Ex-AFS chief Daly to head up new planning group

Former Australian Financial Services chief executive Peter Daly will step into the top job at the newly formed Beacon Financial Group following the pending merger of The Financial Link Group and Titanium Group. 

Beacon is slated to be launched at the end of this week after the two groups merge, creating a new venture of 161 advisers with $1.5 billion in funds under management. 

Daly will head a team made up of a mix of The Financial Link and Titanium Group executives. Titanium Group director Andrew Blanchette will take on the chief operating officer role in the new group, while Financial Link managing director Martin Lowe will become Beacon head of adviser services. 

Financial Link compliance manager Brendan Barratt will fill the compliance role into the newly merged group, while David Bertram, who headed up distribution at Titanium Group, will also carry his role over into Beacon. 

The Financial Link Group will bring 93 planners to the merged entity and the Titanium Group will bring 68, giving the group a nationwide geographic spread with head office functions set to be split between Sydney and Brisbane. 

According to information seen by Money Management, the group will continue to be institutionally independent and operate under the separate banners of the two groups. It will also offer the ability establish a finance and mortgage offering and to operate as credit representatives under a mortgage and finance licence as well as establishing a property and real estate offering. At present these services are offered via the Titanium Group. 

It will also seek to set up a preferred partner relationship with risk underwriters, platform administrators and product manufacturers. 

A search of available company records indicates the business was registered with the Australian Security and Investments Commission on March 7.