MMC Contrarian’s newly-appointed managing director Simon Swanson said the firm will terminate its deal with Coin Software as it aims to consolidate its financial planning software provider.
The decision follows the firm’s move to buy Bupa Australia’s life insurance and wealth management businesses MBF Life and ClearView for $195 million.
Dealer group ClearView uses Macquarie Group’s Coin Software while dealer group ComCorp, an MMC subsidiary, uses Iress’s Xplan as its software provider.
“Currently ComCorp works with Xplan and ClearView is on Coin and we will end up rolling into Xplan in due course,” Swanson told InvestorDaily.
The former CommInsure chief executive labelled MMC’s acquisition as a major opportunity to transform the company into a significant and profitable wealth manager.
MMC would have just over 50 planners, $40 million of in-force premiums and $3.3 billion in funds under management and advice post-acquisition.
The deal includes a 10-year exclusive alliance for MMC dealer groups to market life and wealth management solutions to Bupa’s nearly 3 million private health insurance customers.
“It gives us a broader geographic basis of advisers up and down the eastern seaboard. We will be able to service our financial institution partners like credit unions and Bupa far more effectively,” Swanson said.
ComCorp and ClearView will be led by MMC’s previous managing director Alex Hutchison.
To fund the purchase MMC will undergo a $135 million equity capital raising, with Swanson personally committing to buy $1 million of stock.
“I have a view that often there is not an alignment between management and the business and clearly by putting my own money in that creates a very firm alignment between what I do and what needs to happen to the business,” Swanson said.
MMC’s major shareholder, Guinness Peat Group (GPG), will participate in the equity raising but its shareholding will be diluted from 68 per cent to under 50 per cent.
GPG last year tried to buy all of MMC for 50 cents a share but MMC’s board recommended shareholders reject the offer.
