The past 12 months have seen several milestone moments for the Australian advice profession, ranging from a flurry of M&A activities to notable legislative reforms and prominent people moves.
January
The year commenced with the announcement that the estimated sum for the initial Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) levy would be $241 million, primarily driven by complaints against Dixon Advisory. The levy will be used to fund claims from eligible consumers who have been victims of financial misconduct.
Later in January, ASIC confirmed it would incorporate legislative amendments to the financial adviser exam following a consultation, which saw short-answer questions replaced with multiple-choice questions.
February
Insignia Financial named Scott Hartley as its new chief executive in early February, which followed the departure of Renato Mota. Hartley, who was the former chief executive of wealth management at AMP Australia, officially took the position on 1 March.
In the same month, Platinum Asset Management announced its urgent turnaround strategy as it battled with net outflows and declining revenue. Having appointed Jeff Peters from Columbia Threadneedle as its new chief executive, he announced the strategy would be in two parts of resetting the business followed by a growth phase around improved product and distribution capabilities.
March
The merger between Count and Diverger reached completion on 1 March – marking one of the largest M&A deals this year and creating Australia’s second-largest advice licensee with over 500 advisers.
Another major announcement in March was the government introducing a bill to Parliament to legislate the first stream of the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) reforms. This included recommendations around payment of advice fees, improved advice access, and removing regulatory red tape.
April
In April, shareholders at Sequoia Financial Group called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) regarding the removal of chief executive Garry Crole and director Kevin Pattison, and for Brent Jones and Peter Brook to be appointed as directors in their place. The EGM was later held on 5 June and the motions were defeated.
May
The fifth month of 2024 saw Treasurer Jim Chalmers hand down the 2024–25 federal budget. This included cost-of-living relief, superannuation on paid parental leave, and $17.3 million allocated towards sustainable finance markets. However, commentators remarked that there were “no big wins” for the financial advice industry despite placing broader focus on the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) legislation.
June
Another major M&A transaction of 2024 was Infocus Wealth Management completing the acquisition of Madison Financial Group from Clime Investment Management, increasing its adviser numbers to more than 200.
July
July marked the time when the first DBFO bill passed the Senate and the House of Representatives. The first tranche of the legislation included streamlining fee documentation and enabling greater flexibility with financial services guides.
August
One of the biggest announcements of the year was AMP selling its advice licensees and self-licensed offering Jigsaw for $10.2 million to Entireti, while AZ NGA would acquire minority stakes held by AMP in 16 practices for $82.2 million. The deal meant AMP formally exited financial advice after more than 175 years.
September
September began with the $100 million settlement for members of the AMP buyer of last resort class action being approved following a two-day hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne, where objectors aired their grievances with the settlement sum.
In the same month, an inquiry was announced that would investigate the collapse of Dixon Advisory and wealth management companies and its impact on the CSLR. The motion for the inquiry was moved by Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, and would be handled by the Senate economics references committee.
AZ NGA also confirmed a $240 million strategic growth partnership with global investment manager Oaktree Capital Management, which completed on 17 December.
October
In AFCA’s annual report for FY24, it stated that it had received 3,559 complaints about investment and advice, which was down 26 per cent from FY23. Overall sector complaints, excluding Dixon Advisory, fell to an all-time low of 2,709 complaints, which AFCA said reflected greater professionalism within the sector.
November
On 1 November, Dixon Advisory’s parent company E&P Financial Group confirmed it would be delisting from the ASX after shareholders narrowly voted in favour of the move. The firm originally listed in 2018 but its share price has been dented recently by the negative backlash to Dixon Advisory.
As Insignia announced a strategic growth plan for the next five years, CEO Scott Hartley also spoke with Money Management on how it is looking to achieve this for its two advice businesses: Shadforth Financial Group and Bridges Financial Services.
December
The final month of the year kicked off with Financial Services Minister, Stephen Jones, unveiling further details on the government’s second tranche of the DBFO package. The recommendations included clarification on the “qualified adviser” class and how they would provide simple advice as well as reforms to statements of advice.
Most recently, Insignia confirmed it had received and was considering a preliminary non-binding proposal from US private equity giant, Bain Capital, to acquire the firm.
