Count practices offered retention bonuses, open architecture

The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) will look to staunch any bleeding of financial planners away from Count Financial by offering "appropriate" retention bonuses.

Colonial First State (CFS) chief executive Brian Bissaker has confirmed the arrangement to Money Management at the same time as confirming Count planners would continue to be able to access other platforms, including the BT platforms, via the CFS open architecture.

He said Count would continue to have its own approved product list, and would maintain its open architecture.

However, CBA's proposed acquisition of Count based on an offer of $1.40 per share has already drawn criticism from some advisers who have suggested it runs counter to assertions by the company's executive chairman, Barry Lambert, that it would remain strongly independent.

Bissaker said while there might be concerns expressed by some Count advisers, it was not as though CBA and CFS were foreigners to the accountancy-based financial planning dealer group, with the banking group having been a platform provider and corporate banker.

Commenting on the acquisition move - announced to the Australian Securities Exchange yesterday - Bissaker said he believed it would have occurred irrespective of the dynamic created by the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) changes.

"It represented one of the groups we would have liked to acquire, irrespective of FOFA," he said.

Bissaker said the strength of the Count brand and its business model had reinforced the need to allow it to operate as a stand-alone business within the CBA's Wealth Management division.

Also, he said he expected Count founder and executive chairman Barry Lambert would continue to play a significant role as the company's non-executive chairman.

The transaction which will see Count acquired by CBA is expected to be completed in early December.