DeakinFinancial Services Grouphas begun the year on a high note with the appointment of the group’s 150th adviser as well as announcing the launch date for its own wrap service.
The group’s sales and marketing general manager Graeme Hyland says the appointment was finalised last week and he was confident Deakin would reach its objective of 200 planners by the end of this calendar year.
The target is a revised one after Deakin executive chairman Rob Hunwick said at last year’s annual general meeting that the group’s original target was to have 200 planners on board by the end of the current financial year.
However Hunwick admitted it was unlikely to do so and stated “it needs to be noted that we are now operating in a fiercely competitive environment for these advisers”.
In an effort to meet the revised target Deakin has worked to ensure its structure would support the growth and has appointed Bill Crawford as the Queensland state manager, with responsibility for New South Wales until a Sydney-based manager is appointed.
Deakin will also launch its new wrap product Deakin Smartplan, based on a platform built by technology provider Avanteos.
The wrap will offer three distinct services — Deakin Smartplan Investments, Deakin Smartplan Superannuation and Deakin Smartplan Allocated Pension.
The moves are a counterpoint to news from Deakin late last year when it reported it would record a loss in the current financial year as it looks to bed down its ambitious growth strategy.
At the group’s annual general meeting last year Hunwick said the expansion drive would result in one-off expenses in the order of $1 million, impacting on the company’s profitability in the current financial year.
Deakin scraped into the red to record a small $31,000 profit for the 2001-02 financial year, yet the result was a dramatic turnaround on the 2000-01 financial year, when Deakin recorded an $11.6 million loss.
