Fiducian ends 2005 on a high
One of the five listed independent financial planning firms, Fiducian Portfolio Services, enjoyed a positive end to 2005, posting a healthy half-year profit and expanding its financial planning operations.
The Sydney-based group posted a net profit after tax for the half-year ended December 31 of $1.506 million, up 113 per cent on the corresponding period in 2004.
Fortunes turned to the best for Fiducian last August, when it reported a $1.877 million profit for the 2005 financial year, after only reporting a $0.185 million profit in 2004 and trading losses in 2003.
“It’s reassuring that we’re going forward in the right direction, and improving profits for our shareholders,” Fiducian managing director Indy Singh said.
Singh said he had introduced five new planners to the company last March, and would continue to look for good quality candidates.
“It is a tough market to get good quality planners. Often the quality doesn’t fit and we find they might not be able to adopt the Fiducian family culture, so we’ve had more rejections than acceptances in the past year.”
Singh said the company’s funds management capabilities had contributed significantly to the group’s profits, and flagged an expansion of its administration service by creating a new badged product it hopes to distribute to external dealer groups during the year.
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