AXA reps happy to stay - for now

Although MLC has been open in its plans to target AXA-aligned planning firms that may be disenchanted following the bank’s merger with AMP, many of those businesses say they are happy to stay where they are and see how things progress under AMP.

Money Management contacted a number of planning businesses licensed under AXA Financial Planning, Charter and Genesys, and of the seven practice principals who were prepared to speak about their current arrangements, all said they had no plans to transition away from AXA/AMP.

Six of the seven said they had not so far been directly approached by MLC, but one Queensland-based principal who is an authorised Charter representative told Money Management that he had been contacted “almost incessantly” by an MLC representative, by both phone and email.

The woman had offered to fly him interstate to meet MLC executives, told him that MLC would be prepared to pay cash for the business (although she did not specify an amount), and also told him AXA-aligned firms were joining MLC “left, right and centre,” he said.

He had so far ignored the offers – which he said struck him as unprofessional – and was happy to go ahead with his planning business under AMP, he said.

One Brisbane-based AXA Financial Planning (AXA FP) principal said he had been contacted about switching licences by several groups (including Professional Investment Services) in recent months, but had not been contacted by MLC so far.

He questioned what effect such a transition would have on his practice’s value, and said as far as he was concerned it was “business as usual” following the AXA/AMP merger. He said he had so far “thrown all the offers in the bin”.

A Sydney-based Genesys adviser said he had been “pleasantly surprised” by the level of support provided by AXA and the lack of issues in making the transition when AXA acquired Genesys in 2008.

He said Genesys had improved the way it dealt with member firms in recent years, and he hoped that level of support would continue under AMP.

In addition, a Geelong-based Charter principal, a Sydney-based Charter principal and two south Queensland-based AXA FP principals all told Money Management that they had received no direct offers from MLC and would be happy to see how the new arrangements progressed under AMP.

In a letter to MLC advisers last week, MLC and NAB Wealth executive general manager, advice and marketing, Richard Nunn, confirmed that MLC was in discussions with AXA advisers about joining the MLC network.

But the only payments being offered were one-off payments to buy out existing commercial arrangements that some advisers have in place with their current licensee, he wrote. Those payments were not linked to the sale of MLC products in any way, and MLC would not be paying ongoing volume-related payments to new advisers, he wrote.