van Eyk to build retail advice offering
Retail investment research house van Eyk has announced it will look to build on its in-house retail financial advice offering, van Eyk Advice, following "strong interest" from advisers.
van Eyk Advice was established earlier this year and currently has "a small number" of advisers, but will now step up its efforts to attract and engage with more advisers, according to van Eyk chief executive Mark Thomas. He was not able to give exact numbers of representatives who had signed up, but said the overall target would be "somewhere north of 50".
Thomas said van Eyk had always had the option under its licence to offer advice, but had applied for a new Australian Financial Services Licence, which was granted in May, to keep the advice offering separate.
"van Eyk Advice can fill a gap in the marketplace for a non-aligned advice group that develops and follows through on its own ideas. It will be an attractive proposition to like-minded planners who are not comfortable being part of a large conglomerate," Thomas said.
It was suitable for planners who did not want to move into the institutional environment but did not want to start their own licence, he said.
Thomas described the addition of an advice offering as a "natural evolution" of the van Eyk brand, which could offer advisers a comprehensive suite of products and services as well as freedom from institutional ownership, along with "proven commitment to independent thought and integrity in investment research".
Thomas noted the industry consolidation, involving independent groups being bought up by larger institutions, which he said emphasised to advisers the value of a research-driven advice group not tied to a big institution.
van Eyk also offered advisers professional development and practice management expertise through wholly owned subsidiary, The Encore Group.
van Eyk stated that adviser feedback it received indicated the main reasons for advisers to be unhappy with their current dealer group were a lack of investment expertise, poor communication and a lack of practice management and support.
The new advice offering will have no impact on existing clients and services, van Eyk stated. Thomas also said he did not view the new offer as a conflict.
"If you're dealing with two externals and you've got one of your own, I don't see any difference; we've got separate people running different areas and we're pretty public about our offerings," he said.
"Everybody has a bespoke approach and we will continue to work closely with our key clients."
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