TAL-backed dealer group Affinia has announced it is in the process of adding 30 new practices to its network, responding to negative comments from former advisers.
Affinia chief executive Craig Parker told InvestorDaily that the dealer group – which was formerly Pivotal and re-branded in February – was now reaping the benefits of a change of strategy.
“Our ambition is for Affinia to be the number one choice for risk-specialist advisers in Australia, and we have a clearly defined strategy to make that happen,” he said.
“We’re focused on recruiting practices in the growth phase with multiple risk specialists.
“Since Affinia opened its doors on 14 February, we’ve had a lot of interest from risk-specialist advisers around the country.
“We’re currently in the process of onboarding more than 30 risk-specialist advisers to the Affinia family, and are in discussions with many more.”
The comments follow a report in InvestorDaily‘s sister title, ifa, in which a former Pivotal adviser claimed the change in strategy alluded to by Mr Parker had ‘backfired,’ causing 16 advisers to leave the group.
“I left Pivotal because the fee structure was ridiculous; the services they were offering just didn’t justify such a hefty annual fee,” said one former authorised representative, who did not wish to be named.
“[The group] was trying to reach bigger fish with this new mission statement but all they did was send their existing advisers packing,” he said. “The plan backfired.”
In response, Mr Parker confirmed some advisers had chosen to leave the group but that the new strategy – including the licence fee hike – was the right decision for the business.
“As part of our transformation as a licensee, we acknowledge that the new world of Affinia is starkly different to our previous licensee model,” he said.
“To this, some of our former advisers have chosen to move to other licensees, where they feel that their business practices are better aligned.
“I respect this and wish them well,” he added.
