In a bid to gain more advisers, AXA Financial Planning is providing planners with the opportunity to open an AXA business and be their own boss.

AXA has put together a package including a business plan, office branding, lead referrals and marketing, to kick-start advisers into running their own advisory office under the AXA umbrella.

Queensland-based adviser Tracey Ferguson is the first to take up the opportunity, opening her new practice in Nambour on the Sunshine Coast last week.

Ferguson said AXA currently has 80 practices in the financial advice network and she represents number 81.

Ferguson has 25 years experience in the financial services industry, with 11 of those years spent as a financial adviser within the banking environment. Her most recent position was at Suncorp.

Ferguson said it was growing increasingly difficult to meet the needs of 300 clients while working as an adviser within the banking industry, all while chasing new clients and working on a “reactive basis”.

Together with a change of environment, Ferguson was attracted to the AXA offer by factors such as financial support to establish the business, as well as what she perceives as a good product offering.

Ferguson also hopes to reduce her client base by two-thirds. Her clients, primarily retirees, will include a mix of existing, new and AXA referrals.