Larapinta Private · Frequently Asked Questions
The questions families ask first
Plain answers about how Larapinta Private works, who it's for, and how to begin.
What is Larapinta Private?
Larapinta Private is a boutique, privately owned wealth management and family office firm, built specifically for Australia's agricultural and regional families. It pairs institutional-grade investment capability with a single, personal relationship led by the founder, Troy Armstrong. The investment capability is institutional. The relationship is personal. That's the whole point.
Who does Larapinta Private work with?
We work with agricultural and regional families who've built significant wealth — through farming enterprises, regional businesses, professional practices, or decades of disciplined saving. The common thread is wealth that deserves serious capability, looked after by someone who understands how country families actually live.
Is there a minimum?
Not a published one. The families we work with typically have substantial, and often complex, wealth — businesses, land, trusts, and the succession questions that come with them — and it's the complexity as much as the size that decides whether we're the right fit. The honest test is a conversation. If Larapinta isn't right for your family, I'll tell you, and point you towards who might be.
What is a family office, and do I need one?
A family office coordinates the investment, structuring, succession, and governance of a family's wealth under one roof, instead of leaving each part to a separate adviser who never sees the whole. Families with significant or complex wealth, business interests, or plans that span generations tend to benefit from that coordination. Larapinta Private provides family office capability scaled to agricultural and regional families.
How are investments looked after?
Portfolios are built on the Foundation and Conviction framework — a Foundation set for the long term, the next thirty years, and a Conviction sleeve positioned for the next three to seven years and adjusted as conditions change. The investment capability is delivered through arcpoint OCIO, our outsourced chief investment office. arcpoint OCIO operates within the Fiduciary Partners ecosystem and is contracted with the OCIO Collective, which provides access to the global investment research and solutions of Mercer. It's the kind of capability most families would otherwise only find inside a large institution.
Who holds my money, and is it safe?
Your investments are held through Spectrum, a platform operated and administered by Praemium Australia Limited. Every asset is held either directly in your own name, or on trust for you by a custodian independent of Larapinta Private. Praemium's position is to use established global custodians rather than act as its own. Clearstream Australia Limited holds managed funds and term deposits, recorded in your name rather than pooled in an omnibus structure, and Citibank Pty Limited holds international shares, foreign currency, and fixed income. Australian listed shares are held directly in your own name on your own HIN, where you are the legal and beneficial owner, and your cash sits with ANZ Banking Group Limited, one of Australia's four major banks, in a platform account with its own unique BSB and account number. Your family keeps beneficial ownership throughout. Larapinta Private never takes custody of your money — we look after how it's invested, not where it's kept.
What does Larapinta Private charge?
A clear, asset-based fee. No entry fees, no exit fees, no commissions, and no hidden charges. You'll always know exactly what you're paying, and exactly what you're getting for it.
What happens to my existing accountant and lawyer?
They stay. Most families come to us with an accountant and a lawyer they've trusted for years, and the last thing we'd do is unpick that. Larapinta Private coordinates with your existing advisers so the investment, tax, structuring, and estate pieces work as one — rather than as separate parts that have never been asked to fit together.
How often will I hear from you?
Regularly, and personally. Each quarter, the families we work with receive a Private Letter and a performance report. Beyond that, the calls and emails are unscheduled and unlimited — you pick up the phone when you need to, not when a review happens to be due. The contact that matters most is usually the one that was never on anyone's calendar.
Where is Larapinta Private based, and do you work with families outside Victoria?
Larapinta Private is based in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, and works with agricultural and regional families across Australia. The firm was built on a simple idea: significant regional wealth deserves serious capability, brought to where families actually live — not the other way around. More often than not, that means Troy at the kitchen table.
Who is Troy Armstrong?
Troy Armstrong is the Senior Adviser and founder of Larapinta Private, with nearly two decades advising agricultural and regional Australian families. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Planning), a Master of Financial Planning, and the SMSF Specialist Advisor accreditation. He leads every relationship personally — there's no handing you to a junior once the paperwork is signed.
How is Larapinta Private licensed and regulated?
Larapinta Private Pty Ltd (ABN 71 696 380 677) is a Corporate Authorised Representative (1321104) of Capella Advisory Pty Ltd, ABN 54 669 300 163, AFSL No 550125. Troy Armstrong is an Authorised Representative (ASIC AR Number 354299) of Capella Advisory Pty Ltd.
What makes Larapinta Private different from a city wealth manager?
Most firms apply a city framework to country realities. Larapinta was built the other way around — for seasonal cash flows, water entitlements, commodity exposure, land succession, and the long horizons these families live by. One person leads the relationship, with institutional investment capability behind them.
What is the Foundation and Conviction framework?
It's how the portfolios are built. The Foundation is set for the long term — the next thirty years — and holds steady. The Conviction sleeve is positioned for the next three to seven years and adjusts as conditions change. Each does its own job, and neither is asked to do the other's.
Does Larapinta Private help with succession and estate planning?
Yes. Succession, estate planning, family governance, and intergenerational structuring sit at the centre of the work, alongside the investment side. These are the conversations that take real time and assume decades, not quarterly reviews.
How do I begin?
The first step is a conversation. You can request an introduction through the contact page, and Troy will be in touch personally to talk through whether Larapinta Private is the right fit for your family. No pressure, and no obligation — just a conversation.