Count aims to add FirstChoice Wholesale to the dealer group’s approved product list, its new chief executive David Lane said.
The move is part of a planned rollout of products and services under new owner Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).
“What we’re looking to do is to put together a suite of products and service offerings that enhance the current model, and we’re looking to start the announcement of that rollout at the March conference, which is Count’s big annual conference,” Lane told InvestorDaily.
Count and its 342 member practices will hold their annual conference in Brisbane in the new year, Lane said the day CBA completed its $373 million acquisition of Count.
Asked whether Count had a focal point in terms of new products, Lane said: “One of things we’d like to look at doing is putting FirstChoice Wholesale onto the approved product list (APL).
“It’s something the advisers have certainly been clamouring for. To do that, we need to make sure we’re doing it in an appropriate way. I can honestly say, having gone to a number of professional development days and a number of conferences, it probably has been the most sought-after thing from advisers.”
BT Wrap has most of the dealer group’s $6.22 billion in funds under advice on platforms and the future of that relationship has been a focal point for the industry.
Prior to taking the helm at Count, Lane was the general manager of strategic development of CBA’s wealth management division. He hails from New York City and has spent 11 of the past 15 years in Australia.
Count, founded by Barry Lambert in 1980, was widely viewed as a bastion of independent financial advice in Australia.
“If we do a good job of keeping Count very true to what it was, that accountant-driven model, if we continue to provide even better products and services to the members so that they can provide better products and services to their end-clients, we’re going to attract a disproportionate share of the accounting market,” Lane said.
