Financialplanning groupFuturePluswill look to open offices in both Newcastle and Western Sydney as part of an ongoing program to provide financial planning services in regional areas of NSW.
Financial planning general manager Terry Malpass says the group has already opened offices in Orange, Wagga Wagga, Lismore and Albury, and has been servicing another office in Wollongong three days a week using staff from Sydney.
FuturePlus is the financial planning group for members of theLocal Government Super Scheme(LGSS) andEnergy Industry Super Scheme(EISS), and Malpass says it made sense to take planning to where members lived instead of relying solely on the Sydney office to provide advice.
“Our research showed that country members of the schemes felt disenfranchised and wanted a planning service beyond calling a toll free number for advice. As such, there will be advisers on investments and superannuation in each office accessible to members,” Malpass says.
The FuturePlus offices will also be open to the public, with superannuation and financial planning advice also being offered under theChifley Financial Servicesbanner.
Under the current model, planners with the group operate under dual proper authorities, with each office also being co-branded with the Chifley name.
Malpass says Chifley originally had a reputation for providing financial planning to union members in regional areas and while the offices are a new move, it builds on that previous experience.
All staff are salaried advisers with the group and the practices have been staffed with employees from the Sydney office who have relocated to Orange and Lismore, while the Wagga Wagga office is run by a local planner.
At present, the group is seeking an adviser for the Newcastle office, which is set to open once suitable premises are found, while the Wollongong office may be permanently staffed in the future.
The western Sydney office is still in the planning stage, says Malpass, but it will be staffed by a number of advisers. He says this reflects the growing level of demand for financial services by members and the general public living in the outer western suburbs of Sydney.
