Wholly-owned subsidiaries of large funds management groups are breaking new ground as fresh entrants in this year's dealer group survey. While none of the dealer groups filling positions 52 to 61 in the dealer group survey are new to the industry, they now dominate the mid-ranks of the list, pushing other strong and established dealer groups further down the order.
Tasmanian-based Wealth Managers leads this tearaway group. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Select Managed Funds and a superannuation and administration provider with more than $7 billion in funds under management. In June 2006, Australian Wealth Management merged with Select Managed Funds, taking the combined group's funds under management advice and supervision to $53.5 billion as at December 31 last year. Meanwhile, Victorian-based Bendigo Financial Planning (formerly known as Bendigo Investment Services) and Sydney-based Pivotal Financial Advisers also enjoy subsidiary relationships with large and reputable brand names such as Bendigo Bank and Tower Australia.
Resourcing is a key feature of these businesses, with most of these groups emphasising the strong position their backing puts them in. These groups are also successfully attracting financial planners and funds under advice (FUA), indicating this model is also attractive to a growing client base. With planner numbers ranging from 52 to 37, ipac Securities leads these new mid-ranking entrants in terms of FUA, with more than $2.3 million under advice. Community and Corporate Financial Services or ComCorp follows with $1.6 million in FUA.
ComCorp is a privately-owned national financial planning group, which separated from Horwarth Chartered Accountants in 1997. It has been particularly successful in the credit union market, with clients including Qantas Staff Credit Union and New England Credit Union. The business currently services more than 365,000 members. Other businesses that are included in the mid-ranks of the dealer group survey and have prominent funds manager ties include Fiducian Financial Services and Aon Wealth Management.
Fiducian Financial Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fiducian, which since 1996 has provided financial planning, funds management and investment administration. Aon Wealth Management is a joint venture company set up by Aon Corporation Australia, Aon Financial Planning and Protection, and ipac Securities. Sharing this space on the dealer group survey are New South Wales-based Avenue Capital Management and Victorian-based Quadrant Securities. Both boutique groups hold their own licences and have been established by like-minded experienced financial planners.
