In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday, Westpac announced its wealth management branch saw FUM increase by 16 per cent to $65.7 billion, up from $56.5 billion in September 2012.
FUM/funds under advice-related income increased by $32 million, or 8 per cent, on the back of positive net flows and improved markets. This was partially offset by margin compression in the group’s Asgard and BT Wrap platforms, according to the statement.
Overall, the Westpac Group announced cash earnings of $3,525 million for the six months to March 31, up 10 per cent compared with the same period in the previous year. Westpac attributed the result to fee growth in the funds management sector, a strong insurance result as well as strong growth in advice income.
Speaking to InvestorDaily last week prior to the results announcement, BT head of advice Mark Spiers said BT will continue to have two strategic focuses on its advice business as it looks to continue to grow its planner footprint.
“The first is our own growth in terms of planner numbers, but also the growth of our aligned advice businesses in terms of their professionalism, their productivity, their skills and the value of their business,” he said.
“The second area is about productivity. We want to continue to grow our planner footprint, but we believe in quality first and quantity second.”
BT’s funds management business saw a $16 million or 13 per cent increase from new business revenue generated by an expansion of its planner network, including a focus on “targeted segments and increasing customer face time”.
Expansion in the insurance distribution networks of independent and aligned planner networks also boosted results across the Westpac Group.
Cash earnings increased by $32 million or 39 per cent due to higher revenue and improved sales.
This distribution positively impacted the life insurance channel, with an increase of $9 million or 8 per cent over the period with net earned premiums increasing by 19 per cent.
