Listed financial services firm Snowball Group has made changes to its business following the merger with Shadforth Financial Group.
Snowball group chief executive Tony McDonald would take up the position of executive director of integration projects, but leave the company in October 2012, Snowball said in an Australian Securities Exchange announcement yesterday.
McDonald’s exit was mutually agreed upon and arose because two top executives would not be needed following the integration of Snowball and Shadforth, Snowball managing director Tony Fenning said.
“Tony’s got a very valuable role to execute in the meantime,” Fenning said.
He said McDonald would focus on Snowball’s response to regulatory changes, including the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms and Stronger Super, as well as branding and communications initiatives.
“We have got tranches one and two of FOFA, and Stronger Super, but it’s not yet clear what the government’s detailed intentions are in regards to platforms,” he said.
“So our test is we need to understand both the law and the spirit of the law and Tony McDonald’s great industry experience is helping us to plan our responses and options, but we can’t do that till we get the detail.”
Snowball also moved to strengthen its three main operating subsidiaries with the appointment of non-executive directors.
Company chair Eric Dodd will chair the advice business Shadforth, Graham Maloney will chair the portfolio management unit Officium Capital and John Gannon will chair affiliate licensee advice firm Western Pacific Financial Group.
“We are heightening the importance of each of those three businesses in our strategy going forward, and to reflect that we are bringing across a very experienced director to chair them,” Fenning said.
Snowball will also seek shareholder approval at its annual general meeting on 29 November to change the company name to SFG Australia.
The company flagged the rebranding in its 2011 financial year results and recent annual report.
Fenning said the new name would unite the merged companies under a fresh single banner.
Snowball and Shadforth announced their merger in May and completed it in June.
