Australia’slargest credit union, Credit Union Australia (CUA), has established its own dealer group, Mentor Australia Financial Planning.
CUA was granted an Australian Financial Services licence in August last year, and Mentor is now in operation in Queensland, with plans to expand to Sydney and Melbourne.
Financial planners linked to CUA have been operating under licence toABN AMRO Morgansfor the last 13 years, but a new strategic direction and the introduction of the Financial Services Reform Act provided the impetus for the organisation to strike out on its own.
Mentor currently has 10 financial planners based at CUA offices in Queensland, but expansion plans for the group could see this number double by the end of 2003, according to CUA head of financial planning Paul Geisel.
He says the acquisition of financial planning businesses and the creation of strategic alliances with professional groups are other opportunities under consideration by Mentor.
Mentor is offering a full range of financial services, including retirement planning, wealth creation, super, risk, estate planning and stockbroking services.
