable. This is precisely how Viola Private Wealth has positioned itself—poised to bring top-tier advice to a clientele that demands expertise, clarity, and genuine partnership.
Accreditation Points Allocation:
0.20 Technical Competence
0.10 Client Care and Practice
0.10 Professionalism and Ethics
0.40 Total CPD Points