BT, Zurich win Investor Group outsourcing contracts
BT Portfolio Services and Zurich Financial Services have bagged the lion’s share of Investor Group’s outsourcing of support services for its financial planning division, Investor Financial Planning (IFP).
After a three month tender process, BT won the contract to supply back office services to the group's new Wealthwrap wrap account while Zurich will supply its dealer support system. Accent Consulting has been signed on to supply compliance service to the group's accounting and financial planning firms
Investor Group now boasts a single dealer's licence and centralised financial planning platform that will improve the efficiency of service delivery, according to IFP chief executive officer Tim Townsend.
"We are pleased with the way things have come together and have picked the right tools that complement each other," says Townsend.
Zurich's Dealer Back Office Services (DBOS) will provide full back office dealer support for a number of services including training and education, technical and product research, and paraplanning. The DBOS team will also assist in the development of the Investor Group wrap, WealthWrap, while BT Australia will provide its back-office administration services.
Investor Group managing director Kevin White says WealthWrap should be available to Investor Group firms by mid February.
Investor Group also aligned with BT last year when the group took on the BT Corporate Superannuation plan.
The changes put IFP in place to offer the centralised financial planning platform to the group's 10 accountancy firms and two specialist financial planning businesses.
Investor Group firms were involved in the decision making process and Townsend says responses from the results have been positive.
"The process has taken three months to get right and also given us three months to build the enthusiasm of member firms. They are very enthused and chomping at the bit to get started," says Townsend.
Investor Group currently has about $1.8 billion under advice. Townsend says the next three months will focus on implementing the platform and distribution network before moving on to suppliers.
Recommended for you
With the final tally for FY25 now confirmed, how many advisers left during the financial year and how does it compare to the previous year?
HUB24 has appointed Matt Willis from Vanguard as an executive general manager of platform growth to strengthen the platform’s relationships with industry stakeholders.
Investment manager Drummond Capital Partners has announced a raft of adviser-focused updates, including a practice growth division, relaunched manager research capabilities, and a passive model portfolio suite.
When it comes to M&A activity, the share of financial buyers such as private equity firms in Australia fell from 67 per cent to 12 per cent in the last financial year.
