Iress has signed a three-year extension of agreement with Count, enabling the financial services firm to continue using advice software Xplan to support its growth ambitions.
Since first becoming an Xplan client in 2011, Count has reviewed its technology ecosystem and extended its partnership with Iress as its chosen advice technology provider for three more years. According to Iress, the extension agreement of Xplan across Count’s wealth management division will support the substantial growth of its business.
The company is currently Australia’s third-largest advice licensee behind AMP and Insignia. It has more than 550 advisers and services approximately 130,000 clients across the country, following its recent acquisition of Diverger.
Last week, Count upgraded the expected synergy benefits to be achieved from the acquisition. The firm now expects to see annualised cost savings of $4 million to be announced in FY25, a 33 per cent increase on previously forecast sum of $3 million, announced at the time of the transaction.
Within its partnership, Iress will also be working alongside Count to offer professional development programs and events to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of Count’s advisers.
“We’re proud to extend and grow the relationship we’ve built with Count over more than a decade. Count has strong growth ambitions, and we’re delighted to provide the advice technology infrastructure to support this,” commented Kelli Willmer, Iress’ executive general manager for wealth across the APAC region.
“We’re also pleased to work with Count on optimising their use of technology to drive efficiency and profitability for their advisers. We look forward to continuing to work closely with key customers like Count to evolve our software and service offerings, empowering them to deliver an exceptional experience for their advisers and clients,” she added.
Andrew Kennedy, Count’s group head of advice, said the firm can only continue being a leading wealth services provider with the right processes and technology partner in place.
“Xplan has been our client servicing hub of choice for many years to ensure our network of financial advisers are supported with the most powerful, efficient and secure tools in the market. We know that with Xplan, we can continue to grow at scale and with efficiency, while Iress as our partner will continue to listen and improve the product to match our needs,” he explained.
