Insignia Financial has named its new chief executive, following the departure of Renato Mota this month.
In an ASX statement, it named Scott Hartley, former chief executive of wealth management at AMP Australia, as the new CEO.
He will join Insignia on 26 February and take over the CEO role from 1 March, as well as join the board as an executive director.
It was announced in May 2023 that Hartley would be departing AMP by the end of the year as part of a domestic restructure by the licensee that saw it scrap the wealth management CEO role.
Allan Griffiths, Insignia chairman, said: “Scott joins at a pivotal point in the business and his appointment is key to providing a fresh perspective as we continue into the next phase of executing on our strategy.
“Scott’s deep experience and strategic leadership will be critical as we continue to build on our established foundations and move forward with clarity and focus on the opportunities our market position and capabilities provide.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to welcome Scott and look forward to working together. I would also like to express my gratitude to Renato for his 20 years of service and dedication to the organisation, five of which as CEO.”
Hartley added: “I am honoured to be chosen to lead Insignia Financial and excited to be joining at a transformational time as it builds upon its strong foundation to support Australians to achieve greater financial wellbeing.”
Mota announced in October that he would be stepping down in February 2024 after 20 years with the licensee and five as chief executive. Reflecting on his time, he said his achievements during the tenure included the improvement in net fund flows, the integration of MLC and the accelerated delivery of acquisition synergies.
In its most-recent financial results for the three months to 31 December, it said it saw over 200 advisers depart during the quarter, mostly from the self-employed (licensed) model which was down from 684 at the end of September to 533.
Self-licensed advisers were down from 482 to 455, and professional services (employed) advisers were down from 219 to 211.
“The reduction of 186 advisers was primarily from within the Advice Services channels as a result of the sale of Millennium3 to WT Financial. There was also a reduction of 27 authorised representatives from the self-licensed offer as a result of a larger practice being sold and some other smaller businesses exiting,” it said.
Looking at strategic initiatives for the next three years, it said the planned migration of MLC Wrap to Evolve is on target to be completed by early April 2024, which will see $38 billion and 100,000 client accounts move to Evolve.
