The new dealer group established by Peter Daly, Beacon Group, will encourage its planners to sign up to a new trust established under the auspices of the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) to contest legal action by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) or the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
Daly confirmed to Money Management today that Beacon group would be encouraging its planners to sign up to the trust, which was modeled on the protections provided by the Police Association to its members and was likely to cost advisers a dollar a day.
Daly, who is also the chairman of the AIOFP, said it was unlikely the trust would move to contest every case but would certainly do so where it believed it was warranted.
Daly said his new dealer group Beacon group, represented a "house of brands" that would traverse planning, accounting, mortgage and finance and property — something which would allow it to differentiate itself based on offering a holistic service.
The group already boasts 170 planners and Daly pointed to negotiations afoot for further acquisitions.
The brands falling within the Beacon Group are the FinancialLink Group, Interactive Mortgage and Finance and B Property group.
Daly said the group's web site would go live early next month and that it had already developed an Approved Product List and model portfolios.
