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Perpetual chief executive David Deverall has pointed to the likelihood of further merger and acquisition activity within the financial planning arena as part of a company update delivered to shareholders today.
The company update, released to the Australian Securities Exchange, revealed that while Perpetual still sees client confidence as being “battered”, it believes it is starting to improve.
Deverall’s presentation said while the Australian financial services industry remained in a net outflow position, there were clear signs institutions and high-net-worth individuals were poised to rebalance from cash into equities.
However, he also pointed to some of the challenges and issues confronting the industry, such as the May Federal Budget serving to undermine confidence in superannuation, the number of industry reviews currently on foot and the arrival of a new Federal Minister.
Deverall’s presentation suggested he believed consolidation was inevitable as a result of the “AustralianSuper effect” on fund mangers, increased merger and acquisition activity on the part of financial planners and the consolidation activity that was already underway.
