Vista Financial Group has joined Count’s Australian financial services licence (AFSL) network, following its acquisition of financial advice firm Affinia from TAL.
The Melbourne-based advisory business is one of the first firms to move from Affinia’s AFSL since Count’s acquisition in May 2023, which welcomed around 100 advisers to its national community.
The addition brought the combined business to a total of 400 advisers at the time and $17 billion in client funds under administration, representing 3,500 clients.
The acquisition of Affinia would position Count as a major player in the future of wealth management, Hugh Humphrey, Count chief executive, previously commented.
Vista Financial Group has provided a holistic suite of advice services for more than 20 years, including risk insurance, aged care and estate planning assistance to its clients.
According to Tyson Roberts, Vista’s managing director and senior financial adviser, the practice works with a wide variety of clients.
“We have advisers that are millennial-focused, pre-retirement-focused, high-net-worth advisers, an adviser who specialises in aged care, and recently we appointed a mortgage broker to the broader Vista team so that we have the ability to service our clients throughout their life. This was a priority for us from a servicing perspective,” he said.
Roberts added that Count’s natural alignment with Vista, due to their shared growth mindset and client-centric approach, was crucial in joining their AFSL.
“After a number of conversations, we found that Count had a really strong network of like-minded people. We were fortunate enough to meet a few members of the Count team as part of our discovery phase, and felt that both their head office and network of advisers were strongly aligned with the direction we’re going in,” he explained.
“If we chose to go down the self-licensed path, we’d have to create all of our own opportunities, but by being a part of the Count community, they can put opportunities in front of us which will really help the growth objectives we have as a business.”
Andrew Kennedy, Count’s chief advice officer, welcomed the quality advice business to the licensee.
“Their operating model and values align with everything we stand for, so they will be a terrific role model for other businesses in the Count community,” he commented.
Earlier this month, Tribel Advisory also joined Count’s advice network from Affinia, bringing across an additional 11 advisers.
In September, it was announced that Count entered into a binding scheme of arrangement under which Count will acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Diverger for total cash and scrip consideration of $45.3 million.
The deal, expected to complete in February 2024, will create a diversified financial services business with total revenue of $132 million, FUMA of $29 billion and more than 550 financial advisers.
The combined business would be Australia’s third largest licensee, behind Insignia and AMP.
