CARM signs deal with PIS

Financial planning business management group CARM has struck a deal with Professional Investment Services (PIS) to provide the dealer firm’s network of over 1,200 planners with access to its Guided Planning System (GPS).

GPS is a web-based system and enables planners and dealers to centrally control their sales and compliance process while creating personalised lifestyle plans for clients.

PIS head of network distribution John Lindsay says the tool will help its planners educate, induct and sell to clients.

“The system is great at helping planners illuminate a client’s financial situation, both now and into the future, and graphically outline the consequences of different lifestyle decisions,” Lindsay says.

CARM executive Geoff Shepherd says the deal should provide PIS planners with a stronger sales, data, client modelling, analysis, and compliance platform.

“GPS will re-enforce the value proposition of PIS planners, provide a seamless financial planning process, collect and analyse the client’s personal and investment data, and illustrate the consequences of different spending and investment choices and their tax consequences,” Shepherd says.

Meanwhile PIS chief executive Robbie Bennetts told Money Management on Friday that the group was in formal talks with three institutions after it was reported in August that the group could consider selling.

Since PIS announced it may publicly list earlier this year, Bennetts says it has had enquiries from six firms over the possibility of buying the business, however he says only three have put any kind of specific detail in terms of what they could offer.

Bennetts would neither confirm or deny whether the interested groups were all banks.