When Russell Mann reflects on 25 years at the helm of 24k Wealth, his tone carries the quiet confidence of someone who has seen it all, property crashes, regulatory upheavals, and the relentless reinvention demanded of modern advice businesses.
“You’ve got to keep growing and keep challenging yourself every day,” he says. “Not sit back and accept that being an All Black’s good, you want to be a great All Black.”
That philosophy, borrowed from rugby legend Richie McCaw at the recent The Inside Network’s Investment Leaders Forum in New Zealand, could just as easily define Mann’s own approach to business. Over nearly four decades in finance, from his early years at Westpac to leading one of Queensland’s most enduring advisory firms, his journey is a masterclass in adaptability, accountability and leadership by example.
Mann’s career began, as many of his generation did, in banking. “I did a university degree in accounting and business,” Mann recalls. “I always wanted to get into finance or investment and banking, so I got into Westpac.”
It was the late 1980s, and he quickly found himself in the thick of corporate and international finance, first in Brisbane, then Sydney, during one of the most turbulent times in Australian banking history.
“That was when they were going through the property bust back in the early ’90s,” he says. “And Packer and ‘Chainsaw’ Dunlop were trying to take over Westpac. It was a really interesting time.”
After 17 years at the bank, Mann’s strategic instincts helped him author a paper on private wealth management, a prescient move that saw him return to Queensland to help roll-out Westpac’s private bank nationally. But when accounting firms began pushing into wealth management, opportunity knocked.
“An accounting firm approached us and said, we want to set up a wealth management business. I said, ‘Well, I will, but it’ll be a joint venture’.”
That partnership became Collins Mann, the forerunner to what is now 24k Wealth – which celebrates its 25th anniversary next year.
The early days were equal parts ambition and adversity. Mann admits the joint venture taught him hard-won lessons about equity and shared commitment.
“Everyone’s got to commit some real skin in the game,” Mann says. “We put in our 50 per cent share, which was a fair bit of money, but the accounting partners spread theirs across ten people.”
His takeaway? Commitment and accountability must be tangible. “If you’re silent partners, that’s fine,” he adds, “but you’ve still got to have substantial skin in the game.”
In the early years, cash flow was also critical. “We survived the first 18 months purely on the finance broking side,” Mann recalls. “Clients saw mortgage money as someone else’s money, but when it came to investing their own super, that took time, about two years. After that, the whole thing swapped around, and financial planning became the core value.”
That pragmatic understanding of business fundamentals, accountability, cash flow and and structure, continues to define 24k Wealth today.
Mann’s belief in structured accountability has shaped not only his own leadership but the firm’s culture. “Partners can often just sit there and not want to upset each other,” he says. “So we brought in a couple of retired CEOs as mentors. They acted like chairmen of the board, setting goals, targets, and expectations.”
That external perspective proved invaluable. “We were accountable to each other, but we also reported to somebody else,” Mann explains. “Every six months I still bring in consultants who ask: What are we doing? Where are we at? Have we achieved what we set?”
This philosophy now underpins 24k Wealth’s governance structure. “It’s like a marriage, and having a third party keeps everyone honest.” Mann agrees: “Change is constant. You’ve got to continue to improve, and business continuity has to exist. The world doesn’t stop when someone’s on holiday, someone’s got to step up.”
Mann’s leadership is characterised by humility, the willingness to invite scrutiny and bring in expertise where needed. “Right now, we’ve got four consultants,” he says. “One in compliance and operations; she’s taken our manuals from 80 per cent complete to 100 per cent. Another does financial planning data analysis, comparing our performance to peer groups. And we have a husband-and-wife team, one a psychologist and the other a former accountant, who together identify risk in people, culture and and strategy.”
That blend of business psychology and operational rigour ensures 24k Wealth’s resilience. “They help set strategies and get the team to build the future,” Mann says. “It’s good management, or good luck. But we seem to have brought the right people in at the right time.”
While succession might suggest a founder winding down, Mann’s focus remains firmly on innovation. His 2019 book, inspired by his experience working with retirees, carries a memorable quote: “They said the world was my oyster, but someone stole the pearl.”
“We wrote it as part of a marketing development course,” Mann says. “It was really an education piece targeting baby boomers, people who’d been promised the world but hadn’t planned properly for retirement. We wanted to help them realise that it now takes five years to retire: financially, physically and mentally.”
That educational mission has evolved into something even more ambitious: Nettshell, a new digital platform designed for young Australians.
“It’s a website-based education app, Nettshell.com.au, all done by AI, which we vet,” Mann explains. “It’s for 25 to 35-year-olds who can’t afford advice but want the knowledge. We use university students to manage and market it. They love it! It’s a great project.”
The initiative represents Mann’s forward-thinking ethos: empowering future generations with the financial literacy that sustains independence and opportunity.
Now entering his next chapter, Mann is focused on ensuring 24k Wealth thrives long after his eventual exit. “The four years that got us to here were about making the business self-sufficient,” he says. “I had to make myself redundant, and I’ve done that quite successfully.”
His five-year succession plan is as disciplined as any corporate blueprint. “My KPI is to get to a stage where by 1 July next year, I can sell down a percentage of the company that pays itself off in three years,” he explains. “That supports the next buyout, so the business remains sustainable, and everyone knows the targets.”
It’s succession with accountability, echoing the same principles that built the firm: commitment, cash flow and calculated growth. “You’ve got to manage people’s expectations,” Mann says. “Set the targets and stick to them.”
Asked what advice he’d give his younger self, Mann pauses. “Patience,” he says simply. “You’ve got to have the desire to do something, but don’t rush. Pull the fundamentals together, know where you want to go. If you don’t have goals, you’ll lose your way.”
He smiles recalling his favourite borrowed mantra from Hughes: “Time and discipline – make them your friends.”
After 25 years, 24k Wealth stands as both a thriving business and a reflection of its founder’s philosophy, one built on integrity, education, and evolution. Mann’s approach has always been about the long game: resilience through accountability, sustainability through planning and growth through learning.
As he puts it: “Change is constant. The world doesn’t stop. You’ve just got to keep moving, keep improving, and bring the right people along with you.”