Boutique dealer groups to merge
Two boutique dealer groups, Spark Financial Group and Aura Wealth Australia, have announced they have entered into binding agreements to merge, with the new combined group to service more than 80 authorised representatives across Australia.
The new entity would be led by Arthur Kallos, founder and chief executive office of Spark and Andrew Coloretti, Aura’s head of wealth management.
“The appeal of bringing Spark and Aura together is driven in a large part by our shared vision for creating a transformative and innovative approach to the wealth management space,” the company said in the press release. Commenting on the merger, Coloretti said it would bring together the best of two boutique businesses, to the benefit of the financial advisers we collectively serve.
“We believe that the investments necessary for competitively differentiated technology, practice management and service excellence require a greater level of scale than either of our companies can achieve on a stand-alone basis,” he added.
“In fact, as our two organisations learned more about each other's platforms, it became obvious that our strengths rounded out each other's offerings. Combined, we will have one of the most comprehensive and superior platforms for authorised representatives in the industry.”
Recommended for you
With the highest number of candidates in a year sitting the latest financial advice exam, a surge of new entrants are expected in the coming weeks, according to Wealth Data.
AMP has launched a range of five diversified index managed portfolios on its North investment platform, targeting a younger client demographic.
An NSW adviser, who advised over 120 clients after falsifying her financial advice exam results, has been permanently banned by ASIC.
ASIC has released the results from the latest financial adviser exam, the first to be run since changes to its structure earlier this year.